Paul O'Grady's alter ego Lily Savage memorialised in captivating new mural

13 April 2023 , 22:50

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Paul O'Grady's alter ego Lily Savage memorialised in captivating new mural

A beautiful new mural of TV legend Paul O'Grady's alter ego Lily Savage has been unveiled in Manchester.

The iconic star "unexpectedly but peacefully" died at the age of 67 at the end of March, shocking fans and friends.

People across the UK have been paying tribute to the star in many different ways, with some donating money to his beloved Battersea Dogs & Cats home and others creating murals.

Manchester-based street artist Chris Moore, professionally known as Manchester Murals, created the mural of Paul's drag queen persona Lily Savage.

The mural can be found in the city's Gay Village and covers the entire side of a pub called The Church.

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A new mural of the star has been unveiled (Manchester Evening News)

He said: "Hopefully it’ll be there for years to come. I think it’s a really fitting situé for Lily to be in."

After Paul died, Manchester Mural created a mural of the TV star in south Manchester but it was sadly defaced a couple of days later.

The black-and-white creation is of a smiling Paul next to a dog along with the words, 'For Paul'.

The artist's previous one was defaced and painted over (Manchester Murals)

The artist previously said the work was a way of paying tribute to the 'well-grounded entertainment machine that spanned generations'.

However, the mural was soon defaced with green graffiti on Sunday, April 2.

"I was instantly driven to create a fitting mural in his honour, and I felt it was only natural to include a dog in that," the artist said.

The TV legend died at the end of March

He spent a few days working on the mural and was 'disappointed' to find out it was sprayed over with graffiti.

Speaking to Manchester Evening News, he said: "It would have been nice for it to last longer. I only finished it on Thursday so it’s not even been three days since it was created.

"I can kind of understand people’s disappointment in that the mural has only lasted as long as it has, especially given how recent his passing was, but, ultimately and unfortunately, this is part of the nature of the street art and mural scene."

Zara Woodcock