Paul O'Grady funeral details- hometown procession, guest-list to fitting tribute
Paul O’Grady fans are set to line the streets today as the funeral for the Lily Savage star takes place in his local village.
The TV legend will be laid to rest in a private ceremony in Aldington, Kent, where he lived for more than 20 years.
A funeral cortege will pass through the village between 2.10pm and 2.45pm on Thursday April 20.
This is so the local community, who Paul was heavily involved with, can pay their respects to the late star.
It is thought there will be a private service at a local church before a celebration of Paul’s life is held at Port Lympne Safari Park in Kent, where the 67-year-old was a regular visitor.
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His loved ones believe he would have wanted the animals he adored so much when he was alive “to be around” during his funeral.
Dogs from Battersea Dogs Home will form a guard of honour at the funeral (PA)Dogs from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home are set to form a guard of honour during the funeral in a nod to Paul's extensive work over the years with the rescue centre, for which he was an ambassador.
More than £270,000 has been raised for the charity since his death on March 28.
The Salvation Army are also expected to play during the private service.
Paul’s husband Andre Portasio has kept details of the private service and where any wake is afterwards secret. Many of Paul's celebrity friends are expected to attend.
The social media post inviting locals to pay their respects (Facebook)But he posted in local Facebook groups about the funeral procession through their village after being touched by the “outpouring of support” from locals.
Andre wrote: "I'm incredibly grateful for the support and love I have received from our community, and we want to thank each and every one of you for your kindness and generosity.
"As a mark of respect and as Paul would have wanted, we will be holding a private funeral on Thursday, 20th April 2023.
"This information has not been made public, but I wanted to share it with local residents.”
A private service will be held at Port Lympne Safari Park, where Paul was a regular visitor (PA)He went on to say: "While the funeral will be a private ceremony, as many of you know, Paul cared a lot about his local community.
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"We have therefore requested that the funeral procession passes through Aldington before heading to the church, as a way of marking Paul's affection for the area.
"We would therefore like to invite all locals to join us in paying our respects to Paul in Aldington Village between 14:10 - 14:45 on Thursday.”
Residents are invited to stand on Roman Road, Forge Hill or New Road Hill, although they are asked to “respect the villagers and local area”.
Tributes left this morning at Paul's Kent home (PA)Elsewhere, residents of Paul’s hometown Birkenhead will be paying their own dog-themed tribute to the star.
Fan Janine Ferguson has invited locals to line the streets with their families and bring their pets as a mark of respect.
"The plan is for people to line the streets with their families and bring their as a sign of respect," Janine said.
"I’ve asked for all local rescue dogs and cats' homes to attend as well so we can collect donations from everyone there."
Speaking to , Janine also told fans to bring condolence books that will be sent off to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. It will later be passed on to the star's family.
Paul died 'unexpectedly but peacefully' at the age of 67 at his home in Kent.
The official death certificate has now confirmed that Paul died from sudden cardiac arrhythmia.
The British Heart Foundation, describes sudden arrhythmic death syndrome - or SADS - as person dying suddenly following a cardiac arrest and no obvious cause can be found.
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