21 April 2023 , 21:57
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Julian Clary's eulogy at Paul O'Grady's funeral had to be censored because of the religious setting.
The beloved TV star, who passed away last month at the age of 67, was laid to rest on Thursday, April 20 in an emotional service attended by celeb pals and four-legged friends.
A procession made its way through the streets of Kent before a church service, with Paul's heartbroken widow Andre Portasio cradling Paul's beloved pet pooch Conchita on the hearse as the popular star made his final journey.
Paul's loved ones gathered at the church to say farewell to the Lily Savage star, where he had lived for more than 20 years.
Comedian Julian Clary was one of the attendees to pay tribute to his friend at the service, alongside Lord Michael Cashman who gave the reading.
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Close friend Julian gave a 'very entertaining' eulogy (Tim Merry/Daily Mirror)
Paul passed away 'unexpectedly but peacefully' (Dave Benett/Getty Images)Yet, before he even began he announced he would be censoring his eulogy because of the location.
In a tongue-in-cheek manner, Julian declared he would be replacing expletives with "blanks" - leading mourners to honour the late star with "their very own game of Blankety Blank".
Paul, as Lily Savage, hosted the much-loved game show where he asked contestants to fill in the missing words from iconic phrases.
"It was amusing and caused a lot of laughter," said Norman Corfield, churchwarden for St Rumwold’s Church Bonnington.
He told the Daily Express: "He started it by saying because it was in a church he wouldn’t be using any swear words so he amused everybody by putting a lot of ‘blanks’ in. There were lots of blanks in amongst the words he said."
The funeral procession passed through the Kent village (PA)"He obviously had a great time with him and he was very fond of him.”
The Reverend Canon Roger Martin also praised the comedian's speech as he described it as "very entertaining".
When the news of his death broke last month, Julian took to social media to pay tribute to his long-time pal.
Julian posted a snap of himself with the late star to his Twitter page.
He wrote as a caption: "Farewell to my fierce and funny friend. I'm going to miss you. #RIPPaulO'Grady."
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