Paul O'Grady's funeral details confirmed as public invited to pay respects
Paul O'Grady's funeral will take place on Thursday
Instagram/@paulogrady
Paul O’Grady’s funeral date has been confirmed as members of the public are invited to line the streets of his home town to mourn the loss of the TV star.
Locals in the village of Aldington in Kent are welcome to pay their respects as the funeral cortege passes through.
The popular broadcaster will then be laid to rest in a private ceremony at Aldington Church on Thursday.
Following the private ceremony a celebration is set to be held at the nearby Port Lympne Safari Park - where the 67-year-old was a regular visitor.
Paul O'Grady will be laid to rest in a private ceremony at Aldington Church
Instagram/@paulogrady
His husband, Andre Portasio, shared the details of O’Grady’s funeral on local Facebook pages alongside a picture of the entertainer wearing white angel's wings.
“Paul’s funeral will be completely private but Andre wanted to make sure locals were involved in some form,” a source told The Sun.
“He has invited them to come out on Thursday and pay their respects to the cortege which will be taken down three certain streets in the village.
“A post was shared on the local community group by Andre so the word has started to spread.
“Paul was really popular with locals so it is expected the entire village will be out to pay their respects to him.”
Over the weekend, it emerged that O’Grady died from sudden cardiac arrhythmia.
According to the British Heart Foundation, sudden arrhythmic death syndrome - or SADS - is when a person dies suddenly following a cardiac arrest and no obvious cause can be found.
He suffered heart attacks in 2002, 2006 and 2014 and both his parents died of heart issues.
O'Grady had previously joked he was "counting his blessings" in regards to his health and said it would be a "miracle" if he reached 60.
He revealed that there was a history of heart disease in his family and had been "expecting" his first heart attack in 2002.
“My cardiologist says I have the constitution of an ox. Three days after my last heart attack, I was back fire-eating with McFly,” O’Grady told The sun in 2020.
“The heart is a muscle so you have two choices: Sit on the sofa and count your tablets all day, or get on with it and get moving — swimming and walking, gentle exercise.”
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