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Paul O’Grady died ‘smoking a spliff’ as husband reveals secret ‘code word’ for it
Published 09:27 20 Oct 2023 BST
Updated 09:29 20 Oct 2023 BST
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He'd spent the day watching TV in his chair
Paul O'Grady spent his final moment smoking a spliff in his chair.
The telly favourite's grieving husband, Andre Portasio, detailed the entertainer's final moments at a memorial service seven months after O'Grady died, aged 67.
Andre, who married O'Grady in 2017, explained how his late partner had popped into the kitchen to make a "cup of tea" on the night he died - code for rolling a joint.
“We’d had a very ordinary day, just watching TV together at home, when Paul said he wanted to make a ‘cup of tea,’ and that was our little code for rolling a spliff," he told the audience, according to a report by he Mirror.
“So Paul went to the kitchen to make a cup of tea, brought it back, lit it and started smoking it – and that was our last time together, the last thing we did. He passed away there in his chair.”
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O'Grady died at his Kent home on 28 March of sudden cardiac arrhythmia.
The animal lover, who Battersea Dogs and Cats Home this week announced it was named a veterinary hospital after, has previously remarked that he was "counting his blessings" that he was still alive and said it would be a "miracle" if he reached 60.
The Mirror noted that the memorial service was the first time O'Grady's wider circle had heard about his final moments.
In another amusing anecdote, Paul also mentioned O'Grady's hatred of cheap hotels.
Amanda Holden, Carol Vorderman, Janet Street-Porter, Alan Carr and Julian Clary were among the 320 guests at the special evening to honour the star at Bloomsbury Ballroom in London.
Her Majesty Queen Camilla also paid a moving tribute to O'Grady which was read out by Calendar Girls actress Celia Imrie.
Clary recalled to the audience a wild night he had at his late friend's home, when they sat down to a meal of pumpkin soup.
"The evening got a bitwild - and I can’t remember very much. The next day, Paul called me and said, ‘How did you find the soup?’ and laughed hysterically. God knows what he’d put in it!”
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