Paul O’Grady’s husband recalls heartbreaking details of how TV star died, one year on

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Paul O’Grady’s husband Andre Portasio has shared details of the TV star’s demise, one year on.

British presenter and comic O’Grady died after struggling cardiac arrhythmia on 28 March 2023, aged 67, information of which prompted an outpouring of love from the world of leisure.

Portasio introduced the information, saying O’Grady’s demise was “unexpected but peaceful” – and now, a month after the heartwarming sum the ITV host left to his family members was revealed, he’s mirrored on the second he died of their countryside cottage in Kent.

He described the day O’Grady died as “the most ordinary day”, saying that the star “had come back from touring, so was a little bit tired and woke up really late”.

When Portasio noticed him, he was “looking very smart in a white shirt” forward of a deliberate assembly with his long-time radio present producer Malcolm Prince. Referencing O’Grady’s dry wit, Portasio added: “I’ll never forget saying to him how handsome he looked, and him joking back, saying ‘F*** off!’”

After strolling their 5 canine collectively, the couple settled down collectively on the couch, and O’Grady went to get one thing from the kitchen, earlier than Portasio heard a loud noise.

“He left to get some tea, and I heard this loud bang – but because the house is big and old, I didn’t think of anything at first,” Portasio defined, recalling that the canine went to analyze. However, Portasio thought nothing of it and suspected O’Grady had gone upstairs.

Portasio mentioned: “I walked to the kitchen to start putting some food on, and I started taking things out of the fridge – and all of a sudden, I could see him lying on the floor. I just didn’t know what to think at first.”

According to Portasio, O’Grady “had a cut on his forehead” from the place he had fallen, main his widow to imagine “he was probably just unconscious”.

“I called the ambulance and they said the best chance to keep him alive was to do CPR,” Portasio revealed, including: “I don’t know how long it took for the ambulance to arrive but by the end I was exhausted.”

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Portasio remembers one of O’Grady’s favorite canine, Arfur, nuzzling his proprietor’s face as he lay unconscious on the ground, “as if to say ‘wake up’.” But when paramedics arrived, they managed to resuscitate O’Grady briefly earlier than announcing him lifeless.

O’Grady and Portasio met in 2006, and married in 2017.

Following his demise, O’Grady was remembered as a “force for good” by his well-known pals, together with Carol Vorderman and Julian Clary.

The TV star’s love for animals was well-known, and he had lived in a farmhouse in Kent with Portasio together with a menagerie of animals, together with 5 canine, goats, sheep, chickens and barn owls.