Paul O'Grady: Calls for statue to be built in Birkenhead

More than 100,000 people have signed a petition calling for a statue of Paul O'Grady to be built in his hometown of Birkenhead.

The presenter and comedian, who rose to fame in the 1990s with his drag queen persona Lily Savage, died at the age of 67 last week.

The online campaign called on Wirral Council to "honour the life of such a great human being".

The council said it was working on honouring O'Grady's life.

Following the entertainer's unexpected death on 28 March, thousands of people shared their tributes and memories to the Merseyside star, who was renowned for his love of dogs.

Kieran Gabriel, who started the campaign for the memorial statue five days ago, said: "Paul has left a huge legacy with his trailblazing work as a drag artist, social and political causes, LGBT rights and of course, his love of animals.

"This is a petition to Wirral Council, who must surely take stock of the huge outpouring of love in the wake of Paul's passing."

Referencing O'Grady's friend, TV presenter Cilla Black, who died in 2015 and was honoured with a life size bronze statue two years later, Mr Gabriel added: "Liverpool has Cilla, Birkenhead deserves Paul."

After his death, those paying tribute included Camilla, the Queen Consort, Sir Elton John, Amanda Holden, Zoe Ball and Paddy McGuinness, who described O'Grady as an "icon of British TV".

He was described as a "really special man" by ITV's Lorraine Kelly, who added that he was "funny, fearless, brave, kind and wise".

Danny Beard, winner of the fourth series of Ru Paul's Drag Race UK, told BBC Breakfast O'Grady was "the most important person in British culture for drag".

David Armstrong, assistant chief executive of Wirral Council, said it had "been wonderful to see such an outpouring of love and warmth for Paul O'Grady".

"At the moment here in Wirral we are working on honouring Paul's life, career and the causes he championed, including through a fitting celebration as part of our Borough of Culture events next year," he said.

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