Paul O'Grady granted posthumous freedom of Wirral

Entertainer Paul O'Grady has been given the posthumous freedom of his home region.

Wirral councillors voted unanimously to award the honorary freedom of the borough to the Birkenhead-born TV presenter who died in March aged 67.

O'Grady grew up in Merseyside but later moved to London, where he found fame as his comedic alter-ego Lily Savage.

More than 100,000 people have signed a petition calling for a statue of him to be erected in Birkenhead.

Councillor Andrew Hodson, proposing the motion to give O'Grady the freedom of Wirral at an extraordinary council meeting, said: "This is a very significant step for the council to take as to date only 12 people have been honoured in this way."

Mr Hodson, a Conservative who worked with O'Grady for a short time at the DHSS in Birkenhead, added he was being honoured for his "eminent service to the borough and people of Wirral".

Labour councillor Stephen Bennett also said the star "never forgot his roots", adding: "He always promoted this area."

O'Grady rose to fame in the 1990s with his drag queen persona Lily Savage, going on to present BBC One game show Blankety Blank and other light entertainment programmes.

Later in his career he hosted various chat shows and also brought his love of dogs to the screen.

Other recipients of the Freedom of Wirral have included former Birkenhead MP Lord Field, the victims of the Hillsborough disaster and PC David Phillips, who was killed on duty in 2016 when he was knocked down by a teenager driving a stolen pick-up truck.

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