The funeral ceremony for Paul O'Grady will see dogs from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home serving as guards of honour and will feature a performance by the Salvation Army Band.
The TV star, who shot to fame as Drag Queen Lily Savage in the 70s, passed away unexpectedly last month at the age of 67 after suffering from sudden cardiac arrhythmia.
The funeral will be held later today (April 20) and will feature the dogs in special nod to the star's love of the animal.
Paul served as an ambassador for the animal charity in 2012, and his show Paul O'Grady: For The Love Of Dogs, detailed life at the animal shelter.
At the time of his death Paul and his husband Andre Portasio, had five rescue dogs living on their farm – Nancy, Arfur, Conchita, Eddie, and Sausage.
While the funeral service itself will be private, Andre has invited fans to the funeral procession that will be held shortly before the service begins.
Sharing the announcement, he wrote: "While the funeral will be a private ceremony, as many of you know, Paul cared a lot about his local community.
"We have therefore requested that the funeral procession passes through Aldington before heading to the church, as a way of marking Paul's affection for the area.
"We would therefore like to invite all locals to join us in paying our respects to Paul in Aldington Village between 14:10 – 14:45 on Thursday."
A memorial service will also be held in the star’s hometown of Birkenhead, Merseyside, organised by fan Janine Ferguson.
Speaking to The Globe, Jane said that as a “great lover” of Paul, she was “absolutely traumatised” by the tragic news because he was loved by everyone.
“The plan is for people to line the streets with their families and bring their dogs as a sign of respect. I’ve asked for all local rescue dogs and cats' homes to attend as well so we can collect donations from everyone there,” she explained.
Janine has also encouraged fans to bring condolence books which will be collected and sent off to Paul’s favourite charity, Battersea Dogs, to be passed on to the star’s family.
Janine continued: “It only started off as a small idea but it has gone absolutely mad. I’ve been overwhelmed by the positive reaction and the feedback
“Birkenhead was Paul’s home so I hope we can give it our very best to make his memory an extremely special day.”
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