Suzy Eddie Izzard has praised the late comedian and TV icon Paul O'Grady for being "open and honest" throughout his life and standing true to his identity.
Paul, who was well-known for his Lily Savage drag persona, sadly died unexpectedly on Tuesday at the age of 67.
The For The Love Of Dogs presenter was at home with his husband of six years Andre Portasio, who confirmed he had died "peacefully" in a statement released the next day.
Reflecting on Paul's legendary status in the entertainment industry, 61 year old Suzy, who recently changed her name from Eddie, gushed over Paul's contributions to comedy.
"Well, you know, another LGBTQ person whose work was about being funny, being attitudinal, playing Lily savage as a character and then being himself as Paul O'Grady had the same attitude and he just did his career [and] lived his life," she said on The One Show.
"He did charity work, very great work with pets as well. And that's a wonderful thing that he did and his sexuality had nothing to do with it.
"It's just that he was that person," she continued in a chat with hosts Alex Jones and Ronan Keating.
"And he was open and honest about it. And then this world of [where] some people decided to lie left, right and centre – it's really nice when people come out and be open and honest.
The star, who decided to change her name earlier this month decades after becoming a massive hit in the 80s and 90s, continued: "He was nominated for the Perry award in the same year I was back in 1991.
"So I always say, one life live it well, and he did," Suzy concluded.
Paul's death came as a heartbreaking shock to friends in the industry and fans all around the country, and stars have come out in their droves to pay tribute to him.
In further devastating news, it also turned out that the chat show host had even been planning his return to radio just days before he died.
Paul had a meeting with BOOM Radio bosses and was excited and "looking forward" to getting back to his show in the studio over Easter weekend.
After fronting his own show on the BBC for 14 years, the comedian announced his departure from the broadcaster last August.
Programme director David Lloyd told Sky News that Paul was due to make an imminent comeback, with his first show back planned for Easter Sunday.
“It’s come as such a shock, our team were working on his Easter programme," he said this week. “I got an email last night from one of them saying: ‘We’ve just spoken to Paul, he’s really looking forward to it.'
"'He's in really good form.' This was yesterday and they were due to continue that work today."
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