Paul O’Grady funeral: Entertainer laid to rest after ‘moving’ service as dogs line cortege route

Comedian and TV stalwart Paul O’Grady has been laid to rest following a “moving” yet “jolly” service, which included a eulogy from actor Julian Clary and a reading from Lord Michael Cashman.

The private funeral was held at St Rumwold’s Church in the village of Bonnington in Kent on Thursday afternoon, conducted by the Reverend Canon Roger Martin before mourners went to a wake at Port Lympne Safari Park.

The service featured a series of personal tributes to the entertainer, including a bronze statue of his beloved late dog Buster that had been placed on a leopard-print throw.

A photograph of a smiling O’Grady was placed at the front of the Grade I listed parish church surrounded by arrangements of lilies in a nod to his drag alter ego, Lily Savage.

The funeral cortege of Paul O'Grady travels through the village of Aldington, Kent ahead of his funeral at St Rumwold's Church. Picture: Yui Mok/PA Wire

Mr Martin welcomed family and friends, including comedian Clary, actress Dame Sheila Hancock, and the late Dame Barbara Windsor’s widower Scott Mitchell.

Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood and comedian Alan Carr were also among those attending.

The Salvation Army Band played songs such as Tomorrow from the musical Annie – in which O’Grady was starring in a touring production at the time of his death.

Following the service, Mr Martin said: “The mood was very jolly. There were some recordings of Paul, favourite clips, a good selection of varied music, it was light-hearted. It was a moving occasion.”

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, patron of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and Battersea Ambassador Paul O’Grady on a brief woodland walk with a rescue dog. Picture: Stuart C. Wilson - WPA Pool/Getty Images

He also added: “It was a very fitting send off.”

The vicar described Clary’s eulogy as “very entertaining”, adding: “He spoke quite a lot about their stage life together.”

Mr Martin also spoke about the church organ, which has to be pumped by hand, malfunctioning during a hymn, and said they had turned it into a “moment of fun”.

Mr Martin, who had known O’Grady since 2011, praised him as “community-minded” and a “very humble chap”.

Dogs at the Walnut Tree Pub in Aldington, Kent, as they wait for Paul O'Grady's funeral cortege to travel through the village of Aldington, Kent. Picture: Yui Mok/PA Wire

Mourners entered the church to You Gotta Get A Gimmick from the 1993 Bette Midler musical Gypsy.

The service commenced with a reading from actor-turned-Labour peer and LGBT rights activist Lord Cashman and O’Grady’s former PA and agent Joan Marshrons, who read a Woodland Burial.

It also included reflections from Chad Rogers, who produced TV shows Blankety Blank and Paul O’Grady: For The Love Of Dogs, about his friendship with O’Grady.

Musical choices included the theme from British television drama series Upstairs Downstairs, Looking For Trouble by Elvis Presley and Meditation from the opera Thais by French composer Jules Massenet.

Donations were requested to four causes “close to his heart”, including Save The Children UK, the Orangutan Appeal UK, Battersea Dogs And Cats Home, and Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital.

Ahead of the service, thousands lined the streets to see the procession of nine limousines followed by a cortege including motorbikes that left O’Grady’s home in the nearby village of Aldington.

Children from Aldington Primary School paid their respects with picture collages and drawings of dogs.