Petition for Paul O’Grady statue in Birkenhead hits 100,000 signatures

A petition to honour Paul O’Grady with a statue in his home town of Birkenhead has passed 100,000 signatures.

The petition on Change.org was started five days ago by Kieran Gabriel, a graphic designer from the town, with the aim of paying tribute to the comedian and TV presenter.

O’Grady, who rose to fame with his drag queen alter ego Lily Savage, died last week at the age of 67.

The petition passed the milestone shortly after 2pm on Wednesday and continued to climb towards its target of 150,000.

Addressed to Wirral Council, it says the town should “surely take stock of the huge outpouring of love” after his death.

It adds: “Liverpool has Cilla, Birkenhead deserves Paul.”

Mr Gabriel 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.”

Some signees suggested the statue should feature O’Grady surrounded by dogs in acknowledgement of his support of animal welfare charities.

O’Grady was born in Birkenhead, on the Wirral, Merseyside, in June 1955.

He was made an MBE in the 2008 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to entertainment.

His long-time radio producer, Malcolm Prince, will pay tribute to the late star on Boom Radio on Sunday.

They worked together at BBC Radio 2 and later at Boom Radio, an independent station aimed at baby boomers, until O’Grady’s death last week.

David Armstrong, assistant chief executive of Wirral Council, said: “It has been wonderful to see such an outpouring of love and warmth for Paul O’Grady following the sad news of his death, along with the many donations directed to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, a charity we all know from his television work was close to his heart.

“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.”