Est: 2016
SPOTLIGHT ON
PAUL
O'GRADY
Paul James O'Grady MBE DL was an English comedian, broadcaster, drag queen, actor, and writer. He achieved notability in the London gay scene during the 1980s with his drag persona Lily Savage, through which he gained broader popularity in the 1990s.
PANTOMIME HISTORY
PANTOMIME APPEARANCES
1999/00: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Birmingham Hippodrome)
2000/01: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (The Mayflower, Southampton)
2003/04: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Bristol Hippodrome)
2004/05: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Victoria Palace, London)
2012/13: Aladdin – A Wish Come True (02 Arena)
2015: Cinderella (Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham)
2016/17: Cinderella (Palladium)
2019/20: Golilocks and the Three Bears (Palladium)
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SPOTLIGHT FACT
. Known for his sharp wit
and audience interaction,
he often brought
his famous drag
alter-ego, Lily Savage, to panto roles
THE PAUL O'GRADY PLAYERS
Between 2005 - 2009 everyone used to run home from work and school to watch the PAUL O'GRADY SHOW on ITV and CHANNLE 4.
The Paul O'Grady Show was a British comedy chat show presented by Paul himself. The programme is a teatime chat show consisting of a mixture of celebrity guests, comic stunts, musical performances, and occasionally viewer competitions.
Every year, the show had an annual Christmas pantomime. Roughly 15 guest stars appeared in the panto. There was always one narrator, who told the story throughout the panto. This had been Antony Cotton, Dawn French, Kate Thornton, Sandi Toksvig and Stephen Fry. The panto ran roughly for the whole show, with usually five minutes left at the end when O'Grady and the stars answered the questions that had been e-mailed in by the viewers. However, in the 2006 panto, Peter Pan, the panto only ran for roughly 40 minutes, ending around 5.40 pm. After this, O'Grady interviewed Dawn French, who was the narrator, as he would do on a normal show. There was then, as usual, the organ game and O'Grady and all the stars then answered e-mails sent in by the viewers. The panto was always on the last Wednesday before Christmas, meaning that it was always broadcast live.
The pantos were:
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2005: The Wizard of Oz
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2006: Peter Pan
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2007: Cinderella
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2008: Pinocchio
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2009: Sleeping Beauty (broadcast on 14 December instead of 16 December)
Jo Brand was the only celebrity who appeared in the panto every year. O'Grady thanked Brand for her appearance in every annual panto on the show after the fifth and final panto on 14 December 2009.
The pantomime did not return in the 2013 revival.
The Paul O'Grady Show pantomime was always a highlight in the show's calendar and once again Paul (under his creative decision) brought the joy of pantomime into everyone's home. What a fantastic person! ​
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How do we start this section? What a wonderful man! In every role he ever undertook he
was always the star of the show and the professional. His work in the world of pantomime
might not be as grand as others but his performances are always spoken about over the year.
It was wonderful to be at SLEEPING BEAUTY at the London Palladium in 2026 when the show
started with a video looking back at the 10 year of palladium panto. Paul's face filled the screen and
every member in the audience started clapping. What a moment - even when passing he's still making people smile and entertaining people till this day. I remember watching the PAUL O'GRADY show (running back after school - like many of us did) and seeing what madness would be in the pantomime.
Every year they would come up with more stars, silliness and fun for the whole family to enjoy! This summed up Paul in it's core! Bringing the magic of theatre and panto into everyone home! You are a true star and one I wished I got to see LIVE on stage!
A NOTE FROM GARY L JOHNSON
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A NOTE FROM TOMMY J
BILLS / POSTERS
cast photos
Special thanks to Jamie for sharing these images with us!
