The horse-drawn hearse went past crowds of mourners, some of whom brought their dogs
Paul O’Grady’s funeral is taking place near his home in Kent, with fans lining the streets along with dogs from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.
The comedian and presenter, who died last month aged 67, is being laid to rest at a private service in Aldington.
Hundreds of mourners, some with pets, turned out to pay their respects to the For the Love of Dogs host.
Famous friends of O’Grady, including comic Alan Carr and TV presenter Gaby Roslin, are also attending the service.
Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, comedian Jo Brand, Coronation Street’s Sally Lindsay, celebrity chef Andi Oliver, LGBT rights campaigner Peter Tatchell and EastEnders actresses Cheryl Fergison and Linda Henry are at St Rumwold’s Parish Church.
Image source, PA Media
O’Grady’s husband Andre Portasio (right) rode with a dog on the funeral carriage
Image source, PA Media
O’Grady had a strong connection with animals, including those on his TV show
A dog called Ernie, from the Battersea animal home, where O’Grady filmed his ITV series, also greeted people arriving for the funeral.
Ali Taylor, head of canine behaviour at Battersea, said: “Ernie met Paul two years ago when he was about five weeks old. He’s met him several times. We felt he should come along today.
“It’s going to be a tough day for everyone. We’re here to really honour Paul and everything he has done for everyone, all the different communities, and especially Battersea.”
Image source, PA Media
One of the floral tributes was of O’Grady’s beloved dog Buster
Image source, PA Media
Rolling Stones star Ronnie and wife Sally were among those at the service
Another mourner, Astrid Allen, travelled with her dogs from Margate to line the streets in Aldington.
She told the BBC’s Colin Paterson that O’Grady had “put rehoming dogs on the map, and did so much for Battersea, for the LGBT community”.
“It’s going to be a happy but sad day,” she added.
Image source, PA Media
Fleur Boyd (left) and her mother Astrid Allen travelled from Margate
Image source, Getty Images
O’Grady lived in Kent for more than 20 years, and his coffin is expected to travel through the village in a horse drawn carriage.
Ben Dawson, co-headteacher of Aldington Primary School, whose pupils paid their respects with banners and pictures, recalled O’Grady appearing at school fetes.
“He would not just turn up and then go, he would stay and chat to the children. Everyone who met him would say what you see on the screen is what you see in real life. He was a larger-than-life character who lit up a room.
“As a community, we took him into our hearts and he took us into his.”
Image source, PA Media
Pupils and teachers from Aldington Primary School paid their respects with a sign saying “Thank you Mr O’Grady” and collages of their drawing of dogs
Claire Gates, a year two teacher at the school, said: “He was lovely and very, very appreciative of teaching, and always said how he could never do it.
“We are such a small village, it is lovely that he took a shine to us when he didn’t need to. He could have lived up the top of the hill and had nothing to do with us, but he didn’t. He made a conscious effort.”
O’Grady’s husband Andre Portasio posted in local Facebook groups inviting the local school and community to come out to mourn, expressing his “deep gratitude” for the “overwhelming outpouring of support and love” he had received.
“While the funeral will be a private ceremony, as many of you know, Paul cared a lot about his local community,” he wrote.
“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.”
Actor and peer Michael Cashman, a friend of O’Grady’s, told BBC Radio Kent he would read Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18, which begins “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”, at the service.
Lord Cashman said: “My heart will be grieving, but I’ll be smiling about the love and the fun.”
Image source, PA Media
The Walnut Tree Inn in Aldington ran a charity bake sale in memory of O’Grady
The presence of dogs from Battersea will signify O’Grady’s role as an ambassador for the animal home, as well as the connection through his popular TV series.
Following his death, Battersea set up a “tribute fund”, which has raised more than £270,000 for the charity.
Mourners also gathered with their dogs as part of a community event in Birkenhead, where the star was born and grew up.
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original tweet on Twitter
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip twitter post by Katie Haseldine
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
They had a minute’s applause before a sing-along to songs like Who Let The Dogs Out, with fans shouting “Paul!” in response.
As well as For The Love of Dogs, O’Grady was known for his drag queen persona Lily Savage and for hosting chat and game shows.
According to multiple reports, he died of sudden cardiac arrhythmia. The British Heart Foundation describes sudden arrhythmic death syndrome – or SADS – as when a person dies suddenly following a cardiac arrest where no obvious cause can be found.
