Paul O’Grady’s grieving best pal reveals his touching final wish for friends and family at his funeral
PAUL O’Grady’s grieving best friend has told of the star’s final wish for friends and family at his funeral.
The comic died “unexpectedly but peacefully” on Tuesday leaving fans devastated.
Former Casualty actress Amanda Mealing, 55, was a close pal of Paul‘s for 35 years.
Revealing he wanted a funny send-off, Amanda told the Mirror: “Whatever happens, Paul‘s funeral will be a celebration of his life and it will be full of laughter.
“He just told us to have a good time – he’d hate it if everyone was mawkish and morose.
“He would just say, ‘I don’t care, I won’t be here! Do whatever you want’.”
It’s believed there’s talks about having two funerals for Paul, who leaves behind his husband Andre Portasio.
Amanda has been supporting the heartbroken widower who told her about Paul’s death in a text at 1am.
She rushed to the house they shared and has spent days living there “crying and laughing with tears”.
They had spoken on the phone just days before he died, with Amanda insisting he was “feeling great”.
She added to the newspaper: “I’m heartbroken for me because I’ve lost my best friend, but I’m not heartbroken for Paul because he absolutely rinsed his life.
“He got absolutely everything he could out of it and that is wonderful.
“He lived 67 lives with the adventures he created in his life and the things he did and the places he would go. He did everything he could and he never had regrets.”