Paul O’Grady admitted he was “in heaven” while filming his latest TV documentary just months before his shocking death aged 67 last year.
It was announced that Paul had died “unexpectedly but peacefully” from a sudden cardiac arrhythmia at home with his partner Andre Portasio on March 28.
His last television project was Paul O’Grady’s Big Elephant Adventure, on which he was finishing work just days before he died.
The documentary was filmed in Thailand and Laos in December 2022, while Paul’s voiceover work was completed in the weeks before his death.
The two-part series, which will air over Easter on ITV, will follow Paul as he helps out at the centers caring for endangered species.
Paul O’Grady admitted he was “in heaven” while filming his latest TV documentary just months before his shocking death aged 67 last year.
According to the show’s producer and Paul’s lifelong friend, Claire Barton, while he was at one of the centres, despite being covered in mud and almost falling, Paul declared that he was “in heaven”.
A teaser clip for the series shows Paul taking a hit from an elephant named Lotus, as he turns to apologize to her for not paying enough attention to her.
Paul laughs and jokes: ‘I don’t stand a chance, do I!’
The producer of the show and Paul’s lifelong friend. Claire Barton said: “Paul wanted to highlight the plight of elephants, which fascinated him throughout his life.
“We didn’t know this would be the last TV series Paul would film before his death last year.”
The series will focus on the efforts of talk center workers to rescue and rehabilitate wild elephants.
While filming was completed in late 2022, it was only edited and finalized in the days before Paul’s sudden death.
In February 2023, Claire revealed how she met with Paul for meetings before he recorded voiceovers for the show.
His last television project was Paul O’Grady’s Big Elephant Adventure, on which he was finishing work just days before he died.
A teaser clip for the series shows Paul taking a hit from an elephant named Lotus, as he turns to apologize to her for not paying enough attention to her.
The producer of the show and Paul’s lifelong friend. Claire Barton said: “Paul wanted to highlight the plight of elephants, which fascinated him throughout his life.”
He admitted that if they had worked Paul’s usual schedule, the work may never have been completed, but he wrote in the radio times I was eager to move forward.
She wrote: ‘But Paul was flying through the comment. For the first time in 18 years of working together, Paul suggested that he go ahead and finish recording the voiceover. We completed the films with Paul’s voice that afternoon. The date was March 15, 2023. It would be the last time I would see Paul.
Claire also heartbreakingly revealed that Paul had big plans for more TV shows together, which will now never happen.
The duo had worked together on different shows for 20 years and were already in the initial process of exchanging new ideas.
According to Claire, these ideas included a series about the African elephant, as well as another about wild dogs and wolves in Canada, which would be filmed the same year.
The series is a nod to Paul’s lifelong love of animals, after spending much of his later life filming his show, For The Love Of Dogs, at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.
The series will end with a tribute to Paul, which reads: ‘In loving memory of Paul O’Grady MBE 1955-2023’
Paul O’Grady’s Big Elephant Adventure starts Sunday night at 8pm on ITV and ITVX.
The series is a nod to Paul’s lifelong love of animals, after spending much of his later life filming his show, For The Love Of Dogs, at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home (pictured).
