Paul O’Grady remembered at Olivier Awards alongside Darius Danesh and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s son

The 2023 ceremony paid tribute to those who have passed away over the last 12 months, including Dame Angela Lansbury, Dame Hilary Mantel and Burt Bacharach
Paul O’Grady was honoured along with Darius Danesh, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s son and others who had passed away
John Stillwell/PA Wire
Lisa McLoughlin 3 April 2023
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Paul O’Grady was one of the many stars remembered during this year’s Olivier Awards, held at London’s Royal Albert Hall on Sunday night.

While the event recognises the achievements of stage stars, the 2023 ceremony took time out of their celebrations to pay tribute to those who have sadly passed away.

As well as O’Grady, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s son Nicholas, and Darius Campbell Danesh were notably remembered alongside Dame Angela Lansbury, Dame Hilary Mantel, Burt Bacharach, Bernard Cribbins, and Kay Mellor.

The In Memoriam segment was accompanied by a performance of Seasons Of Love from Rent while photos of those that have gone too soon where flashed on screen.

The In Memoriam segment also paid tribute to Darius Campbell Danesh
PA Wire

O’Grady’s death shocked the nation last week, as the presenter and comedian died “unexpectedly but peacefully” aged 67 on Tuesday night.

His husband, Andre Portasio, confirmed the news in a statement last Wednesday, writing: “It is with great sadness that I inform you that Paul has passed away unexpectedly but peacefully yesterday evening.

“We ask, at this difficult time, that whilst you celebrate his life you also respect our privacy as we come to terms with this loss.

“He will be greatly missed by his loved ones, friends, family, animals and all those who enjoyed his humour, wit and compassion.

“I know that he would want me to thank you for all the love you have shown him over the years.”

Close friend of the Lily Savage star, Linda Thorson, revealed that he died in his own bed, while tributes poured in and special episodes of Blankety Blank as well as For the Love of Dogs aired in the wake of O’Grady’s passing.

Just three weeks before his death, O’Grady had finished playing Miss Hannigan in a theatre production of Annie touring the UK.

Elsewhere, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber confirmed last month that his son Nicholas, 43, had died following a gastric cancer battle on March 23.

While Pop Idol star Darius Campbell Danesh, who was remembered during the thoughtful segment, died on August 11 aged just 41.

An autopsy report revealed that the West End star died accidentally as the result of “toxic effects of chloroethane” which had been inhaled.

Suffocation was also cited to have contributed to his death.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in