As a renowned canine lover, Paul O’Grady would’ve been only too happy to attend to wounded puppies in India while filming his ITV documentary series For the Love of Dogs.
However, he’s revealed that he almost DIED for his kindness after falling seriously ill during filming.
The Cheshire-born star collapsed after picking up an infection from the dogs, and was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment.
The Blind Date host told The Mirror: “[The dogs] had been bitten by rats and there were maggots in them. I must’ve touched my mouth with my hand, and I started vomiting at five in the morning.”
Arriving at hospital, he was told by doctors that he was at risk of suffering kidney failure – but luckily, they were able to save his life.
And having previously suffered three heart attacks, the veteran entertainer claims that he’s living on borrowed time.
He continued: “I used to think I was invincible, but now I’m running out of lives. I’m not scared of death at all… It’s the way you die that worries me — that’s the fear.”
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Where once upon a time Paul would regularly be seen on TV hamming it up as his drag-artist alter-ego Lily Savage, these days he seems to prefer making programmes about our four-legged friends.
But sometimes, that role can be every bit as hilarious as his previous one.
Just a couple of days ago, he had viewers in stitches when he made a brief appearance on ITV’s This Morning.
He was there to promote his new book, Paul O’Grady’s Country Life, and was telling Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford how he’d given up the city life for a more idyllic existence in the sticks.
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At that point, a dog that he’d brought with him from Battersea Dogs Home decided to have a wee on the hay bale Paul was sitting on.
Back in August, O’Grady married his partner, former English National Ballet dancer Andre Portasio, 37.
Among the guests at the London ceremony were Ian McKellen, Julian Clary and former EastEnders actor Michael Cashman.