Paul O’Grady, a self-confessed lifelong soap fan, once had talks about a part in Emmerdale.
The presenter and comedian died on Tuesday March 28 at the age of 67. As tributes poured in for the star, talk has turned to all the things he’s appeared in on stage and screen.
But he nearly took a very different career path when he entered into talks with Emmerdale.
Was Paul O’Grady in Emmerdale?
In 2004, Yorkshire Television, who make the soap, confirmed they were talking to Paul O’Grady.
According to the Liverpool Echo at the time, Paul was set to join the Dingle family as a gay member of the infamous clan.
A Yorkshire TV spokeswoman said: “We are speaking with the star about the terms of how he may join us.
“He has been hinting at it throughout the Soap Awards, which he presented, and we think it will become a reality.
“It is down to timing. We are waiting for a moment when Paul O’Grady’s diary is clear, so he can do some filming. It should be good TV and a welcome addition to the soap.”
However, the casting never worked out. The appearance was only ever set to be for a few episodes and due to scheduling conflicts, it wasn’t possible.
What a shame!
Paul O’Grady in Holby City
One soap that did manage to make it work for Paul to appear was Holby City. He appeared in three episodes of the medical drama in 2013, playing a cancer patient named Tim Connor.
The storyline followed his character’s cancer battle as he befriended one of the ward’s sisters, Chrissie Williams.
At the time he expressed huge excitement to be in the drama saying he was a “big fan” of the show.
Paul on the soaps
Paul presented the British Soap Awards in 2004 and 2005. He also returned to present awards on other occasions throughout the years.
In 2018, the soap fan confessed he had stopped watching Coronation Street due to the depressing plots.
He told Best magazine: “It was about working-class life in a little street, but now it’s like Syria.
“There used to be these wonderful vignettes in the Rovers – a conversation about nothing.”
In 2012 Paul led the cast of Street of Dreams – a musical version of Coronation Street. He was the narrator who led the audience through 50 years of the Street in the form of song and dance.
However, the show quickly descended into disaster. Paul accused the producers of being “incompetent, inept and unprofessional”. His team launched legal action.
The production was cancelled after only a few performances. Reports on theatre industry website The Stage said they had seen an email to cast and crew from co-producer John Ward saying the production team were “far from happy with the show artistically and we are not prepared to take it out again in its present form”.
Read more: Coronation Street star Jodie Prenger makes heartwarming gesture in memory of Paul O’Grady
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