Paul O’Grady fans were left in tears as his final ever TV appearance in Great Elephant Adventure aired on Sunday night.
It was announced Paul had died ‘unexpectedly but peacefully’ from sudden cardiac arrhythmia at home with his partner Andre Portasio on March 28 2023 aged 67.
His final TV project was Paul O’Grady’s Great Elephant Adventure, which he was finalising his work on just days before he died.
The documentary was filmed across Thailand and Laos in December 2022, while Paul’s voiceover work was completed in the weeks leading up to his death.
The two-part series started last week on ITV1 with the final instalment airing on Sunday evening.
Paul O’Grady fans were left in tears as his final ever TV appearance in Great Elephant Adventure aired on Sunday night
His final TV project was Paul O’Grady’s Great Elephant Adventure, which he was finalising his work on just days before he died
And fans were finding the watch emotional as they wrote: ‘Watching the lovely Paul O’Grady’s elephants, he looks so happy! He is so missed and I am sobbing.’,
‘Even the Elephants knew just how special Paul was and the empathy he had for animals and it’s a special memory that, thankfully, they’ll never forget.’,
‘I still can’t believe he’s not here. What a wonderful man he was.’,
‘Watched Paul O’Grady Great Elephant Adventure, what a wonderful program as always Paul was caring and funny ,a brilliant man ,a great watch #PaulOGrady #elephants.’,
‘Did you watch Paul O’Grady with the elephants Jan? Broke my heart watching him.’,
‘I really miss Paul O’Grady, what a lovely gentleman.’,
‘Paul O’Grady had a heart the size of an elephant. The world really has lost a treasure.’,
‘Well, that was a wonderful programme and a fitting tribute. Still can’t believe Paul O’Grady is not here anymore.’
According to the show’s producer and Paul’s longtime friend, Claire Barton, while he was at one of the centres, despite being covered in mud and nearly tumbling over Paul declared that he was ‘in heaven’.
The documentary was filmed across Thailand and Laos in December 2022, while Paul’s voiceover work was completed in the weeks leading up to his death
The two-part series started last week on ITV1 with the final instalment airing on Sunday evening
And fans were finding the watch emotional as they wrote: ‘Watching the lovely Paul O’Grady’s elephants, he looks so happy! He is so missed and I am sobbing’
Claire said: ‘Paul wanted to highlight the plight of elephants, which fascinated him throughout his life.
‘Little did we know that this would be the last TV series Paul would film before his death last year.’
The series focused on the efforts of workers at the conversation centres 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.
She admitted that if they had worked at Paul’s usual the job may never have been completed, but she wrote in the Radio Times he was keen to crack on.
She wrote: ‘But Paul was flying through the commentary. For the first time in 18 years of working together, Paul suggested that he crack on and finish recording the voiceover. We completed the films with Paul’s voice on them that afternoon. The date was 15 March 2023. It would be the last time I ever saw Paul.’
Claire also heartbreakingly revealed that she had Paul had great plans for more TV shows together, which will now never be made.
The series focused on the efforts of workers at the conversation centres to rescue and rehabilitate wild elephants
According to the show’s producer and Paul’s longtime friend, Claire Barton, while he was at one of the centres, despite being covered in mud and nearly tumbling over Paul declared that he was ‘in heaven’
Paul was a lover of animals and is pictured here in 2015 with a baby elephant for the series Paul O’Grady’s Animal Orphans
The duo had worked together on different shows for 20 years and were already in the early process of bouncing new ideas around.
According to Claire, these ideas included a series on the African elephant as well as one about wild dogs and wolves in Canada, set to 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 ended with a tribute to Paul, which read: ‘In loving memory of Paul O’Grady MBE 1955-2023.’
