Lilly limbers up for Dales

Paul O'Grady, better known as his alter ego Lily Savage, has said he will be appearing in Emmerdale after all.

10:29 01 September 2004

Lilly limbers up for Dales

Paul O'Grady, better known as his alter ego Lily Savage, has said he will be appearing in Emmerdale after all.

O'Grady was initially lined up to play a shunned gay Dingle cousin - but pulled out of the soap.

But the actor has now had a change of heart and is looking forward to strutting his stuff in the Woolpack.

"I'm going to do it. Hopefully my character is going to be the worst, the most rotten Dingle in the world!" he said.

But as much as O'Grady is looking forward to his new role - he does not want the soap to take over his life.

"I've told them I don't want to be in it for the rest of my life and that six weeks is my maximum," he explained.

But this has not dampened spirits on the soap set, where actors and crew are looking forward to working with the famous drag queen.

"Paul will prove to be a great short-term addition," a soap insider told the Daily Star.

"The audience is going to love him as the new member of the Dingle clan," they added.

Paul explained that he was not sure what plotlines he would be involved with, but that he will start work in a few months time.

"They're sending some [script] ideas over to me, so I'm just waiting to see what they come up with," the actor commented.

"I think it's going to be the beginning of next year [when I start work]," he added.