Lily to go the way of Loads'a

Drag queen and TV presenter Lily Savage is to be killed off by alter ego Paul O'Grady.

10:52 17 September 2004

Drag queen and TV presenter Lily Savage is to be killed off by alter ego Paul O'Grady.

It is not the first time one of the actors behind a well known alternative personality has decided enough is enough. Harry Enfield's loathsome yuppie Loads'a money was killed by the comic to allow him to move into other things. Mrs Merton also went quietly into the night freeing Caroline Ahern to become a Royale.

And time has now been called on the bleached-blonde and boozy Lily Savage.

For the last 20 years the man behind the mascara - Paul O'Grady - has strutted and sniped at guests and audience members alike, but the high heels and sparkly dresses are about to be packed away for good.

"I'm fed up with Lily," O'Grady revealed.

"Playing her is time consuming and uncomfortable and I've had enough," he added.

"When I started out in gay pubs, it was just a bit of fun. Now it's undignified and it's time to stop."

He will don the wig and lip gloss one more time to appear as the Wicked Queen in a pantomime this Christmas at London's Victoria Palace.

However, this will not be the last time we see O'Grady. Without the wig the Liverpudlian has agreed to appear as an estranged Dingle on soap Emmerdale and has his own chat show lined up on ITV 1, starting in October.