Wirral's independent local news website
Wirral Labour leader Janette Williamson has added her voice to the campaign to get a statue of Paul O’Grady in his hometown of Birkenhead.
“We are so proud of Paul and all he achieved, and I would love to see a statue of him in Birkenhead. The work he did for animal charities made such a difference and it would be lovely to have a lasting memorial to Paul, a friend to so many, here in his hometown. Maybe he could be joined by some of his many rescue animals too. I will be raising it at the council, and asking them to look at the options.”
A petition calling for a statue of Paul O’Grady to be put up in his hometown has now attracted more than 137,000 signatures.
The TV presenter and comedian died aged 67, and the petition was set up by Kieran Gabriel, who said, “Paul O’Grady passed away suddenly on March 28th and it only feels right to honour the life of such a great human being by immortalising him in statue form, in his hometown of Birkenhead.”
Many who signed the petition remembered Paul fondly for his TV shows, including ITV’s For The Love of Dogs, which focused on pets looking for new homes at Battersea. “Paul has left a huge legacy with his trailblazing work as a drag artist, social and political causes, LGBT rights and of course, his love of animals,” said Kieran, who suggested the memorial could be similar to one at Liverpool’s Cavern Club honouring the late entertainer Cilla Black, which was sculpted by Andy Edwards and Wirral artist Emma Rodgers.
“This is a petition to the Wirral Council, who must surely take stock of the huge outpouring of love in the wake of Paul’s passing. Liverpool has Cilla, Birkenhead deserves Paul.”
You can donate to the fundraiser for the statue, set up by Kieran, here
Image: Flickr user Steve Punter, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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