Paul O’Grady tried traditional Thai medicine to subdue his heart problems before his tragic death.
Paul O’Grady tried traditional Thai medicine to help his heart problems prior to his death last year
The beloved TV star passed away last year at the age of 67 after a sudden cardiac arrhythmia and it has now been revealed that he took some herbal remedies for his heart problems after travelling to Thailand for his final TV appearance in the documentary 'Paul O'Grady's Great Elephant Adventure'.
During the ITV show, Paul spotted a doctor offering herbal treatment and remarked: “That’s got me thinking about my own aches and pains.
“Look at this, like something out of ‘Harry Potter’.
“And this shop specialises in traditional Thai medicine. How about something for the heart? Then there are the varicose veins, the bad back, the eyesight, and a few personal things I won’t go into!”
Recently, it was revealed that the ‘Lily Savage’ drag star’s dog Arfur had heartbreakingly “nuzzled his face” during his final moments.
Paul’s widow Andre Portasio told the Daily Mirror newspaper: “The saddest part of this all is that when all of this happened, and as I was trying to resuscitate him, I was trying to keep the dogs out of the room.
“But somehow Paul’s dog Arfur, who is one of his favourites, escaped and he nuzzled his face as he always did on Paul’s shoulder, as if to say ‘wake up’. It was just heartbreaking.”
Andrea said that the day of his husband’s passing was “the most ordinary day”, with the beloved comedian waking up “really late” as he had just come home after a live tour.
He recounted: “Usually, he would stagger down from the bedroom with his hair on end and moaning it was the beginning of the day.
“He loved a good moan but he had a meeting with his producer, Malcolm Prince, about his radio show and he was looking very smart in a white shirt, and had a good aura.”
Andre then recalled hearing a “loud bang” after Paul left to get a drink, but initially thought nothing of it.
He said: “He left to get some tea, and I heard this loud bang. But because the house is big and old, I didn’t think of anything at first.
“I started taking things out of the fridge. And all of a sudden, I could see him lying on the floor."