Paul O'Grady has secretly tied the knot.

Paul O'Grady

Paul O'Grady

The 'Blind Date' presenter and his partner Andre Portasio - who have been together for 11 years - got married at The Goring Hotel in London on August 5 in front of 50 of their closest friends and family members.

A source told The Sun on Sunday: "Paul is as happy as he's ever been to be married to Andre.

"They kept the wedding to just their closest family and friends and had a big lunch afterwards to celebrate."

Paul, 62 and Andre, 37 - a former dancer with the English National Ballet - celebrated their wedding with celebrity pals including actors Ian McKellen and Michael Cashman and comedian Julian Clary.

Guests were treated to champagne and canapes before enjoying a meal which included cured sea bream and glazed ox cheek.

Speaking previously about their relationship, Paul - who started dating Andre a year after his partner and business manager Brendan Murphy died suddenly in 2005 - said: "Our relationship just crept up on us. It took us by surprise when we were least expecting it."

Paul and Andre's marriage certificate states that the star's previous union was "dissolved", referring to his marriage of convenience with Portuguese model Teresa Fernandez.

The pair were legally married from 1977 to 2005.

Speaking about then marriage, Paul said: "Theresa, I call her the lesbian Portuguese barmaid, was lovely. She looked like David Cassidy.

"We worked in a club in Westbourne Grove, London, when I was 22. She was from a very strict Catholic family and was always being hassled by them: 'Why aren't you getting married?' So I said: 'Come on then, we'll get married', and we did.

"We were married for 27 years. I had no idea we were still married until my manager Brendan said, 'If anything happened to you, everything would go to your wife. It's like a real life 'Corrie' story line."


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