Burnley 'Shameless' actress Alice Barry pays tribute to 'beautiful and thoughtful' Paul O'Grady

Alice, who made her name on the hit TV comedy drama Shameless, was a guest on The Paul O’Grady Show twice, being invited on as the host was a big fan of the series.

Paul, who died unexpectedly this week aged 67, was a “lovely and genuine man”, according to Alice who contacted the Burnley Express to make a personal and heartfelt tribute to the popular entertainer.

She said: “Paul was a big fan of Shameless and my character Lillian and invited me on to his chat show twice in a short space of time. The first time I was a guest with fellow Shameless actor Sean Gilder and we performed a sketch of ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’.

“I will never forget Paul’s generosity. My changing room was full of gifts that he had left such as cakes, chocolate, perfume and flowers. He also presented me with a signed copy of his book. That’s just the kind of man he was.

“He had a great sense of humour, cheeky without being offensive. I knew he had been slightly unwell for a bit but I was still shocked to hear that he had died.

“Paul was a one-off – a lovely, beautiful man who was very thoughtful and will be sadly missed by so many people.”

O’Grady, who initially hit the big time with his drag queen persona Lily Savage, also became a household favourite with his long-running Paul O’Grady Show on ITV and Channel 4, and his deep love of animals.