We all know Paul O'Grady is a man of many talents, but we were excited to hear the TV presenter and comedian has released his very first children's book.
Paul actually first gave writing children's books a go a few years back but it did not go well.
"It was 90,000 words long and it was ridiculous. I showed it to a couple of publishers who said, 'Paul, this is a bit much, for one it's too long. And it's a bit convoluted.' So then I just thought, well, it's not for me writing kids books," he tells us.
But Paul didn't give up and in lockdown, took to his laptop once more to create his very first children's novel: Eddie Albert and the Amazing Animal Gang.
You might think it should be easier to write a book for kids but Paul is quick to deny this.
"Because the book is only 30,000 words, I thought 'well you just dash that off in a week.' Far from it! Quite the opposite in fact. I think it's harder. You've got to be careful what you say and it's totally different, you can't be shoving big long words in."
But what's the book actually about?
"Eddie's got a very special talent, he can talk to animals. And he's embarrassed by this because he doesn't want to stand out from the crowd. He goes off to stay with his Auntie who he's never met in Amsterdam because his Dad has to go on a course," explains Paul. "While he's there, he gets pally with a little girl next door and together they try and rescue an orangutan from a hideous, villainess called Vera van Bloom who's just vile."
While many authors choose to base characters on themselves, Paul insists there's no part of him in any of the characters in his book.
"But the Auntie is based on a great friend of mine, Lady Elizabeth Anson who died last year. She used to run a company called Party Planners, that's where I first met her and she'd organise parties and she'd book an act. I did quite a few for her and we just became great friends," Paul remembers. "I knew her for 25 years, so there's a little bit of Liza, because she was the black sheep of her family, she was very outspoken and very outgoing. She had a wonderful laugh, wasn't in the least judgmental."
At the time of our chat, Paul's two grandchildren Abel and Minnie hadn't read his book as he wanted to wait until the illustrations were in for the full experience.
"They came to visit me last week. It was the first time I've seen them in two years," he tells us. "This six-footer walks in the door with (he growls) 'a voice down there' and this leggy, pretty thing aged 11 with waist-length hair, swanned in after with a handbag, and I thought 'Who are you two!?' They're really articulate and smart. It's amazing really when you hear them."
He's clearly a very proud Grandad - or GanGan as they call him: "I always think it sounds like a disease of the mouth," he admits - but what's he like?
"I'm a badly behaved one. I'm the one who says 'Shall we take the roof down on the car and put the music on full belt and put our foot down?' They love it." he cackles. "I'll say things that are deliberately untoward so they gasp and my daughter will tell me off."
Paul's grandchildren are pretty used to his ways. "I've come down dressed as Maleficent in the past. But they haven't flinched, they've just looked up at me and looked away again, eating their breakfast. I just found it at the bottom of the wardrobe and I thought 'I'll sling this on and go downstairs.' And I put the music on the Bluetooth. It's taken as normal, which is a bit of a worry."
Given his love of animals, it's unsurprising that Paul's new book features animals so heavily. But has he had a standout animal encounter in his career?
"I've been so lucky, I've worked with orangutans, rhinos, elephants, cheetahs, leopards, you name it and of course, I've been equally lucky because I've been able to get hands-on, unlike a tourist. So at Sepilok, the orangutangs sanctuary, I was given a baby called Archie who didn't like strangers. And of course, he bonded with me and I bonded with him. I didn't want to leave. In fact, if I was 18, that's where I'd been now, working as a volunteer," he says wistfully.
We ask whether Paul has ever been tempted to give up all his fame and fortune.
"For like the last 30 years I've been saying this. There are aspects of it I love, you see and then there are other sides I don't like. I can't be doing with award ceremonies. I tell you, I have to really brace myself before I get out of the car. You see the red carpet and the noise and I think 'Oh god, I'm not up for this.' Honestly, I'm really not and people think I'd be the opposite. I wait till there's a really beautiful young woman who's half-dressed and then when the photographers are going mad, I'll run behind her quickly."
While he hasn't had any new additions to his animal brood since his Jack Russell/Pug/Dachshund cross puppy Nancy last year, Paul has been considering adding an alpaca or two to his farm.
"Last year we did a series about Kent and I filmed on an alpaca farm. There was a mum and a baby who followed me everywhere. They kept saying 'can you get rid of the alpaca?' and I fell in love with it. It's like something Disney drew. They're so funny. They're just lovely creatures."
We're excited to find out what's next for Paul and as well as some more children's books in his series, his new show on ITV Paul O'Grady's Saturday Night Line Up has recently hit our TV screens.
"So the public will ask a question like 'Who would be most likely to make a fool of themselves at a celebrity party?'" Paul explains. "Then they all decide amongst themselves who would be the worst behaved and they'll all have an anecdote about when they've been at a party and then the public vote and they have to line up to see if they get the same answer as the public. It's a very simple format and it works, it's very funny."
Buy Paul's children's book
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