BRADLEY Walsh has paid tribute to the 'irreplaceable class act' Paul O'Grady following his heartbreaking death.
The beloved television presenter and former drag queen died earlier this year, aged 67.
His cause of death has since been revealed as a result of cardiac arrhythmia following a history of heart problems.
And now, ahead of Blankety Blank's return to the BBC, Bradley has paid tribute to him – and alter ego Lily Savage.
Speaking to The Sun's TV Mag, Walsh said: "Paul was an absolute genius, and his passing is a great loss.
"There was something so wonderful about his character Lily Savage. She had the most cutting tongue and could get away with just about anything.
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"I was lucky enough to feature as a contestant on the show when Lily was presenting. Paul was an irreplaceable class act."
Blankety Blank returns to the Beeb this evening from 9:35pm with a new batch of celebrity contestants.
Some of the stars set to be appear include Emma Willis, Sue Perkins and Anita Rani.
Bradley revealed there's still other famous faces he's trying to convince to take part in the revived format.
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He said: "We’ve had some brilliant names on the show and this series will see Jason Watkins, Dame Prue Leith, Alison Hammond and Shane Richie take to the panel, to name just a few.
"But I would love to see some more heavyweight actors give it a go – the likes of Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen and Dame Helen Mirren.
"I’ve asked Jodie Whittaker to come on the show so let’s see if she takes me up on that offer.
"The thing that makes this show works so well is that the celebs don’t take themselves seriously, they come on to have a laugh and god knows we have it!"
The Sun's TV Mag is available for free inside Saturday's newspaper.
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