Paul O'Grady was devastated his best friend Cilla Black missed out on his wedding.
Paul O'Grady and the late Cilla Black
The 'Blind Date' host married his partner Andre Portasio - who he has been with for 11 years - in a secret ceremony at The Goring Hotel in London last month in front of their close friends and family members but, although it was the happiest day of his life, he "deeply missed" his late pal, who sadly died in 2015, though he knew she would be happy for them.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror newspaper, he said: "She would be over the moon. It was just such a shame she wasn't there. She wouldn't have sung. She would never sing in public. If anyone said, 'Cilla, give us a song', she'd say, 'I can't, me voice is bad, but Paul will'. She wouldn't get up at a wedding. She never used to sing in the shower or round the house."
Although the pair have been together over a decade, Paul, 62, has admitted he never thought about getting hitched until his friend Julian Clary put the idea in his head.
He explained: "Julian put the seed in my head. He said, 'I've got married. You should'. And he's right, then you protect your partner. If anything happens to me, he is protected. It makes sense. Married life is the same as before. We have known each other so long. Nothing has changed, really. And it's nice. I like saying I'm married - better than saying I'm a divorcee, which I was before. You feel more committed. You have made a vow, you have to stick to it. But we still fight like cat and dog."
Paul was previously married to Portuguese model Teresa Fernandez from 1977 to 2005.
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