Savage, a play about Paul O’Grady’s rise to national treasure, to premiere in February

RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Danny Beard to step into Lily Savage’s heels in Jonathan Harvey’s play

Few showbusiness careers begin in a towering blond beehive in the gay pubs of Vauxhall and end with MPs pausing prime minister’s questions to pay tribute.

But a new play inspired by the life of Paul O’Grady will chart the beginning of that unlikely journey from care worker to Lily Savage, with her dextrous use of expletives, to national treasure presenting heartwarming teatime TV shows about rescue dogs with Queen Camilla.