Paul O’Grady once sent a message to Coronation Street’s Jodie Prenger in the months after he died and she took on a theatre role he had always wanted to see her play
11:57, 06 Nov 2025
Paul O’Grady once sent a message to a Coronation Street actress in the months after he passed away(Image: PA)
Paul O’Grady sent a message to a Coronation Street actress in the months after he passed away. The TV legend died in March 2023 at the age of 67 after years of suffering from heart problems, and now his former producer Malcolm Prince has revealed that he is ‘still haunting him’ to this day.
The Lily Savage star was good friends with actress Jodie Prenger, who is now best known to viewers as Glenda Shuttleworth on ITV’s Coronation Street, but initially made her name in West End theatre after winning the part of Nancy in Oliver! through the BBC talent search I’d Do Anything in 2008. At the time of his death, Paul had been sharing the role of Miss Hannigan with Jodie in a nationwide tour of the classic musical Annie.
According to Malcolm, Paul had always rallied for Jodie to take on the tough part of Mama Rose in the legendary musical Gypsy, and while she did not manage to do it while he was alive, she did commit to the role for a one-night-only production that was staged by Hope Mill Theatre in February 2024 at the Manchester Opera House.
READ MORE: Coronation Street’s Jodie Prenger promises more comedy after criticism over dark scenesREAD MORE: Paul O’Grady had secret eating disorder which ‘stemmed from Lily Savage’Jodie Prenger now plays Rovers barmaid Glenda Shuttleworth in Coronation Street but had a huge career in theatre before taking on the soap role
Malcolm, who has just released the book It’s Not The Same Without You in memory of his close friend, revealed during an appearance on ITV’s Lorraine that Paul communicated with him and Jodie during a meeting at the actress’ house before she played the part.
He said: “I talk about him as though he’s still here. He is haunting me. The ghost comes to the flat, I know he does and when I went to interview Jodie Prenger, we were up at her home, talking about Gypsy, his favourite, he was desperate for Jodie to do it and all the lights went out. She can afford the electricity don’t worry! It was Savage. That was Savage. And he’s still haunting me.”
Following her rise to fame on I’d Do Anything, on which she appeared alongside Jessie Buckley, Samantha Barks and Wicked star Rachel Tucker, Jodie played the part of Nancy for over a year before going on to star in other classic musicals like Calamity Jane, Les Miserables and Tell Me On A Sunday. She even played the part of Coronation Street icon Elsie Tanner in the short-lived musical that was written in celebration of the programme’s 50th anniversary.
The TV star has also acted in plays like Shirley Valentine and Abigail’s Party, and made appearances on Loose Women whilst also sitting in for Paul on his radio show from time to time.
Malcolm has revealed how Paul ‘switched the lights off’ at Jodie’s house when they were discussing a part he had always wanted her to play(Image: ITV)
As she was gearing up to take on the part of Mama Rose, Jodie admitted it was something she’d ‘always wanted’ to do and was hoping to raise money for the small theatre company with her starring role.
At the time, she said: “There’s a 25-piece orchestra and it’s just, lyrically, its ones of Sondheim’s just brilliant pieces and I’ve always wanted to-do a Sondheim, selfishly, but I think this came about with the boys.
“I don’t know how much people know, but it came about… he still had his ore in!… Paul O’Grady said I should do it. So, it’s one of the shows that they decided to-do.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, they were talking about it, and he says, ‘our Jodie’, he always calls us, ‘our Jodie should do it’. So, it’s kind of a bit of a nod to him, but we just want to raise lots of money to keep them going because they are brilliant.”
The musical is based on the true story of Rose Thompson Hovick, the pushy stage mother of stripper Gypsy Rose Lee, who would stop at nothing to make her daughter into a star.
The part has been played by showbiz legends like Bette Middler, Angela Lansbury and Imelda Staunton over the course of the musical’s almost 70-year history, and features standards like Everything’s Coming Up Roses, Together Wherever We Go and Let Me Entertain You.
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