Paul O'Grady

“If I wanted your opinion, I'd slap it outta ya.”

“When my dog Buster died, I couldn't get over it. I was in bits.”

“I still consider myself working class. I know my circumstances have changed dramatically since I was growing up back in Birkenhead.”

“Mum and Dad died of heart problems, my grandparents died of it, my sister has had mini strokes, my brother has had a heart attack - it's genetic; there's nothing I can do.”

“Taking a pay cut won't demotivate me, not at all. It's not about money in the first place. It's about the job.”

“Comedy, your funny bone, is formed in childhood.”

“It's become normal for me to walk on set as Popeye, Frankenstein or an Elf or even a chicken.”

“I am quite happy to take a cut. You've got to, if you want to work and continue working.”

“I think it's bad for fellas when they lose their mothers. Mine was such a character. Oh it was sad, really sad. And, with her gone, the family home was gone, so what was left of any roots I had were completely dug up.”

“I'm not a businessman. I could pack it in, but I like work. I don't want to sound like Catherine Cookson, but I've worked since I was eight, with a paper round and in a fruit and veg shop.”

“I dress up as a middle-aged prostitute and do a game show.”

“The worst drivers are women in people carriers, men in white vans and anyone in a baseball cap. That's just about everyone.”

“Times are hard and friends are few.”

“I don't go for glamour roles.”

“You can draw the character out of pets, and you can make them your friends, but they are animals, and they have to be allowed to live the lives of animals.”

“I know it's a cliche, but I didn't want to work in an office.”

“I only like doing live telly. It's great because you go in and do it and then go home. No edit, no retakes.”

“The person I always enjoy having a meal with is Cilla Black. I might not see her for months, but then I'll pick her up at her flat, and we'll go to a restaurant, and it's like I've seen her that morning.”

“I like to travel, and I would love to be fluent in at least four languages.”

“I was a really picky eater as a child. Because I was obsessed by Popeye, my mum and aunts would put my food in a can to represent spinach and we'd hum the Popeye tune and then I'd happily eat it.”