Paul O'Grady: The Sheffield club called Rockies, off Attercliffe Road, where Lily Savage was once a regular

Before Paul became a household name, presenting hit show Blankety Blank as the drag queen Lily Savage in the early noughties, he was a regular performer in Sheffield and has spoken affectionately of his time in the city.

Chatting to BBC Radio Sheffield presenter Paulette Edwards in 2013, he recalled performing twice a month at Rockies, an old gay club on the corner of Attercliffe Road and Effingham Road, which was later known as the Dirty Dollar and is now a bathroom warehouse.

The Northern Scene: gay guide to northern England listed Rockies Club as one of the main ‘gay friendly’ venues in the region in 1993.

Paul told Paulette: “It’s been a long time since I’ve been in Sheffield, down the Attercliffe Road. I used to love working there. I used to do two Sundays a month in Rockies. I just used to get up and do my act, you know, Lily, and then I eventually started doing the theatres, the Lyceum and all that. I did Prisoner Cell Block H there, I’ve done all sorts there.”

Asked whether he would consider returning to the stage in Sheffield, he said: “No, I wouldn’t tour again now, me. I had 25 years of it, you know, and it takes its toll on you. I loved it, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t think I could do it now.”

Paul, who was also an accomplished actor and in his later years was best known as a chat show host and dog lover, tragically died ‘unexpectedly but peacefully’ last Tuesday, aged just 67.