Paul O'Grady has shared the devastating news that his beloved pet dog Boycie has passed away. The TV star made the announcement on Monday via his close friend Malcolm Prince's Twitter account, in a message that read: "A message from Paul… Sadly, he had to say goodbye to Boycie today. He asked me to share this photo." Malcom, who is a BBC producer, also shared a photo of Paul and Boycie cuddling on the sofa.
Watch this incredible throwback video of Paul O'Grady and Amanda Holden asking animal lovers to donate food to rescue dogs
However, earlier in the week the 63-year-old started an Instagram account, and on it, announced that he had adopted a brand new pup, little Nancy. Sharing an adorable photo of the puppy – that Paul adopted from Battersea Dog's Home – Paul wrote: "Just thought I’d let you all know at Battersea how Nancy is doing. She’s twice her size, extremely confident, loves her grub and when she’s not terrorising Arfur (who’s mad on her) she likes to pose for glamour shots on her faux fur rug. Keep well and see you soon that’s if Nancy hasn’t chewed my foot off."
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Paul's friend first shared the news of Boycie's passing
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It's certainly been a difficult few weeks for the presenter, who in March announced that he had stepped down from his BBC Radio 2 show in order to go into self-isolation.
Due to a pre-existing heart condition, Paul is in the at-risk category. In his message, which was shared on BBC Radio 2's Twitter account on Monday, the star explained: "I'd only been back for one show after an absence and I'm off again! But I'm one of these people who falls into the category of underlying health problems and that's because I've had heart attacks." He added: "I've been strongly advised to self-isolate, so that's exactly what I'm doing."
Paul then thanked the NHS staff for all their efforts as well as stand-in host Paddy O'Connell. "And a big thank you to everyone in the NHS for all they're doing," he said. "I'll speak to you all when all this is finished so take care and once again Paddy, thanks very much and have a good show."
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