Paul O’Grady has revealed how he once swallowed a stash of cannabis to avoid being caught with the drug at airport customs.
The chat show host was forced to take action after his late partner revealed he was in possession of the drug, as they prepared to board a flight at Bangkok airport.
Paul O'Grady
Given Thailand’s tough anti-drug laws, Paul realised the only thing to do was to swallow the cannabis, in order for him and Brendan Murphy to avoid a lengthy prison sentence.
The artist formerly known as Lily Savage made the revelation in his new book, 'Open The Cage, Murphy', extracts of which have been published in The Mirror.
Revealing how Brendan found it in the pocket of a coat he hadn’t worn in a while, Paul wrote: “I groaned, the film ‘Midnight Express’ instantly springing to mind - complete with a vision of Murphy and me sharing a rat-infested cell with John Hurt.
“‘You bloody fool,’ I said, as I saw to my horror two armed guards walking towards us. There was no sign of a bin and the guards were getting closer.
“There was only one thing for it,” he continued. “Taking it off him I popped it in my mouth and washed it down with the can of Coke I was holding.”
He said he then flew to Australia “blissfully out of my mind”, describing the feeling as “euphoric”.
The incident happened before Paul’s TV career took off, as he travelled to Australia as part of his Lily Savage tour, only stopping off in Thailand to refuel the plane.
Paul, pictured with Brendan in 2004
It isn’t the first time Paul has made shocking revelations about his past, as in 2008 he admitted that he carried out burglaries with friends in his teenage years
Writing in his first autobiography, he said: "In one heist we chose not to take anything except an oil painting of a ship and an old pirate's pistol.
"It was an indefensible crime and I make no attempt to absolve myself. I had done it out of boredom and an unquenchable thirst for excitement.
"I swear we did it just so we could have a good nose around the homes of the 'posh'. If ‘Location, Location, Location’ had been on the telly at the time none of it would have happened."