Who Is Brendan Murphy? ITV’s Paul O’Grady Special Ends With Poignant Tribute
ITV viewers were left in awe with the special one-hour show which paid tribute to late comedian Paul O’Grady just weeks after his death.
Brendan Murphy is an Australian public servant, health executive, and nephrologist who served as the Chief Medical Officer of Australia from 4 October 2016 before beginning as the Secretary of the Department of Health on July 13, 2020. Murphy was born in 1995 and educated at Preshil, Melbourne Grammar School, and Trinity College within the University of Melbourne. He got married to a lawyer and university administrator Sally Walker in 1979 and has two sons.
Who Is Brendan Murphy?
He was a nephrologist by profession and was formerly president of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Nephrology. Murphy was the first medical doctor to be appointed to the public servant position of Secretary of the Department of Health in its current incarnation, and since Dr. Howells, who was Secretary to the former Department of Health until 1982. On November 2, 2020, Murphy was named Australian Capital Territory’s Australian of the Year. In June 2022, Murphy was appointed Companion of the Order of Australia on the 2022 Queen’s birthday, to research and innovation and to professional organizations.
At the end of March, the comedian and presenter Paul O’Grady died unexpectedly at the age of 67. ITV dedicated an hour-long documentary to the late star, Paul. Looking at back at his career, however, viewers were left in tears at the emotional special. On March 29, Paul’s partner Andre Portasio confirmed the 67-year-old had died while at home. The comedian, who was also known for his drag queen behavior Lily Savage, had a longstanding working relationship with ITV, who decided to air a celebratory film in his memory.
During the hour-long episode, the documentary featured clips of the late star himself along with interviews from his closest friends such as Carol Vorderman and Julian Clary. For his love for Paul, the tribute was paid to the presenter’s career in the industry along with hearing from members of staff from a dog’s and cat’s home, a charity he was heavily involved with.
At the end of the documentary, it closed with a moving tribute to honor Paul’s ex-partner and former manager Brendan Murphy. The closing credits displayed the message ‘RIP Brendan Murphy’ as viewers quickly took to social media to praise the moving documentary and sweet tribute to Brendan. Many people tweeted after seeing the heartfelt tribute given to Paul. Brendan and Paul were together for 25 years before he died from a brain tumor that stopped operating in 2005. In the past, the comedian had spoken about the death of his friend and the impact it had on his life.
A decade later, Paul found happiness once again when he went on to marry Andre Portasio, who told the news of Paul’s death to the world. Paul is greatly missed by his loved ones, family, friends, animals, and all those who enjoyed his humor, wit, and compassion.
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