O'Grady was preparing to go on stage in 1987 when a police officer burst into his dressing room.
, became a star for his comedy and presenting - not to mention his love of dogs. But one pre-fame story shows his role in fighting for LGBT rights.
. "When I came out on the stage, the place was heaving [with police] and they were all wearing rubber gloves.What might have seemed like a throwaway line has gone down in history as an example of deadpan defiance in the face of suspicion and often hostility towards gay people.Lily Savage performing for a packed crowd at Manhattans' first birthday in 1990
Around that time, newspapers were warning about the use of amyl nitrate, also known as poppers. It was described in the Sunday Telegraph as "the new danger drug in the pub, as easy to buy as crisps", which could make "users more vulnerable to the killer Aids virus".
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