Comedian, teatime talk show host and all-round entertainer, multi-award winning Paul O'Grady is one of the most popular figures on British television.But his real-life journey has been more dramatic than any of his on-stage stories.Born into a noisy Irish Catholic household in Birkenhead, Paul was always determined to live a colourful life. He was a boxing champion as a boy. He became a dad as a teenager. He has been a barman in a brothel and spent his first years in London working as a carer to some of the capital's most at-risk kids.In this, the first major biography of the star, Neil Simpson reveals the extraordinary highs and the terrible lows of Paul's life. He explains: how Lily Savage was born as a way to make more money - and help Paul take his mind off the horrors he saw every day as a social worker; how tough it was for the 'blonde bombsite from Birkenhead' to break into the entertainment mainstream; and, why Paul decided to risk everything by throwing off Lily's wig and carving out a new career as himself.The depression, the private grief and the near fatal heart attacks that struck as Paul re-invented himself as the funniest and most successful chat show host in the country. Frequently hilarious and sometimes heart-wrenchingly sad, Paul O'Grady has always lived his life on a rollercoaster of emotions. Today he is a proud grandfather, a multimillionaire and a man loved by millions of devoted fans. This is his incredible story.

He has changed the way Britain eats, has cooked for prime ministers, has thrown Hollywood actresses out of his restaurants, is one of only three chefs in England whose restaurant is rated at three Michelin stars, and is on record for swearing more times in a single hour of prime-time television than anyone in the history of British broadcasting. Better known in the United States as the host of FOX's "Hell's Kitchen," this former professional soccer player is one of the most driven, successful, and angry chefs around, and this first major biography details his story. Nothing is off-limits when Ramsay talks. He discusses the violent, alcoholic, absent father who died just days after the pair had been reconciled as adults; the best friend and protege whose bizarre suicide came hours after the two had shared a final meal; the decade-long battle to save his younger brother from heroin addiction and crime; and the real reason why Ramsay wasn't at the birth of any of his four children--and has never changed a diaper in his life. Sometimes hilarious and frequently heartbreaking, Gordon Ramsay's inspiring tale runs from the low-income housing of Glasgow to the picture-postcard countryside of Stratford-upon-Avon to some of the finest and most expensive restaurants in the world.