Entertainment

Paul O’Grady: I’d rip Nigel Farage to shreds over Brexit harm to NHS

The comedian and TV presenter also criticised Boris Johnson for his part in Brexit as he spoke to The Mirror.
The comedian and TV presenter also criticised Boris Johnson for his part in Brexit as he spoke to The Mirror. The comedian and TV presenter also criticised Boris Johnson for his part in Brexit as he spoke to The Mirror.

Paul O’Grady has hit out at pro-Brexit heavyweights, saying if he ever caught up with Nigel Farage in a lift he would “rip him to shreds”.

The television host, speaking to The Mirror, painted a bleak picture of life in the UK after leaving the EU as he criticised “narcissistic” Boris Johnson.

O’Grady suggested the NHS would see fewer “committed” workers from overseas including doctors, nurses and speech therapists, and denounced the immigration-heavy rhetoric used by the former Ukip leader.

He said: “They’re paid appallingly for the hours they work. When you see how much the likes of footballers earn, it’s gross.

“It’s all about immigration and Farage and Johnson. I cannot stand either of them. If I was in a lift with Farage I’d rip him to shreds.”

He added: “He’s taking a 70,000-a-year pension off the EU and is sat there making money off his radio show.

“As for Johnson, he’s a self-promoting narcissist.”

The 63-year-old also told The Mirror that food would become more expensive and travelling would be made difficult post-Brexit.

His comments came as he promoted his upcoming ITV1 show Paul O’Grady’s Little Heroes, which he described as “good for the soul”.

The series, which sees him meet patients at Great Ormond Street Hospital, made him reflect on the future of the NHS which may not end up benefiting from the £350 million-a-week claim spearheaded by Mr Johnson and Vote Leave during the referendum campaign.

O’Grady added that Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the state of UK politics means we are living in “very strange times” set to get worse.