The comedian, 66, who is known as the drag queen Lily Savage, returns to the nation’s screens this afternoon for an update from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. ‘Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs at Christmas’ is a festive edition of the animal-loving star’s usual programme about the charity. The latest instalment of the ITV show follows Paul as he learns about the four-legged friends in need of some care and attention this Christmas.

       The ‘Blind Date’ presenter meets an isolated beagle looking to get to know other dogs over the festive period.

       He also helps out a volatile cross-breed and a Patterdale terrier who needs to go under the knife because of an injury.

       Paul’s animal work has seen him rub shoulders with members of the Royal Family multiple times in the past.

       His royal encounters have included meetings with Camilla, 74, the patron of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.

       Paul once praised the “guts” the Duchess has shown during her work for the Royal Family over the years.

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       Speaking at a Clarence House garden party to mark her 70th birthday in 2017, he said: “It’s taken a lot of guts, you know, it really has.

       “She could have sat there watching daytime telly.

       “But it’s like she’s embraced it, that’s it, she’s really embraced it and gone for it and all her charity work.

       “She’s so easy to talk to and she’s passionate about animals which is something else I really respect.”

       Camilla faced criticism for many years as the lover of Prince Charles, 73, before the pair tied the knot in 2005.

       She has become one of the most reliable members of the Firm over the years, carrying out key royal engagements and foreign tours for the Royal Family.

       Camilla and Charles have both joined the monarch, 95, for Christmas this year at Windsor Castle.

       The couple attended a Christmas Day church service in Windsor this morning.

       They were joined at St George’s Chapel by the Earl and Countess of Wessex and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.

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       As Charles and Camilla arrived, she sported a blue and turquoise chequered jacket and matching hat.

       The Duchess wished a “happy Christmas” to reporters gathered as the couple walked to the chapel.

       The Queen was absent from the service, which took place before her Christmas speech this afternoon.

       The monarch is spending Christmas at Windsor Castle this year because of the risk of the spread of COVID-19.

       Sandringham, Her Majesty’s Norfolk estate, has traditionally hosted the royal Christmas for decades.

       However, the site was ditched as the family’s Christmas venue for the second consecutive year earlier this week due to the pandemic.

       The Queen had already scrapped her annual pre-Christmas lunch, held before her Sandringham stay, because of the Covid infection risk posed by the Omicron variant.

       ‘Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs at Christmas’ airs on ITV from 5:30pm-6pm.