Paul O’Grady confronted a homophobic "yob" who verbally abused him and his husband on a flight.
The ‘Blind Date’ presenter and Andre Portasio were travelling in business class back to London from a holiday in Thailand on Sunday (16.09.18) when the unnamed man called the ballet dancer a "f***ing queer".
He also said: "Do you want to suck my c**k?"
Paul, 63, told The Sun newspaper: "I stood up and said, ‘You’re lucky we’re not in the street, mate, because you’d be eating your dinner through a straw.’
"He didn’t know I was sitting next to Andre. Then the bonehead was saying something about me thinking I could do whatever I wanted because I was famous.
"He claimed Andre had been looking at him, which was ridiculous. I mean, he was this typical English yob with a beard and a beer belly."
Paul explained cabin crew then removed the man from business class and he was arrested when they landed at Heathrow airport.
However, the ‘For the Love of Dogs’ host and his 37-year-old spouse declined to press charges as they didn’t want other passengers to be delayed by having to give statements, so he was released after being cautioned.
But Paul said: "It was only afterwards I thought they should have turned that flight around and had him arrested by Thai police. It could easily have turned nasty up there."
Though Paul and Andre got married last year after 10 years together, he recently admitted they don’t live together, which he thinks is the key to their successful relationship.
He said: "It works a treat. It’s the same as before. We see each other all the time. We just don’t live together, which for me makes for a perfect relationship because when you’ve had enough, you can say, ‘I’ll see you, I’m off.’
"I’m a bit cranky of a morning. I’m a cobra. I don’t get up, I’m exhumed, and I slither down the stairs looking for trouble. But otherwise I’m fine.
"[Andre’s] pristine, you know, everything’s tidy – and I’m not."
Paul O’Grady confronts man on flight
