BBC1 commissions Paul O'Grady: The Sally Army & Me

BBC1 has commissioned the landmark series Paul O’Grady: The Sally Army & Me. The 6 x 30 minutes series, co-produced by Potato and Olga TV, coincides with The Salvation Army’s 150th Anniversary and will explore and uncover O’Grady’s lifelong passion for the much-loved organisation.  

As a child O’Grady always wanted to be in ‘The Sally Army’. This heart-warming series will see him achieve that ambition by becoming an honorary member and experiencing what it is like to enlist as a volunteer. And that means rolling-up his sleeves and getting stuck in! Across six episodes Paul will take up a regular place behind the counter at The Salvation Army’s residential centres, assist with their work with older people and reuniting loved ones through their ‘Family Tracing Service’ and help as they continue to change families’ lives across Britain.  

O’Grady said: “It’s an unholy pairing, but for some reason The Sally Army has always managed to build a bridge to me across my life – from saints to sinner! They saved kids near my street when I was a boy with food kitchens, helped me when I was a care worker and supported people I know over the years.”   Michael Kelpie, Executive Producer for Potato, said: “The Salvation Army is a institution very close to Paul’s heart. 150 years on from the founding of this amazing organisation, this series will see Paul bring his unique brand of caring humour to exploring the huge range of activities that The Salvation Army is involved in, working with its incredible staff and meeting some of the many people it supports.”  

Clare Barton, Executive Producer for Olga TV commented: “This is an exciting new series which explores an institution which has been working throughout the UK for 150 years, but which probably most of us know very little about. Now is an opportunity to see through Paul O'Grady's eyes the amazing work that their volunteers have been doing to help people through life’s most challenging moments.”  

Lieut-Colonel Melvin Fincham, on behalf of The Salvation Army said: “As a church and charity, we are delighted to be working with Mr O'Grady and to welcome him to The Salvation Army, Paul's unique sense of humour, care and compassion for other people will shine a light on the work that we do every day in the communities in which we serve."