Paul O'Grady's Lily Savage costumes displayed in Liverpool

Costumes worn by Paul O'Grady's alter ego Lily Savage are being displayed for the first time in Liverpool.

The 11 outfits were worn in stage and television appearances by the character O'Grady created in the late 1970s.

The character of Lily Savage became an interviewer for The Big Breakfast and hosted Blankety Blank.

Savage Style: Costumes from Lily's Wardrobe is at Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery and the Museum of Liverpool until 19 February 2012.

'Great comic creation'

The outfits, which are dominated by sequins and animal prints, are displayed on mannequins.

They include a black sequined dress and matching cape worn for a role as the Wicked Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, a blue and silver ball gown from Blankety Blank and a zebra print mini dress and diamante biker jacket with an 'Evil' design on the back.

Reyahn King, National Museums Liverpool's director of art galleries, said: "Lily Savage is one of the great comic creations and it is a delight to have these stunning costumes among our collections.

"This is a great opportunity to get close to these outfits and appreciate their qualities."

Paul O'Grady devised Lily Savage for a comedy act he performed on the pub and club circuit in London, where he moved to become a social worker.

He stopped playing the character, a single mother of two, in 2004 when she supposedly decided to retire to a convent, but Savage was resurrected in 2010 to play Widow Twankey in Aladdin in Southampton.