Paul O’Grady (1955-2023) (Image: Getty Images)

There is a moment that happens sometimes on television — rare, quiet, almost unplanned — when the audience suddenly stops watching a contestant… and starts seeing a person. That moment has arrived for Tom Read Wilson.

At first, many viewers thought they understood him. The velvet voice. The theatrical charm. The eccentric elegance. The man who spoke as if poetry lived naturally on his tongue. Some smiled. Some were amused. A few were doubtful. But week by week, as the jungle peeled away comfort, polish and performance, something else began to shine through him — something deeper, softer, and unexpectedly familiar.

And now a question is spreading quietly among viewers:

“When you look at Tom Read Wilson… who do you see?”

For a growing number of people, the answer is the same.

Paul O’Grady.

Not in career. Not in fame. But in spirit.

One of Tom’s fellow campmates recently described him not as “posh,” not as “eccentric,” but simply as “one of the kindest souls I’ve ever met in my life.” That was the moment many fans say the comparison truly clicked. Because kindness like that cannot be rehearsed. It can’t be edited into a storyline. It reveals itself only under pressure — in hunger, in exhaustion, in fear.

And the jungle is ruthless in that way. It strips people bare.

What it has revealed in Tom is not performance, but gentleness.

Campmates have spoken quietly about the way he treats animals during trials, how he lowers his voice instead of raising it, how he notices when someone is struggling before they ever ask for help. One of them joked that Tom apologises to snakes and spiders before touching them. Another said, only half laughing, “He doesn’t just survive the jungle — he blesses it.”

It sounds dramatic. But viewers understand exactly what they mean.

Because what people are responding to is not just his humour. It is the light behind it. That familiar warmth in the eyes. That gentle way of being that never asks to be admired but somehow always is.

Paul O’Grady had that same quiet magic.

He could command a room without ever dominating it. He could make people laugh without ever belittling anyone. He could be mischievous and tender at the same time — a rare combination that made people feel safe simply by watching him. And now, many say they feel that same safety when Tom appears on screen.

One viewer wrote, “He doesn’t entertain you. He comforts you.”

Another said, “He reminds me that not everyone on TV is trying to be loud, cruel or shocking. Some people are just… good.”

In the jungle, where bodies grow weaker and tempers thinner, that kind of goodness becomes even more visible. Tom doesn’t compete for attention. He doesn’t push himself to the front. He fills space without demanding it. He listens without interrupting. And when others falter, he steps in gently, never as a hero — just as a human being.

That is where the Paul O’Grady comparison becomes more than sentiment. It becomes a recognition of a rare type of soul.

Both men carry something that feels almost old-fashioned now: a holy gentleness. A kindness that is not loud. A compassion that doesn’t need praise. A brightness in the eyes that suggests life has not hardened them, even when it could have.

A fellow camper was overheard saying, “He reminds me of someone you trust instantly, even when you’ve just met him.” Fans repeated the line online. And soon after, someone added, “That’s exactly what Paul did too.”

The comparison spread not because it was forced, but because it felt true.

Paul O’Grady made people feel less alone in the world. And now, in a strange and quiet way, Tom Read Wilson seems to be doing the same.

In a television landscape full of confrontation, spectacle, and noise, he has become something rarer: a presence that softens rather than sharpens, that warms rather than wounds.

One fan wrote something that captured it all perfectly:

“When I look at Tom, I don’t just see a TV personality. I see the best parts of a human being — kind eyes, a gentle smile, and a heart that never needs to prove itself. I see Paul O’Grady’s spirit living on in another soul.”

And perhaps that is why, without strategy, without shouting, without scandal, Tom is quietly becoming one of the most loved figures this season.

Not because he tried to be extraordinary.

But because he dared to remain gentle in a world that so rarely rewards it.