A return after months off the market
Moveli is now marketing the seven-bedroom estate in Aldington, near Ashford, where O'Grady lived for almost 24 years. The entertainer, known for his Lily Savage character and ITV's For the Love of Dogs, died of heart arrhythmia in March 2023 at age 67.
Portasio initially sought £3.5 million for the property. Four months later, the asking price fell to £2.65 million, followed by another reduction. KentOnline reported that the estate was withdrawn in January 2026 after a year-long effort to find a buyer, with the Land Registry reportedly confirming there was "no sale pending".
The latest Rightmove listing includes new photographs and was posted on October 8, 2026, according to the Daily Mail.
Portasio also sold the Amsterdam apartment he had shared with O'Grady, handing over the keys in January 2026, the Express reported. He described the apartment as their first home together and the place that inspired O'Grady's second children's book.
Revised acreage and room counts
The latest marketing puts the estate at approximately 25.5 acres, compared with 20.62 acres in the earlier listing. That difference of almost five acres has not been explained. The agents separately say buyers can negotiate for additional land.
Other figures have changed, too. According to the Daily Mail, the advertised floor area is now 5,859 square feet rather than 5,655, while the reception-room count has increased from seven to eight.
The estate overlooks Romney Marsh and has a five-bedroom main house, two guest cottages and six bathrooms. Its leisure facilities include a pool beneath a retractable roof, along with a dance studio, gym and steam room in a separate cottage that also provides guest accommodation.
The Daily Mail describes The Timber Cottage, another self-contained property on the site, as having a combined sitting area and kitchenette, a galleried bedroom and a shower room. Outside, the estate has paddocks and stables, as well as woodland, an orchard and a pond.
Although Moveli's sales description does not mention O'Grady by name, the Daily Mail notes that he remains visible in the photographs. Framed pictures in the dance studio show him and his dogs Buster and Olga, both familiar to viewers from their appearances alongside him on television.
The home O'Grady shaped
O'Grady paid fellow comedian Vic Reeves £650,000 for the estate in August 1999. Its earlier owners included Noël Coward's literary agent, according to Country Life's October 2024 property feature.
Country Life reported that O'Grady and Portasio devoted 17 years to making the grounds a wildlife haven. They planted roses and a pear orchard, established wildflower meadows, created a "witches house" and kept alpacas. O'Grady also acquired nearby land to stop it from being used for motorbike scrambling and paintballing.
His former partner Brendan Murphy, who died in 2005, once called Knoll Hill House "the kind of house you'd find in one of those Enid Blyton books", according to KentOnline.
Planning disputes and neighbors' reactions
The renewed sale follows disputes over proposals for buildings on the estate. Ashford Borough Council refused Portasio permission to turn an outbuilding into a two-bedroom home, but approved a separate application to use a lodge as a vacation rental. Residents had objected to the latter proposal, fearing a "constant stream" of visitors.
The Daily Mail reported that neighbors accused Portasio of "cashing in" when he lowered the asking price in January 2025. It also quoted Fred Jaeger, who lives opposite the estate, describing Knoll Hill House as "the best house in Kent".
