Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Cilla son believes new Blind Date is a lorra lorra laughs
CILLA Black’s son Robert has given his seal of approval to the new Blind Date. Cilla, who died in 2015, fronted the ITV show from 1985 to 2003. The new Channel 5 version is hosted by her pal Paul O’grady, with Melanie Sykes in the “Our Graham” role. Robert watched the show being filmed at the London Studios on the South Bank. A source said: “Robert is friends with Paul and wanted to back him as Paul was initially nervous about taking over from Cilla. Robert is excited and was keen to see the new version.” The show, which starts next month, will have its first LGBT contestants but keeps its “cheekiness”, bosses have said. In March, O’grady, 61, said: “When they asked me I said no, because it’s so firmly associated with Cilla. Then I had a think. Her son Robert said she’d be over the moon, so I said, ‘Yeah, go on, I’ll do it’.”