CILLA BACK
Unseen footage of Blind Date host is released by family
TOUCHING scenes of Cilla Black’s home life have been released for fans, a week before the anniversary of the telly star’s tragic death.
Clips from the intimate home movie show a relaxed and happy Cilla working in her kitchen with her then three-yearold son, Robert Willis.
In other scenes from the footage – shot in September 1973 – the Blind Date and Surprise, Surprise star can be seen walking around her rose garden and looking through fan mail.
The movie shows singer Cilla giving a personal tour of her house and garden in Denham, Bucks. It also features her husband Bobby and the family’s three Briard dogs, Sophie, Ada and Walter.
The old film and audio tapes were discovered by Robert and his younger brothers, Jack and Ben, when they were clearing out their mum’s house in Estepona, on the Costa del Sol.
Cilla died there in 2015, aged 72, after she fell and hit her head. She lost consciousness before suffering a stroke.
Next Saturday, August 1, will be the fifth anniversary of the tragedy. But Robert decided to release the short film to mark his birthday.
In a message to his mum’s fans online, he wrote: “As I turn 50 today, here’s a little something special from our family archives… I hope you enjoy seeing this as much as my family and I have.”
The footage was originally made for a fan club convention in October 1973.
It was screened at the event at
Tiffany’s in London after Cilla invited 1,200 lucky fans to join her at the prestigious venue to celebrate her 10 years in showbiz.
Some clips resurfaced earlier this year when they were used in the ITV documentary, Cilla: The Lost Tapes.
However, the majority of the film has not been seen for more than 45 years.
It premiered last night on the official Cilla website, cillablack.com.
Two limited edition Cilla singles – You’re Sensational and Have I Told You Lately – are also due to be made available on the site in CD format. The songs were remixed by the Dutch DJ, Matt Pop. Robert previously described how he got “choked up” when the old family films were discovered.
He said: “We found these incredible tapes. They were everywhere.
“One was her talking at a concert and singing a lullaby she used to sing to me. I got a bit choked up.”
Speaking about Cilla and Bobby, Robert added: “We were lucky that what they were doing was highprofile. But when they were home, they really loved a simple, normal family life.”
I hope you enjoy seeing this as much as my family and I have ROBERT WILLIS
CIILA BLACK’S ELDEST SON
Cilla with husband Bobby, Robert and the family’s pet dogs; in the garden of her Bucks home and as a proud mum showing off young Robert, then three