Shaken but not broken
PICK OF THE DAY SIR CLIFF RICHARD: 60 YEARS IN PUBLIC AND IN PRIVATE ITV, 9pm
SIR Cliff Richard is one of the biggest selling artists this country has ever produced. The wholesome heartthrob has sold 250m records over six decades. But in 2014 his reputation came crashing down when his home was raided and allegations were made of historic sexual assault.
He was never arrested or charged and this year won a privacy case against the BBC, which televised the raid, but the years of uncertainty nearly broke him.
“It shook me rigid. I can’t explain how bad it felt,” he says in this revealing and intimate documentary that followed the singer over six months this year. I thought I was going to die. I don’t think I slept more than two hours a night.”
Sir Cliff, 78, says he feels vulnerable in public now and is scared to put his arms around people for photos. He avoids the walkway near the ball boys’ dressing rooms at Wimbledon.
This is quite a sad and emotional film in parts as Sir Cliff talks through his darkest days and finally winning justice. But it also reminds us of his legendary career, with some effusive interviews from the likes of Sir Barry Gibb, Olivia Newton-John, Hank Marvin, Jimmy Osmond, Andrew Lloyd-Webber, Brian May and Dame Joan Collins.
We see him recording his 104th album, Rise Up, embarking on his 60th anniversary tour, playing tennis – with a pretty impressive backhand – and his legions of adoring fans who have never left his side.
“I am starting again,” he says. “I haven’t been broken down.”