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Liverpool says ta ra as Cilla Black laid to rest

Updated / Friday, 21 Aug 2015 10:24
The 72-year-old singer and television presenter died from a head injury after falling at her holiday home on the Costa del Sol in Spain earlier this month
The 72-year-old singer and television presenter died from a head injury after falling at her holiday home on the Costa del Sol in Spain earlier this month

Stars from the world of entertainment and music as well as fans joined family members at the funeral of Cilla Black, which took place in her home city of Liverpool yesterday.

The 72-year-old singer and television presenter died from a head injury after falling at her holiday home on the Costa del Sol in Spain earlier this month.

Thousands of people lined the streets to view the funeral cortège as it made its way to St Mary's Catholic Church in Woolton, with many taking up positions along the route from early morning.

A number of people are reported to have fainted outside the church. One onlooker said: "There was a few people who fainted but I think it was because it got too hot".

Picture @rvernallsPA

 

The chief mourners at the funeral were Cilla Black's three sons, Ben, Robert and Jack. Special guests and the stars of show-business past and present were also among the mourners, arriving in several coaches, each of which bore the destination: 'Cilla'.

Other well known faces at the ceremony included singer Tom Jones, presenter Carol Vorderman and actor Les Dennis.

Cliff Richard, who sang at the service, told the congregation: "I cannot think of Cilla in the past tense. It just seems outrageous. There are certain people that you believe will always be there. Of course, she has been taken from us but I think that the way to get past all this is to think positive and all the things that were fabulous about her.

He added: "Cilla, this is just a hiccup in our relationship, and we will see you again."

Entertainer Jimmy Tarbuck, who delivered the Prayers of the Faithful, said: "She was the first lady of showbusiness, to be born a lady is an accident, to die one is an achievement."

Actor and presenter Christopher Biggins said that the star's funeral in Liverpool was a "fantastic tribute", adding that the city was "absolutely the right place for her to return to".

He said: "It's like Cinderella has returned to Liverpool . . . if Cilla were here, she'd love it. I think she's up there with a glass of champagne and Bobby [Willis, her husband who died in 1999] having a laugh and looking to see who's coming, who's not here, why aren't they here, and just having a good time."

The 66-year-old attended a party with Black's close friends and family last night, and said that her sons are "doing amazingly well", while adding that her death hasn't quite sunk in yet.

Comedian Paul O'Grady delivered the final tribute which was filled with laughter as he recalled his "great friend".

He said: "She taught me lots of things - mainly never to turn right on the plane. She was a great friend. She was full of fun. She was a wonderful woman. She was talented. She was so witty. She adored family. She loved her sons. She loved her grandchildren. She was so proud that she came from Scottie Road."

There were chuckles as he said in church: "I am just so grateful that she allowed me into her whirlwind of a life and we spend nearly two decades together hell-raising - if you pardon the expression."

One former Blind Date contestant, Mark Finch, made the trip from Scotland. He said: "What a lovely woman, an absolute pleasure to meet. Such a down-to-earth woman, you couldn't wish to meet someone so down to earth, her only fault was I didn't get my date!"

After the funeral service there was a round of applause as Cilla's coffin was carried out of the church to the strains of The Beatle's Long and Winding Road.

Cilla Black was laid to rest at Allerton Cemetery, where her parents are both buried.

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