Cilla Black tonight announced on TV that she is quitting her dating show, Blind Date, after almost 18 years.
The Liverpool-born former pop star, whose husband and agent Bobby Willis died from cancer two years ago, said she is considering several new and exciting TV projects for 2003.
Blind Date was launched by ITV in 1985 and Cilla said the current series - the 18th - will be her last. She admitted tonight that the show had become more like work than fun and that she wanted to leave before it became a chore.
"Now I'm looking forward to a year filled with exciting new challenges", she said.
