Cilla (miniseries)
| Cilla | |
|---|---|
Third episode title card
|
|
| Genre | Drama |
| Written by | Jeff Pope |
| Starring | |
| Composer(s) | Niall Byrne |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 3 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Jeff Pope Robert Willis Tony Moulsdale |
| Producer(s) | Kwadjo Dajan |
| Running time | 45–47 minutes |
| Production company(s) | ITV Studios in association with GroupM Entertainment |
| Release | |
| Original network | |
| Picture format | 16:9 1080i |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 15 September – 29 September 2014 |
Cilla is a British drama television miniseries about the early career of Cilla Black. It was broadcast in three parts on ITV, and began on 15 September 2014 with Sheridan Smith playing the starring role. Smith was much praised for her performance.
Following Cilla Black's death in August 2015, the series was broadcast again on ITV between 4–6 August 2015, as well as repeats on ITV Encore.
The series is based around Black's hometown of Liverpool and follows her rise to fame from 1960 amateur appearances in clubs, her relationships with Bobby Willis and Brian Epstein to the latter's death in 1967.
In 1960s Liverpool, young Priscilla "Cilla" White is working as a typist, but frequently performs at Liverpool's famed Cavern Club, where she meets young singer-songwriter Bobby Willis. Mersey Beat, a local music publication, prints an article on Cilla in which she is mistakenly referred to as "Cilla Black". However, young Cilla likes the sound of it and decides to use if for her stage name. It is arranged for her to audition for the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein. However, she gets a bad case of nerves and the song's key is too low for her, and she loses ground to her rival, Beryl Marsden.
Three years later, Cilla's confidence returns after her disastrous audition. Bobby urges her to give singing another go, and Brian Epstein gives Cilla another chance to audition by inviting her into the studio to record what would become her debut single, Love of the Loved. The song fails to break the Top 30, but Brian then insists that Cilla change direction and take a gamble on a cover of a Dionne Warwick ballad entitled Anyone Who Had a Heart. The gamble pays off and Anyone Who Had a Heart shoots straight to the top of the charts.
...
Wikipedia