Cilla (2014 TV Series)
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''Cilla'' is a British drama serial about the early career of
Cilla Black Priscilla Maria Veronica White (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer, actress and television presenter. Championed by her friends the Beatles, Black began her career as a singer in 1963. Her ...
. It was broadcast in three parts on
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
, and began on 15 September 2014 with
Sheridan Smith Sheridan Caroline Sian Smith OBE (born 25 June 1981) is an English actress, singer and television personality. Smith came to prominence after playing a variety of characters on sitcoms such as ''The Royle Family'' (1999–2000), ''Two Pints o ...
playing the starring role. Smith was highly praised for her performance. Following Cilla Black's death in August 2015, the series was broadcast again on
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
between 4–6 August 2015, as well as repeats on ITV Encore.


Plot

The series is based around Black's hometown of
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
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.


Episode 1 (15 September 2014)

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 Robert Willis (25 January 1942 – 23 October 1999) was an English songwriter and talent manager who became the manager and eventually husband of singer Cilla Black. Career His first known recorded composition, "Shy of Love" was featured on th ...
.
Mersey Beat ''Mersey Beat'' was a music publication in Liverpool, England in the early 1960s. It was founded by Bill Harry, who was one of John Lennon's classmates at Liverpool Art College. The paper carried news about all the local Liverpool bands, and s ...
, 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 The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...
' 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 Beryl Marsden (born 10 June 1947) is a British R&B and pop singer, who first came to notice on the Liverpool club scene of the early 1960s. She recorded a number of "powerful and soulful", Biography by Bruce Eder at Allmusic/ref> but unsucce ...
.


Episode 2 (22 September 2014)

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 "Love of the Loved" is a song written mainly by Paul McCartney, credited to Lennon–McCartney. It is one of his earliest compositions and featured in the Beatles live act in their early days. The group recorded the song at their 1962 audition fo ...
''. 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.


Episode 3 (29 September 2014)

Cilla follows up ''Anyone Who Had a Heart'' with a second consecutive number one, ''
You're My World "You're My World" is a ballad originally recorded in 1963 as "Il mio mondo" ("My World") by Umberto Bindi, who co-wrote the Italian version with Gino Paoli. Subsequently, an English version was commissioned, and the lyrics were written by Carl S ...
''. However, she fails in her subsequent bid to corner the American market and tempers flare in her blossoming relationship with Bobby who is beginning to feel sidelined as Cilla's ego causes her to force Bobby to turn down his own recording contract. In the meantime Brian Epstein's life is unraveling as The Beatles begin to scale back on their activities and eventually to drift apart, and Epstein, a closeted homosexual, continually seeks young men to rough him up and he lies to Cilla about how he suffered his bruises. Epstein develops a dependency on sleeping pills with tragic repercussions as he overdoses on the pills and dies. By his bed is a contract for Cilla to star in her own series. Cilla, distraught about Brian's death, signs the contract and '' Cilla'' debuts on the BBC in January 1968. Cilla later marries Bobby, and the drama ends with a photo of the real Cilla and Bobby on their wedding day in 1969.


Cast


Production

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
announced the three-part series on 16 February 2014. Filming began in
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
in March 2014. For the role, Smith had to learn the two singing voices that Black uses, a loud belt she originally used to make herself heard in the noisy Cavern Club and a softer one she used in a
recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...
.


Locations

Several locations in Liverpool were used. * The offices of Liverpool Film Office stood in for the Cavern Club interior, with the Cavern's exterior represented by the Elude Bar and Restaurant on Porter Street. * Cilla's family home at 380 Scotland Road (now demolished) was filmed in Holt Road, Kensington (exterior scenes), and the Belgrave pub in Bryanston Road in
Aigburth Aigburth () is a suburb of Liverpool, England. Located to the south of the city, it is bordered by Dingle, Garston, Mossley Hill, and Toxteth. Etymology The name Aigburth comes from Old Norse ''eik'' and ''berg'', meaning ''oak-tree hill''. T ...
(interior scenes). * The family homes of Bobby Willis' (Anfield) and Ringo Starr's mother ( "Welsh Streets", Aigburth) were represented by houses on Southwood Road. * The scene showing Bobby running late to work was filmed on Everton Brow, with the 1960s Liverpool skyline recreated by CGI. * The cast was variously filmed "wandering down Yates Street in Dingle, past the Cross Keys pub off Old Hall Street and drinking at Ye Cracke on Rice Street". * Scenes filmed on the other side of the Mersey on the Wirral included the marriage of Bobby’s brother Kenny in Wallasey Town Hall (representing Liverpool Register Office), and beach scenes at Perch Rock in New Brighton. * The Adelphi hotel was used for several settings, first as the Kenilworth Hotel in London where Cilla and Bobby met Brian Epstein, then another hotel that they visit following Cilla's London Palladium appearance. Subsequently it represented the Persian Room of New York's
Plaza Hotel The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, a ...
and also the Blackpool hotel in which Cilla stayed. * Oh Me, Oh My! in Water Street served as the location for the
Scotch of St James The Scotch of St. James is a nightclub situated at Mason's Yard, London. Tucked away at the bottom of an alley it served as a prominent nightclub, live music venue and historically significant meeting place for London's rock elite in the 1960s ...
club scenes and also a New York nightclub. * Scenes set in Cilla's London flat were filmed in Elmsley Road in Mossley Hill. * Sound, Food & Drink on Duke Street in Liverpool, served as a location for where Bobby first introduces himself as Cilla's manager and negotiates her fee.


Awards


Reception

''Cilla'' received critical acclaim and led to
Cilla Black Priscilla Maria Veronica White (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer, actress and television presenter. Championed by her friends the Beatles, Black began her career as a singer in 1963. Her ...
re-entering music charts at number 46. ''
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'' wrote: "Smith sang her heart out, catching perfectly the bluesy belter within the girl next door, but rather than rushing her to fame, the action unfolded slowly enough to show her falling at the first hurdle as she became crippled with nerves singing for Brian Epstein. A drama this good, with Smith in sparkling form, knows it can take its time to flourish." ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' wrote: "The third, and best, reason why Cilla is so watchable is Sheridan Smith. It's one of those extraordinary performances, like Julie Walters as Mo Mowlam, when an actress does more than play a real character; she becomes her, to the extent that it's hard for the viewer not to forget they're not actually watching a young Cilla Black. She sounds like her, too. I'd be interested to know what someone more qualified to judge (an actual Liverpudlian) thinks, but to me she utterly convinces as a Scouser, while some of the others don't. Also, the singing, which she does herself, is brilliant. And even when the singing isn't brilliant, she still is."


Ratings

The 8.6 million rating achieved for the first episode made the programme one of the most popular dramas to be shown on UK television in 2014


Home media

The series was released on DVD on 6 October 2014.


Stage musical

Bill Kenwright William Kenwright, CBE (born 4 September 1945) is an English West End theatre producer and film producer. He has also been the chairman of Everton Football Club since 2004. Kenwright was born in Liverpool and attended Booker Avenue County Prima ...
and Laurie Mansfield produced a stage musical adaptation of the series with a script by Jeff Pope, who wrote the TV series, which began touring the UK from September 2017 starring Kara Lilly Hayworth as Cilla. The production was scheduled to tour again from September 2020 with
Sheridan Smith Sheridan Caroline Sian Smith OBE (born 25 June 1981) is an English actress, singer and television personality. Smith came to prominence after playing a variety of characters on sitcoms such as ''The Royle Family'' (1999–2000), ''Two Pints o ...
reprising the role of Cilla from the TV series, however it was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.


References


External links

* . {{DEFAULTSORT:Cilla 2014 British television series debuts 2014 British television series endings 2010s British drama television series English-language television shows 2010s British television miniseries Television shows set in Liverpool Television shows set in the United Kingdom ITV television dramas Television series by ITV Studios Cilla Black