Cilla (miniseries) Cilla (miniseries) 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 highly 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
Cilla Black in 2011 also appeared, as herself, in the first episode of series 4 of ITV's "Benidorm". ITV honoured Black's 50 years in show business with a one-off entertainment special which aired on 16 October 2013. The show, called "The One and Only Cilla Black", starred Black alongside Paul O'Grady, who hosted the show. The show celebrated Black's career and included a special trip back to her home city of Liverpool, a host of celebrity friends and some surprise music guests. Black paid homage to "Blind Date" with the return of its most popular contestants and saw her star in a