Cilla Black special edition of "Coronation Street". In 2014, Black was the subject of a three-part television drama series, "Cilla", focusing especially on her rise to fame in 1960s Liverpool and her relationship with Bobby Willis. ITV aired the first instalment on 15 September 2014, starring BAFTA award-winning actress Sheridan Smith. Black was married to her manager, Bobby Willis, for 30 years from 1969 until he died from lung cancer on 23 October 1999. They had three sons: Robert (born 1970, who became her manager), Ben (born 1974) and Jack (born 1980). Their daughter, Ellen (born 1975), was born prematurely and suffered
Surprisingly Cilla heavily promoted the album and its two singles, they failed to chart. Some months after the album's release, Towerbell Records shut down and no further copies of the album were released. In 2003, there were plans to re-issue the album on CD until it was discovered that the master tapes for the project had been lost. The re-issue project was therefore abandoned. Side A Side B Personnel Surprisingly Cilla Surprisingly Cilla is the title of Cilla Black's twelfth solo studio album. It was a spin-off from her television series, "Surprise, Surprise", and the opening track is the show's theme tune.