Sheridan Smith to star as Cilla Black in ITV drama

Sheridan Smith is to star as Cilla Black in a new ITV drama about the much-loved star’s rise to fame.

Titled Cilla, the three-part drama will follow Priscilla White (Cilla’s real name) as she grafts to forge a career as a singer in swingin’ ’60s Liverpool.

The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein, who helped to mould Cilla as a popstar, will feature in the story – as will The Beatles themselves, with whom she enjoyed a friendship.

Cilla Black went on to score 11 top ten hits as a singer before embarking on an even more successful career as a TV presenter hosting shows including Blind Date and Surprise Surprise, which made her the highest-paid woman on British TV.

Sheridan Smith, who won a BAFTA for her role in ITV’s 2012 drama Mrs Biggs, will start shooting Cilla next month (March). She said in a statement: “I am thrilled to be playing Cilla, as she is a British icon. In the ’60s, as a young girl from Liverpool, she had numerous number ones and sang with The Beatles – her life story is fascinating.

“I’m so excited and can’t wait to start filming. So thrilled to be back at ITV for such an exciting project and to hopefully show a younger audience what a star Cilla has always been. And for the older generation, they can re-live those swinging 60s! What an era!”