British television star Cilla Black dies in Spain aged 72

British television personality and singer Cilla Black died on Sunday aged 72, according to several reports.

Black was hugely popular television personality whose shows Surprise Surprise and Blind Date were ratings juggernauts in the 1980s and 1990s.

It is understood that she died of natural causes at her holiday home in Marbella, southern Spain.

A police spokeswoman was quoted as saying: “I can confirm the death of British national Priscilla White, aged 72. “We are still awaiting autopsy results but everything at this stage is pointing towards her death being the result of natural causes.”

Cilla Black was a 1960s pop star of the Beatles era who became one of the most highly paid and successful light entertainment performers in the history of British television.

Her enduring popularity stemmed largely from her amiable nature and her proud Liverpudlian accent, addressing people affectionately as “chuck” and her breezy “lorra, lorra laughs” catch-phrases.

She was born Priscilla Maria Veronica White on May 27th, 1943 and was encouraged to sing by her family. In the early 1960s she got a part-time job as a cloakroom attendant at the famous Cavern Club in Liverpool where the Beatles regularly played. She quickly impressed the Beatles and others with her talent, when she gave impromptu performances at the Cavern. At this time, she also worked as a waitress in the Zodiac coffee lounge, where she met her future husband and manager Bobby Willis.

Cilla was introduced to Brian Epstein by John Lennon who persuaded him to audition her. In September, 1963, Epstein signed her up as his only female client. Her debut single, Love of the Loved, written for her by Lennon and McCartney, was a relative failure. But her second single the Burt Bacharach-Hal David composition, Anyone Who Had A Heart shot to Number One and became the biggest-selling single by a female artist in the history of British popular music.

This launched her on an extraordinary pop career, with 20 consecutive Top 40 hits on the British single and EP charts, including 11 British Top Ten singles and two consecutive Number One singles in 1964. Her hits included You're My World, Alfie, the theme song from the Michael Caine film of that name, and Step Inside Love.

Her pop career persisted until the end of the 1960s, by which time she was an internationally-acclaimed star, having notably successfully broken into the notoriously difficult United States market. She branched into acting with 1964's Ferry Across the Mersey, which featured Gerry & The Pacemakers, also out of Epstein's stable. But by August 1967, only days before his premature death, Epstein had engineered Cilla's switch to television.

Her own variety show for the BBC regularly commanded staggering audiences of 22 million. So while her pop career was declining she was developing into the most popular figure on television. It was this resounding TV success which was eclipsing her musical career, although she always said she preferred to be remembered for her songs than for anything else. Blind Date (1985-2003), Surprise! Surprise! (1984-1999) and Moment of Truth (1998-2001) never lost their popularity during their long and successful runs.

In 2005, her autobiography What's It All About? became a best-seller. She has been the recipient of many TV honours and awards. Willis her husband and manager, to whom she was married for over 30 years, died in the late 1990s. She is survived by three sons, one of whom, Robert, succeeded his father as her manager.

PA