Cilla

I was at school in the 1950's and 1960's and yes I also noticed a number of inaccuracies, but this was not the point of the programme. There are plenty of historical books and websites out there if that is what you want. The programme is all about capturing the hopes and dreams of young musicians during a very exciting period in popular music, and this it does perfectly. Any references to the Beatles are in the context of the story itself and are not intended to be an detailed account of their movements. If any of the inaccuracies had detracted from the storyline then I am sure that Cilla herself would have objected to it. So just sit back and enjoy the programme and avoid any unnecessary nitpicking.

I am teary-eyed that this excellent 3-part drama series has now finished. Sheridan Smith must surely be Britain's best actress at the moment and I totally believed in her performance and characterisation. Her vocals were superb - take note X-Factor, THIS is how to perform songs. Full marks too to the supporting cast (partner Bobby, her father, etc) - there should be acting awards all round and a writers award to Jeff Pope. In fact I hope ITV commission Jeff to write "Cilla 2" because I want to see Sheridan, Aneurin, and all, continue this story from where it left off in January 1968 to take in stuff like how she turned down Eurovision 1968 (Cliff did it instead), her psychedelic film flop later that year, her marriage to Bobby, her 8 straight years of hosting her own smash hit BBC TV show, her two sitcom series for ATV in the mid 1970s for which she was voted Britain's top female comedy star, her LWT series Blind Date and Surprise Surprise, Bobby's sad passing in 1999, etc etc.

Come on ITV - find some way to continue this story!

Cilla Black is revered in England and no wonder. Working class girl befriends The Beatles before they were The Beatles, gets up to sing at Liverpool's Cavern Club, and improbably goes on to international fame. The locations are lush, with lots of gritty brick urban streetscapes and great 1960s fashion. But it's subtle and not overdone. And The Beatles are portrayed, but in a nicely casual way. The music is great -- it comes across as live; it's not over-produced. The lead actors are great. The woman playing Cilla is quite suited to the role -- the girl next door but confident and sassy. But her voice isn't as good as the real Cilla Black -- it's a little too low and Smith sometimes belts put those songs rather than sings them. As her boyfriend Bobby Willis, Aneurin Barnard is great -- the character is initially a bit flaky, but turns out to be a solid support to her. The story hums along at a steady pace. The dialogue is a bit clunky at times, and the Liverpool accents can be hard to understand. The third and final episode is the weakest. Black may have had too much input into the script because Cilla and Bobby barely kiss, and keep chaste separate hotel rooms. If it's true Cilla vetoed Bobby recording songs because she wanted him to look after her, it's a bit disturbing. The series ends rather abruptly but I suppose the 1960s 'star is born' phase had ended, and that was the point of the show. Overall, a good effort.

Cilla Black is probably best-known in the UK for her family entertainer TV persona which started with her own variety show but eventually led to her massive success as the giggling genial hostess of awful but long-running TV shows like "Surprise Surprise" and "Blind Date". Originally though, she came to prominence as a singer in the early 60's as part of Brian Epstein's post-Beatles Merseybeat stable and this 3-part series covers just that period, I certainly wouldn't have tuned in if it had gone beyond that.

Miss Black is on record herself as saying her lifestyle even in the swinging 60's was hardly rock and roll even with her association with the Beatles who mentored her and wrote some of her hit songs. Thus you won't find too much excitement or danger in her rags to riches story, besides some religious tension between her Protestant family upbringing and that of her Catholic boyfriend and road manager, later her manager and husband Bobby Willis, the usual ups and downs of her relationship with Willis, some strain between her and a distracted Brian Epstein, plus of course her rise to fame from Cavern hat-check girl to appearing on the London Palladium and topping the charts.

Sheridan Smith, who does all her own singing too and Aneurin Bernard are personable in these two main roles although a lack of likeness in other key parts, such as the Beatles and Epstein weakens veracity a touch. Some licence is taken with the facts too, like Cilla being told her record has magically made it to number 1 as if from nowhere when in reality it took weeks to climb to the top. I could also have done with a little less concentration on the troubled Epstein's unconventional personal life which probably belongs in a bio-drama of its own.

Nevertheless this was pleasant and likable if slightly over-polite (well, Cilla is still alive and something of a national treasure, I guess you'd say) entertainment with some good songs and performances thrown in for good measure.

Sheridan Smith is British, she's sassy, she's - when required - very 1960s mod. Most noticeable 'flaw': she doesn't have the famous Cilla Black crooked front teeth... Sheridan can also sing, taking in account that it's not her profession. Still her vocals are the big problem in this TV biop. For me, and everyone else who is very familiar with Cilla Black's records, Smith's vocals are almost painful. The real Cilla had a clear and truly phenomenal voice. Soft and tender one moment, the next belting out like a fog horn. Her enemies called her a 'nasal screech', but it's for sure a voice no one can imitate easily.

The 'Alfie' recording session with Burt Bacharach almost admits it. It's true that Burt Bacharach was a perfectionist and probably demanded from all the singers he worked with to do take after take after take, but in this scene he seems to think "Cilla Who again? Give me Dionne and Dusty any time." Well, Cilla Black was more than up to her 1960's contemporaries. Listen to the authentic Alfie recording session as can be found on YouTube. It may have been her 3rd or 30th take, but she leaves you breathless. What a voice, what an emotion. (A question for the director or costumer, though. In the Alfie studio session scene, Sheridan sports Cilla Black's new hair style for 1966. Why not the quite iconic Mary Quant dress as well?)

It must be very difficult to find actors who look like famous people as they were in their younger days. I found Brian Epstein too handsome and well-mannered. George Martin and Ringo Star fared better, and the actor who played Cilla's boyfriend aka roadmanager and future husband Bobby Willis is the spitting image of the real one. But when I fail to recognize Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Pete Best at all, it's both confusing and distracting.

What leading lady Sheridan Smith lacks in vocal similarities, she more than makes up in looks and charisma. She is Cilla Black as I remember her from the 1964-1965 TV appearances. In fact, it's Sheridan who gloriously saves the 3-episode series 'Cilla' from being a major drag. And had the vocals been play-backed, I would have awarded this with a 10.