Mr Jay said he had got to know her and husband, Bobby, and praised her qualities as an entertainer.
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“I’m really in shock because we would see her and Bobby around and they were fantastic people”.
One of Cilla Black’s sons has told Spanish reporters that a post-mortem examination on the late entertainer has been completed and is conclusive.
In a statement they said: “We are devastated by the sad loss of our mother, but have been deeply touched by all the kind messages of support from her friends, fans, the public and media”. We would like to thank all those involved for their assistance with this matter.
This time however, Paul O’Grady opened the show with a heartbreaking tribute to his close friend Cilla, and while he fought back the tears we too found ourselves struggling to gulp down the quivering lump in our throats.
But while Cilla was famed throughout her life for her longstanding connection to her home town of Liverpool – and the part she played in the Merseybeat scene alongside The Beatles – she also had family links with Wrexham, with her maternal grandfather having moved from Wrexham to Liverpool at the end of the 19th century.
No funeral details have yet been released.
“She had a brilliant character and everyone loved her”, he said.
McCartney said she had a “fun-loving dignity” and was a “great pleasure to be around”.
“Her passing away is a particular shock because despite the aches and pains we all suffer, she was always so upbeat”, he wrote in The Sunday.
Celebrities have paid tribute to the former Cavern Club hat girl, including Cliff Richard, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.
Cilla was found by her eldest son Robert Willis, who broke into her Marbella villa on Saturday night, when Cilla failed to return from an afternoon siesta.
By the late ’60s she was famous enough to be known by her first name alone, and hosted a BBC variety show, “Cilla”.
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Her album has climbed forty-three places to position number 25 on the charts.
