Cliff Richard tells how child abuse allegation ordeal has left him unable to sleep and planning plastic surgery
The music legend, 75, revealed he didn't recognise himself when he looked in the mirror during his two-year sex case hell
SIR Cliff Richard has told how his child abuse allegation ordeal has left him unable to sleep and considering plastic surgery.
The singer, 75, revealed he didn't recognise himself when he looked in the mirror during his two-year sex case hell.
Last week the music legend was told he will no face action after the CPS said there was insufficient evidence for any charge.
Relieving his ordeal in an interview with Gloria Hunniford on ITV's Loose Women, he said: "I haven’t slept well for 22 months and I still can’t sleep."
Sir Cliff later added: "I looked in the morning, every time I'd wake up in the morning I'd go there and I wash my face and I'd look in the mirror and I'm thinking there's this old geezer looking back at me.
"And I seemed to be more lined and everything, and it may just be a psychological thing and part of the stress factor that you suddenly think I'm going to the dogs here."
While he said he does not like Botox, he revealed he is considering having work done following a gruelling two years.
Smiling, Sir Cliff said: "I have six lines (either side of my eyes), maybe I only want three."
The musician insists the live filming of the police raid on his home was illegal and will press ahead with plans to sue the BBC.
He said there "must have been illegal collusion" which led to the moment cops swooped on his home being broadcast live on the Beeb.
Sir Cliff has branded the move a "gross intrusion" into his privacy which saw him named as part of a child sex abuse investigation without ever being charged.
He described how, while at his Portugal vineyard in August 2014, he discovered with horror that footage of detectives searching his Berkshire home was being broadcast live on television.
Sir Cliff said: "I'm not bitter. I'm angry with South Yorkshire Police, and I feel confused and angry with the BBC.
"Why was a helicopter there and why was the BBC allowed to film what should have been a private investigation?"
He added: "It was horrifying."
Now the music legend has sold his home, as he said he would have preferred to have been "burgled", adding: "I've sold it.
"When I came back I said I cant live here again.
"These were police people who seemed to think I may be guilty of doing these vile things."
He called for action the BBC and police, adding: "It's the men at the top who should be sacked, or something."
The Beeb has apologised for causing the 75-year-old distress as a result of the coverage that he earlier said made him feel like he was "going to die".
South Yorkshire Police have also said sorry over their handling of the investigation after the Crown Prosecution Service decided to drop the case.
Sir Cliff indicated to ITV's Good Morning Britain that he may seek compensation in the courts.
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He said: "There must have been illegal collusion. I've never known, I don't think, investigations take place with lighting and cameras and special angles for the helicopter - it just seems ridiculous.
"I feel I have every right to sue because, if nothing else, definitely for gross intrusion of my privacy."
The veteran entertainer said he felt like "collateral damage" resulting from the wave of police investigations into high-profile sex abuse allegations sparked by the Jimmy Savile scandal.
Those under investigation for sexual crimes should not be named unless charges are brought, he told the programme.
Sir Cliff said he understood why children who make allegations are granted anonymity.
However he added: "My accusers were all men, grown-up men who were probably in their 40s and into their 50s. I don't see why they should be protected."
Detectives even took away postcards from his mother and a private note from Princess Diana.
The 75-year-old said: “I don’t see how anything like this can ever go back into the memory bank and be deleted.
“I can’t imagine ever forgetting what these people have done to me.
“It has damaged me in many, many ways.”
In a statement last night the broadcaster said: “The BBC’s responsibility is to report fully stories that are in the public interest.
“Police investigations into prominent figures in public life are, of course, squarely in the public interest, which is why they have been reported by all news organisations in this country.
“Once the South Yorkshire Police had confirmed the investigation and Sir Cliff Richard’s identity and informed the BBC of the timing and details of the search of his property, it would neither have been editorially responsible nor in the public interest to choose not to report fully the investigation into Sir Cliff Richard because of his public profile.
“The BBC, at every stage, reported Sir Cliff’s full denial of the allegations.
“The BBC, therefore, stands by the decision to report the investigation undertaken by the South Yorkshire Police and the search of his property.”
The singer has vowed not to retire.
But Sir Cliff refused to discuss his sexuality despite many fans questioning why he never got married.
The star said: "I've lived with that all my life. I always feel that I've probably been one of the most open people, I've done more interviews I'm sure, for TV for press, than almost any other person alive on the planet.
"I don't mind talking about things, but there are things that are mine. That will go with me to my grave.
"For instance, I don't talk about my family, I certainly don't talk about my sexuality, because sometimes the press, with the best intentions, can just twist something a little bit - and then everyone is feeling bad about it."
Sir Cliff’s 22-month ordeal finally came to an end last week when the Crown Prosecution Service ruled there was insufficient evidence to prosecute.
The legend said he felt he was treated as a criminal despite the claims against him being littered with holes, saying: “They assumed I was guilty.”
He plans a series of medical tests to find out if he has long-lasting ill effects from the strain.
An extract from the diary he kept reads: “I wake up in the mornings now and I feel I am disappearing.
“I look in the mirror and this other old geezer looks back at me.”
“At one point he even told his tennis coach he thought he was dying.
Sir Cliff added he feels an enormous sense of gratitude towards the public but believes he will never be able to put the ordeal behind him.
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