Cilla Black’s son reveals listening to her music helped him cope after her tragic death
The showbiz icon's eldest son has released an album in her memory titled Cilla with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
CILLA Black's son recovered from his mother's death by listening to her catalogue of hits.
Robert Willis, 48, released a new album of music in the star's memory and said hearing her voice on record has helped him return to "a good place" amid his grief.
He told the : “I’ve been very lucky that I’ve been able to do these projects and celebrate what she was about.
“We’re in a good place, so when I see a clip or listen to some music, it makes me smile, it makes me happy. It doesn’t make me sad any more.
“I’ve been really fortunate that we’ve been able to do such great and exciting projects, it’s been brilliant.”
Robert's two younger brother, Jack, 38, and Ben, 44, returned to work in TV after their mum's death.
He decided to produce the hit show Cilla – The Musical last year, and gathered artists to perform on the record titled Cilla with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
He said: “My two brothers work in TV and they’ve gone back to their jobs.
“For me, my life has changed, but you just kind of move on, you take that person who you love with you.
“There’s no right or wrong way to deal with bereavement, you do what’s right for you.”
The album features Sir Cliff Richard, Sheridan Smith, who played Cilla in a TV biog, and Rebecca Ferguson.
Robert was “thrilled” that Sir Cliff had agreed to take part.
He added: “I didn’t want to ask him myself. I didn’t want to put that pressure on – if he didn’t want to do it, that would have been cool. But it was so brilliant that he did.”
Cilla died from a fatal stroke at her holiday home in Spain in August 2015 at the age of 72.
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She was most recently known for hosting Blind Date and Surprise Surprise.
Cilla quit in 2003 after ratings of the show, which ran for 373 episodes, fell to less than 3 million viewers.
She married her husband Bobby Willis in 1969 and the couple had three sons together and a daughter who tragically only lived for a few hours.
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