Cilla Black has revealed she never wanted to appear in her small-screen biopic.
Portrayed by Sheridan Smith in the mini-series Cilla, the entertainer wasn't keen on making a cameo in the show because she felt she shouldn't put her own mark on production.
Sheridan Smith as Cilla / Credit: ITVJeff Pope - the series' writer - explained to journalists: "I think she wanted to let us do it and she didn't want to put a footprint on it."
"If Cilla came up to set and just had one line, the idea of her standing there watching Sheridan singing all of her songs - she would've turned around and gone away again."
However, Sheridan and Cilla did meet up so the pair could discuss the role.
"When she was singing in the Cavern Club [in Liverpool during the early years of her career] - Cilla told me this herself as well - because it was so loud you would just whack it out, those rock and roll songs.
"And then when she'd get in the studio with headphones on she realised she had this little soft voice as well, so that's why she started doing ballads and that was kind of fun to play around with... The soft voice and then the kind of Cilla honk." said Sheridan.
Cilla comes to ITV on September 15, 9pm.
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