Cilla Black’s funeral held today following her death in Estepona

SINGER and TV presenter Cilla Black, who died at her Estepona villa last month, was mourned today by thousands of fans, friends and family as her funeral was held at the Liverpool church where she and late husband Bobby Willis had their wedding blessing in 1969.

Sir Cliff Richard was due to sing a tribute to her, whilst Sir Tom Jones is reputed to have flown from Bratislava (Slovakia) in a hired private jet to get there.

Paul O’Grady, alias Lily Savage, performed and dedications and prayers were read by Cilla’s close friends, including comic Jimmy Tarbuck who admitted to reporters that he has been ‘choked up’ by the Blind Date presenter’s sudden demise.

Tarbuck said his close friend had ‘gone a bit too early’ and that he had ‘had a bad couple of weeks’ since he found out.

“Seventy-two is no age,” he stated.

Surviving Beatles Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney are said to have been due to attend, and the Fab Four’s hit, The long and winding road was played at the end of the service.

And Cilla’s own hit Anyone who had a heart was played during the ceremony.

The entertainer was then buried later this afternoon next to her mum and dad in a private service at Liverpool.

Born Priscilla Maria Veronica White in 1943, her first step into the world of showbiz was a job at the Cavern Club in Liverpool.

She went on to become a successful singer in the 1960s and 1970s, but the current generation of young adults will remember her better as the bubbly presenter of Surprise, surprise and Blind Date.

Cilla was well-known in her Costa del Sol home, where celebrity guests were often seen spending their holidays.

She was at her Estepona villa when she slipped and fell on the pool terrace and hit her head, causing a fatal stroke.