Cilla Black plans to flash her leg as she collects her BAFTA TV Special Award.
The veteran entertainer will be recognised for her stellar work in television – such as hosting ‘Blind Date’ and ‘Surprise Surprise’ – at the British Academy Television Awards on May 18 and she has already picked out a flesh-baring dress.
Appearing on ITV’s ‘Loose Women’ today (09.05.14), the 71-year-old star said: "I got my dress yesterday … it’s black and I’ve got a big split to show some leg off."
Cilla admits she is "surprised" to have been selected for the prestigious honour, quipping lifetime achievement awards usually go to "people who are dead".
The humble Liverpudlian added: "I’ve done exactly what I wanted to do in life, and why should I be awarded for that? It’s only what I wanted to do."
The red-haired star first found fame in the 1960s as a pop star – managed by the man behind The Beatles – and her early career will be chronicled in a new ITV miniseries, with BAFTA winner Sheridan Smith playing her.
Cilla said of the actress: "I went out to dinner with her and she’s fabulous! She turned up with the red hair – the full monty! Paul O’Grady was there, she was fantastic. We exchanged telephone numbers and I said, ‘If ever you have a problem with anything, give me a call.’ "
Cilla says it will be "strange" to watch her life played out in the TV drama, which will centre on the romance between her and her late husband Bobby Willis.
She added: "It’s a love story, really, between Bobby and I, and it’s all about my pop career. There’s a whole generation that doesn’t know I sang as a pop singer in those days. It ends with the beginning of my TV career [but] everybody knows about that."
Cilla Black to show leg at BAFTAs
