Please don't spend money on this.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Cilla Black is revered in England and no wonder. Working class girl befriends The Beatles before they were The Beatles, gets up to sing at Liverpool's Cavern Club, and improbably goes on to international fame. The locations are lush, with lots of gritty brick urban streetscapes and great 1960s fashion. But it's subtle and not overdone. And The Beatles are portrayed, but in a nicely casual way. The music is great -- it comes across as live; it's not over-produced. The lead actors are great. The woman playing Cilla is quite suited to the role -- the girl next door but confident and sassy. But her voice isn't as good as the real Cilla Black -- it's a little too low and Smith sometimes belts put those songs rather than sings them. As her boyfriend Bobby Willis, Aneurin Barnard is great -- the character is initially a bit flaky, but turns out to be a solid support to her. The story hums along at a steady pace. The dialogue is a bit clunky at times, and the Liverpool accents can be hard to understand. The third and final episode is the weakest. Black may have had too much input into the script because Cilla and Bobby barely kiss, and keep chaste separate hotel rooms. If it's true Cilla vetoed Bobby recording songs because she wanted him to look after her, it's a bit disturbing. The series ends rather abruptly but I suppose the 1960s 'star is born' phase had ended, and that was the point of the show. Overall, a good effort.

I have left one point off as, being from Liverpool, I can spot a dud Liverpool accent a mile off, and while the lead actors accents were very good, some of the "cough and spit" actors did not get the sixties accent correctly. The accent seems to have become more rough around the edges than in those days when BBC English ruled the airwaves. Other than that the series was a joy. I loved hearing Sheridan Smith's versions of 60s classics. I especially enjoyed the revival of "Love of the Loved" as I liked this song on its first release and thought it should have been a much bigger hit. As an 11 year old I was glued to the TV screen whenever Merseybeat stars appeared. I remember Cilla Black being interviewed and saying that she was more excited about that song getting to number 35 than she did about her next release getting to number 1. Watching this I had to sympathise with Cilla as I enjoyed the scenes of her singing in the Liverpool clubs better than her later more middle of the road studio recording, but that is an ageing Liverpool music fan for you! I also enjoyed seeing the remnants of 60s Liverpool in this show, looking as dingy as I remembered the street back cracks of the time. And my, didn't the place look a treat when it was dressed up as New York using Civic Buildings also still around from that60s era. People I have chatted to have proudly told me that they were served hot-dogs and Coke by Cilla at the Cavern, so it seems to have tapped a wave of warm affection from older inhabitants of Modern Liverpooltowards Cilla. There is surely scope for a series two as there are several big Cilla hits from the late 60s and 70s such as "Surround Yourself With Sorrow" "Conversations" and the recently revived "Something tells me Something's going to Happen Tonight" still to come plus some emotionally charged episodes in the life of Cilla. But as it stands anyone who is still in thrall to the music of this period,with specific reference to lovers of Lennon and McCartney songs should watch this to get another take on the Beatles story as it delivers new information on Brian Epstein's managing abilities. I also loved hearing "Bad To me" by Billy J Kramer(One of the "lost" Beatles compositions like "Love of the Loved"? Well done to all concerned. It really,truly left me wanting more. A feature it shared with its subject, the legendary Cilla Black

I am teary-eyed that this excellent 3-part drama series has now finished. Sheridan Smith must surely be Britain's best actress at the moment and I totally believed in her performance and characterisation. Her vocals were superb - take note X-Factor, THIS is how to perform songs. Full marks too to the supporting cast (partner Bobby, her father, etc) - there should be acting awards all round and a writers award to Jeff Pope. In fact I hope ITV commission Jeff to write "Cilla 2" because I want to see Sheridan, Aneurin, and all, continue this story from where it left off in January 1968 to take in stuff like how she turned down Eurovision 1968 (Cliff did it instead), her psychedelic film flop later that year, her marriage to Bobby, her 8 straight years of hosting her own smash hit BBC TV show, her two sitcom series for ATV in the mid 1970s for which she was voted Britain's top female comedy star, her LWT series Blind Date and Surprise Surprise, Bobby's sad passing in 1999, etc etc.Come on ITV - find some way to continue this story!

Miss S.Smith does a nice impression of Cilla Black and in fact sings rather better than the original in a competent enough if not inspired series celebrating Miss Black's fifty years as an entertainer. Starting out as a raunchy R & B singer she joined Svengali Brian Epstein's stable and changed to an anodyne M.O.R. artiste and ultimately a family TV favourite - the classic path followed by such as Tommy Steele and Cliff Richard before her and many others since. In later years she has become a bit of a cliché figure with her scouse accent broadening to the point of self - parody,but she gave every song her all and was a celebrity before the word became a curse. The mis - en - scene is familiar to anybody who has watched TV or seen a British kitchen sink drama over the last 60 years,oop north,outside privies,mums in aprons,dads in sleeveless pullies,back to back housing.. .....this very familiarity is now a comfort and Miss Black so much a part of our culture that it almost writes itself. The first episode is a bit glum and ends on a down note that might have broken a lesser woman but Cilla has guts and,at least in her case,talent - as they say - will out. She never seems particularly happy and I wondered at the end whether she might have preferred to have remained a pecunious but artistically fulfilled R&B singer rather than having to churn out "Anyone who had a heart" for fifty years - but I'll guess we'll never know.