Priscilla Maria Veronica White, better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer and television presenter.
Robert Willis was an English songwriter and talent manager who became the manager and eventually husband of singer Cilla Black.
Surprise Surprise is a British light entertainment television programme for ITV that originally ran from 6 May 1984 to 26 December 2001 with Cilla Black as the host. The show returned from 21 October 2012 to 26 July 2015 and was hosted by Holly Willoughby.
Claire Jane Sweeney is an English actress, singer, and television personality. Known for her portrayal of Lindsey Corkhill on Channel 4's Brookside (1991–2003), she also played Roxie Hart in Chicago and starred in touring productions of Guys and Dolls (2006), Tell Me on a Sunday (2011), Legally Blonde (2011), and Educating Rita (2012). She was a panellist on ITV's Loose Women between 2003 and 2005, and presented 60 Minute Makeover from 2004 to 2006. Her debut album, Claire, reached number 15 on the UK Albums Chart in 2002. Sweeney has portrayed Cassie Plummer on the ITV soap opera Coronation Street since 2023. Her other credits include Candy Cabs (2011), Scarborough (2019), and The Good Ship Murder (2023).
Wendi Louise Peters is an English actress. Peters began her acting career in theatre, with appearances in various productions including The Scarlet Pimpernel (1991), Guys and Dolls (1991), Into the Woods (1992), Bedroom Farce (1996) and Noises Off (1997). Then from 2003 to 2007, she portrayed Cilla Battersby-Brown in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street.
Sheridan Smith OBE is an English actress, singer, and television personality. Smith came to prominence after playing a variety of characters on sitcoms such as The Royle Family (1999–2000), Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps (2001–2009), Gavin & Stacey (2008–2010), and Benidorm (2009). She co-starred as Joey Ross in the drama series Jonathan Creek between 2009 and 2013, and went on to receive acclaim for starring in a succession of television dramas, such as Mrs Biggs (2012), Cilla (2014), The C Word (2015), Black Work (2015), The Moorside (2017), Cleaning Up (2019), and Four Lives (2022). Her film credits include Tower Block (2012), Quartet (2012), The Huntsman: Winter's War (2016), and The Railway Children Return (2022).
Anne Reid is a British stage, film and television actress, known for her roles as Valerie Barlow in the soap opera Coronation Street (1961–1971); Jean in the sitcom dinnerladies (1998–2000); and her role as Celia Dawson in Last Tango in Halifax (2012–2020) for which she was nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress. She won the London Film Critics' Circle Award for British Actress of the Year and received a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in the film The Mother (2003).
William Harry is the creator of Mersey Beat, a newspaper of the early 1960s which focused on the Liverpool music scene. Harry had previously started various magazines and newspapers, such as Biped and Premier, while at Liverpool's Junior School of Art. He later attended the Liverpool College of Art, where his fellow students included John Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe, who both later performed with the Beatles. He published a magazine, Jazz, in 1958, and worked as an assistant editor on the University of Liverpool's charity magazine, Pantosphinx.
Andrew Lancel is an English television and theatre actor, producer and director. He is best known for his appearance as Dr. Andrew Collin in Cardiac Arrest, his role as DI Neil Manson in The Bill and Frank Foster in the long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street, as well as his acclaimed portrayal of Brian Epstein in the stage play Epstein – The Man Who Made The Beatles.
"Some Other Guy" is a rhythm and blues song, written by Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller and Richie Barrett. First released as a single by Barrett, it featured an electric piano, then an unusual sound in pop music. Covered shortly afterwards by Liverpool's the Big Three and the Beatles, the song was a standard in the Merseybeat scene.
Mathew Street is a street in Liverpool, England, notable as the location of the new Cavern Club, the Beatles having played in the original club on numerous occasions in their early career.
The Big Three were a Merseybeat group from Liverpool. They are best known for their 1963 recording of "Some Other Guy" and their close connection to The Beatles.
Ferry Cross the Mersey is a 1964 British musical film featuring Gerry and the Pacemakers. It is frequently considered to be their version of the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night.
The Cavern Club is a music venue on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England.
Jeff Pope is a British television producer and screenwriter who co-wrote the film Pierrepoint and the television drama The Fattest Man in Britain and who won a BAFTA in 2006 for the drama See No Evil: The Moors Murders. He is also the Head of ITV Productions Factual Drama. Pope wrote the screenplay for the 2018 film Stan & Ollie, and co-wrote the 2022 film The Lost King.
Beryl Marsden is a British R&B and pop singer, who first came to notice on the Liverpool club scene of the early 1960s. She recorded a number of "powerful and soulful", but unsuccessful, records, and has been described as "undeservedly neglected".
Freda Kelly is an Irish secretary who was employed by the Beatles and their manager Brian Epstein from 1962 through 1972, and was president of the group's official fan club. Kelly worked with the band as it rose from local popularity to world-wide fame, and through its dissolution. A 2013 documentary, Good Ol' Freda, chronicled Kelly's ten-plus year association with the group and its members.
Sheridan is the debut studio album by English singer and actress Sheridan Smith. It was released by East West on 3 November 2017, and debuted at number nine on the UK Albums Chart.
Kate Fitzgerald is a British television actress from Liverpool. She came to prominence playing Doreen Corkhill for five years in the soap opera Brookside (1985–1990), Nancy Tinker in Coronation Street (2015-2019), and Loretta Chase in Benidorm (2017–2018).
Cilla The Musical is a jukebox musical written by Jeff Pope based on the early career and music of Cilla Black and Pope's 2014 ITV drama biopic of the same name.
