Cilla Black died from head injury, coroner rules

Cilla Black was found dead at her Spanish villa, on 1 August

Singer Cilla Black died from a traumatic head injury during a fall at her home in Spain, a coroner has ruled.

During a 15-minute hearing at Liverpool Coroner’s Court, Andre Rebello recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Black was found dead at her villa in Estepona on the Costa del Sol on 1 August.

The 72-year-old entertainer’s funeral will take place next Thursday at St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Liverpool.

‘Celebrated and loved’

Addressing the hearing, attended by Black’s three sons, Mr Rebello referred to the star by her real name Priscilla Maria Veronica Willis.

“She was a daughter of Liverpool and was celebrated and loved by all in Liverpool,” he said.

He told sons, Ben, Robert and Jack: “She was your mum and her death is a private personal matter and we have all got one mum.

“It is right that you grieve and remember her.”

Following her funeral, the singer will be laid to rest at Allerton Cemetery, where her parents are buried.

Born Priscilla Maria Veronica White, she first found fame as a singer in the 1960s, with a string of top 10 hits including chart-toppers Anyone Who Had a Heart and You’re My World.

She later married Bobby Willis at London’s Marylebone Register Office in 1969. He died 30 years later.

The former cloakroom attendant at the famed Cavern Club in Liverpool then went on to become the host of TV shows such as Surprise, Surprise and Blind Date.

BBC