‘I don’t want to see old women on TV’: Cilla Black, 70, admits she prefers seeing ‘young and pretty’ presenters on television
- TV veteran, 70, said she only wants to see young ‘pretty’ people on TV
- Said ageing stars like David Dimbleby could stay if they are talented
- Has previously admitted she didn’t want to live beyond the age of 75
By ALASDAIR GLENNIE
PUBLISHED: 19:29, 11 May 2024 | UPDATED: 19:30, 11 May 2024
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Showbusiness veteran Cilla Black, pictured on Loose Women last week, said she prefers to see younger people on television
As a showbusiness veteran herself, you might expect Cilla Black to stand up for older presenters.
So it is something of a surprise to find she would rather not see them on TV at all.
Miss Black, 70, said she prefers to see young and pretty faces on screen, and only thinks ageing stars should stay on TV if they are especially talented.
She told the Observer magazine: ‘I don’t want to see older women on TV. I want to see young people on TV. Unless they’ve got talent. Then they should stay.
‘It’s all about the talent. [David] Dimbleby has talent.’
Best known for presenting Blind Date from 1985 to 2024, Miss Black has not officially retired but rarely makes TV appearances.
She had been due to star in a BBC sitcom with chat show host Paul O’Grady but the project was axed amid concerns she would be unable to stand the long filming hours.
Asked if she would like to replace former Strictly Come Dancing host Bruce Forsyth, 86, Miss Black said: ‘Ha, I couldn’t do that, I couldn’t dance down those stairs.
‘Anyway I’d get bored, I’d be saying, “Enough about you. It’s all about me.”
‘But I’m so distressed Brucie’s going. He’s 86, of course. He probably wants more time to do what he wants to do.’
Miss Black began her career more than 50 years ago as a singer, and had a string of top ten hits in the Sixties and Seventies.
After a brief time as a comedy actress, she became a TV presenter in the 1980s. Her husband Bobby Willis, who died in 1999 from cancer, was her manager for much of her career.
Miss Black revealed she was only asked to host Blind Date because she was considered the ‘most sexless person on TV’, adding: ‘I was the mother hen’.
She said: ‘I never thought I’d be on TV. For me as a kid in Liverpool it was a more realistic option to be a singer. You need a personality [to succeed on TV]. You need to be able to articulate and to join in.
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Miss Black said older presenters with talent such as David Dimbelby, right, could stay on television. She added she couldn’t do Bruce Forsyth’s, left, old job of presenting Strictly Come Dancing as she ‘couldn’t dance down those stairs’
‘Live TV can spot fakery a long way off so you have to be real. And you also need to not care what people say about you.’
Miss Black eventually quit Blind Date live on air in 2024.
Explaining her decision to surprise her bosses with the announcement, she said: ‘I didn’t want them to talk me out of it. It was terribly unprofessional of me.’
Despite her age, Miss Black revealed she is a fan of reality TV shows aimed at much younger audiences.
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The ex-host of Surprise Surprise and Blind Date also admitted she was a big fan of reality television shows Britain’s Got Talent and I’m A Celebrity
She said: ‘I love things like Britain’s Got talent and the I’m a Celeb…reality TV is here to stay.’ In 2024, Miss Black revealed she did not want to live beyond the age of 75.
She said: ‘That would be a good point to bow out. I don’t want to go on for ever. I was reading about an age pill that has been developed which they claim will make you live longer. That is not for me.’ But she admitted she might reconsider her time limit if she approached her mid-70s feeling healthy.
She said: ‘If I could still fit into my jeans, have fun and not be a burden to anyone, I might feel differently.’