Who was Cilla Black's husband Bobby Willis and how many children did they have?
19 February 2020, 20:58 | Updated: 19 February 2020, 21:01
Cilla Black: The Lost Tapes is a new documentary featuring unseen footage of the late presenter. Heres's everything you need to know about her husband, kids and family life.
Bobby Willis was Cilla Black's husband, who managed her career before his death in 1999.
He features on new documentary Cilla Black: The Lost Tapes, which gives viewers an insight into Cilla's personal life with unseen footage and audio that was found in the late presenter's attic years after her death.
In one recording from 2002, Cilla recalls the moment she met Bobby for the first time, saying: "It certainly wasn’t love at first sight… but he was incredibly funny and unbelievably good looking."
Here's your need-to-know on Bobby as Cilla Black: The Lost Tapes airs on ITV.
Who is Bobby Willis and when did he marry Cilla Black?
Bobby was born in Liverpool in 1942, and worked on the bakery counter in Woolworths for a time, before leaving to become a singer - songwriter.
He met Cilla in the 60s while she was working as a waitress in a bar in Liverpool, and he told her he was a record producer in an attempt to impress her, and the pair started dating.
Cilla and Bobby got married in 1969, and took over as her from Brian Epstein as her manager after his death.
How many children did Bobby and Cilla have?
The couple had threes sons together called Robert, Ben and Jack. They also had a daughter called Ellen, but she tragically died two hours after birth.
Speaking about his parents' marriage, Robert says in the documentary: "We were very lucky that what they were doing was quite high profile but when they were at home they really loved a very simple, normal family life.”
When did Bobby Willis die?
Bobby sadly died in 1999 aged 57 after a battle with lung and liver cancer.
Cilla's friend Paul O'Grady opened up about the affect Bobby's death had on her, saying: "She’d never done anything for herself. She’d never used a hole in the wall to get cash out.
"She didn’t have a clue. Never ordered a taxi for herself, all sorts of things like that, she had to learn. Bobby did everything for her."
