(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) TV ICON CILLA Black's rags-to-riches story will reportedly be turned into a West End show to which she is said to have given her blessings before she died earlier this month.

She is said to have had meetings with theatre figures before she passed away on August 1, and production companies now want to make the show happen, reports mirror.co.uk.

An industry source told The Sun newspaper: "Cilla had a meeting with producers interested in turning her life story into a musical. She had actually granted them permission but it wasn't the right time. Now, people are swarming around the rights."

She was known for singing hits in the 1960s when she hung out in Liverpool's Cavern club, before moving into TV where she presented huge hits including Blind Date and Surprise Surprise.

The body of Black, who died in Spain, will be brought to her hometown for a funeral at St Mary's Church in Woolton on Thursday before being laid to rest in Allerton Cemetery, next to her parents, father John White and mother Priscilla. IANS