British entertainer Cilla Black dead at 72

“I wasn’t surprised when I found out she had died“, McCann told the BBC.

In the U.S., Black is best known for her big-voice belting of “You’re My World“, which peaked at No. 26 on the U.S. charts in 1964.

Cilla’s only daughter Ellen died immediately after her premature birth in 1975 and she lost “soulmate” Bobby to lung cancer in 1999.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain, the couple said: “She’s a bit of a fairy godmother to us and our children”, they said, going on to admit the news of her death had come as a shock.

A Spanish police spokeswoman confirmed Cilla, who was born Priscilla White, had died at her home at her home in Estepona on the Costa del Sol.

It is thought Cilla flew to Spain last week with one of her sons and she passed away in her sleep overnight. “But I knew she wasn’t very well, she didn’t seem well”.

Black, real name Priscilla White, died over the weekend at the age of 72.

“There was nothing showbizzy about Cilla, she was the same as she always had been”. He added: “She was a lovely girl who infected everyone with her great spirit”.

Earlier in the day, it was suggested Spanish police were investigating whether her death was caused by a fall from a dizzy spell, caused by a sudden temperature change in the room.

“I know one of her sons was with her in Spain and that’s marvellous”.

While working in the Zodiac she fell in love with Bobby Willis who, although a Protestant, would eventually become her husband in 1969 despite the sectarian divide in their hometown Liverpool.

He writes, “Cilla was one of my dearest friends… a force of nature, but honest, gritty and always, well, Cilla!…”

Black became an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1997 and was given a special award by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) past year.

She said: “As a young child I didn’t see her as being famous”.

Meanwhile, late “You’re My World” singer’s good friend Paul O’Grady also paid her a heartbreaking tribute and called her his “partner in crime”, saying that after her death everyone here was like “all the fun has gone” and would surely “miss Cilla”.