Sheridan Smith to once again play the role of Cilla Black in new musical

Sheridan Smith will once again play the role of Cilla Black in a new stage adaption of the ITV series.

The actress, who portrayed the entertainer in the three-part series in 2014,will appear in the musical adaptation of the TV programme from September.

Cilla the Musical will open at the Liverpool Empire for a four-week residency before it tours the UK, visiting Aylesbury, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Leeds.

Sharing the news on Instagram, Smith - who is currently pregnant with her first child - wrote: "Woo hoo it's official!"

Sheridan Smith filming the ITV drama back in 2014. Credit: ITV News

Smith, 38, was nominated for a TV Bafta and an International Emmy Award, and she won a National TV Award and a TV Choice Award for the role.

The musical, written by Jeff Pope and directed by West End theatre producer Bill Kenwright, debuted in 2017 with Kara Lily Hayworth in the starring role after she fended off competition from thousands of other hopefuls at an open audition.

It tells the story of Black from her life as a teenage girl in Liverpool through her incredible rise to fame as an international star.

The musical score features Black's greatest hits Anyone Who Had A Heart, Alfie and Something Tells Me, along with the backdrop of the sound of Liverpool's music scene.

Sheridan Smith was nominated for a number of awards for her role as Cilla. Credit: ITV News

The production is executive-produced by the late music and TV star's son Robert Willis.

Black's career in the limelight spanned six decades before her sudden death, aged 72, after a fall at her villa in Spain in August 2015.

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