CILLA Black delighted audiences when she starred as Dick Whittington in the pantomime at the Apollo Theatre, Oxford, in 1984-5.

The glittering production also featured comedians Jimmy Cricket and Billy Dainty – and brought a welcome return for the Vera Legge dancers.

The previous year, the Oxford-based dancing school had missed out and a group of dancers from Swindon had controversially taken over.

It was the first time in 48 years that Vera Legge pupils had not appeared in the pantomime.

But it was back to normal the following year when 12 youngsters were selected and were given just a week to perfect their routines before the show opened.

Dance teacher Diana Brown said at the time: “The children were very disappointed last year because it is something they look forward to. But they’re very pleased to be back this time, and we’re all looking forward to it.”

The Oxford Mail’s Don Chapman was full of praise for the show.

He wrote: “Cilla sets her stamp on the entertainment immediately. She breezes on at the beginning and declares in her unmistakable Scouse accent: ‘At last I’m ‘ere. My feet are killing me. I’ve walked all the way from Liverpool’.

“She is still doing things her way at the end, cajoling poor Malcolm from the stalls into singing If I Had a Hammer with her. And in between, she gives as good as she gets from a boisterous Boxing Day audience.

“But underpinning her infectious personality is an unusually slick and professional show.”

It was the first time Cilla had appeared in pantomime in Oxford, although she had played Dick Whittington elsewhere once before.

Before the show opened, she said: “I just love pantomime. People say I’m mad because it’s such hard work doing two performances a day. But there’s no pressure and it’s all fun.”

She had just one worry about the show. “The thing that bothers me is how a Scouse accent is going to go down.”

It appears it went down well – the show was well attended during its six-week run.