Ringo Starr rehearses for Cilla Black’s television show

Ringo Starr made an appearance on Cilla Black’s television show on 6 February 1968. In the lead-up to the show he took part in three days of rehearsals, the first of which took place on this day.

This and the following day’s rehearsals took place at the purpose-designed Television Rehearsal Rooms on Victoria Road in North Acton, London. They were off-camera, and involved blocking out segments and scenes for the live show, which was broadcast the following Tuesday.

Starr’s appearance was for the second edition of Cilla, a variety show with a number of guests each week. On this occasion they were comedian Spike Milligan and ventriloquist Peter Brough.

Starr appeared during the opening credits and in a number of skits. In the first, he assisted Black in sorting through her fan mail and introduced one of her singing performances, I’m Playing Second Fiddle To A Football Team. A second sketch saw him interact with Peter Brough and performing with his own ‘dummy’, introduced as Ariadne but actually Black in a school uniform.

Starr and Black duetted unaccompanied on the 1905 song Nellie Dean while he drank from a pint of beer, and finally they sang and danced to a 1917 song entitled Do You Like Me?