Fans, friends and family have turned out to pay their respects to singer and TV star Cilla Black as her funeral takes place in Liverpool.
Crowds applauded her funeral cortege during its two-mile journey to St Mary’s RC Church in Woolton.
Sir Cliff Richard told mourners the journey to the church had made him realise “how much people loved her”.
TV stars Paul O’Grady, Jimmy Tarbuck and Christopher Biggins joined her sons Robert and Ben in giving readings.
Sir Cliff delivered the opening words and performed the song Faithful One.
“She took the country by storm because she became our greatest TV presenter, probably of all time.”
The funeral began with All Things Bright And Beautiful and a greeting by the Right Reverend Thomas Williams, Auxiliary Bishop of Liverpool.
Black’s son Robert Willis delivered a tribute, describing her as a “wonderful lady who had touched all our lives and brought joy and laughter” to those she knew.
He said: “Her pure enthusiasm, self belief and wonderful sense of humour made being with her a joy and a pleasure.”
Mr Willis added that his mother was a “trailblazer in the fields of music and television” and “set the bar high and it’s still there”.
His brother Ben Willis later spoke, saying his mother “was always young at heart”.
He continued: “I think this was one of the reasons so many people loved her dearly. She loved being a star. She lived to entertain and make people happy. But she also valued her privacy greatly.”
Black’s 1964 hit Anyone Who Had A Heart was played during Holy Communion and The Long And Winding Road by her friends The Beatles was chosen as the recessional music.
Biggins delivered a Bible reading from the Book of Wisdom, Tarbuck read the Prayers of the Faithful and O’Grady will give a closing tribute.
Other guests included Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sir Tom Jones.
Speaking before the Mass, Sir Tom told BBC News: “She was a lovely person. A down-to-earth person. She never put on any airs or graces. She never became a showbiz personality.
“I think she’d want to be remembered as a singer – which she was. She was a hell of a singer.”
Black died of a stroke after falling over at her Spanish home earlier this month at the age of 72.