Cilla Black's body has been flown back to the UK.
Cilla Black
The 'Blind Date' host passed away suddenly last Saturday (01.08.15) after suffering a stroke in her villa in Spain and her body has now been returned to England ready for her funeral.
A source close to the case revealed yesterday (07.08.15): "Cilla Black's body was flown back to the UK this morning.
"She was repatriated on an Air Berlin-operated flight which left Malaga at 10.50am local time and touched down at Gatwick at 12.30pm.
"It was a normal passenger plane with a larger-than-normal cargo area for the special cargo it was carrying apart from peoples' luggage."
After arriving at Gatwick airport, she was taken to a funeral parlour in Denham, Buckinghamshire, close to where she lived with her late husband Bobby Willis who died in 1999 from lung and liver disease.
No details about when or where the funeral will be held have yet been released, although it is expected to take place in the nearby St Mary the Virgin Church, which is where Bobby's funeral was held 16 years ago.
The British icon's body has already been "embalmed and dressed" ready for the funeral.
A second source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "Cilla's body was embalmed and dressed before the flight.
"She was taken directly from the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Malaga where the post-mortem took place on Sunday to Malaga Airport.
"The coffin had a zinc casing inside it which is a health and safety prerequisite for bodies taken on flights."
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