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ITV apologise for ‘sick’ Cilla Black joke during ‘You’ve Been Framed’

By Will Stroude

ITV have been forced to apologise after airing an episode of You’ve Been Framed! which featured an insensitive joke about Cilla Black.

The Liverpool-born national treasure died on August 1 at her holiday home in Marbella, Spain, after suffering “traumatic head injury” after an accidental fall, and viewers were quick to slam a re-run of the show that didn’t remove an ill-timed joke about the late star.

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 18: Cilla Black attends the Arqiva British Academy Television Awards at Theatre Royal on May 18, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)

During the programme, narrator Harry Hill introduces the star’s “final show for ITV”, before a clip of a red-haired woman hitting her head in a swimming pool is shown.

ITV has since released an official apology for the blunder, saying: “This episode of You’ve Been Framed was first broadcast in October 2014 and was repeated again on Sunday night.

“We have production processes in place to re-edit programmes in circumstances such as this, but regrettably the clip was not cut on this occasion.

“We are very sorry for this unfortunate oversight and for any distress its inclusion caused.”

Meanwhile, it was recently revealed that Cilla’s life could soon be turned into a West End musical, after talks were put on hold following her untimely death.

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