A retro clip of Cilla Black belting out a Lionel Ritchie classic to a room full of children and teenagers – many of whom look rather bemused – for a 1983 Christmas TV special has sent fans into meltdown.
Proving they don’t make them like they used to, the early 80s footage sees the Liverpudlian singer famous for presenting shows such as Blind Date and Surprise, Surprise wearing a sparkly silver belted dress and singing Ritchie’s All Night Long in a festive living room.
In the opening minutes of the seasonal special, Cilla Black’s Christmas Eve, the late singer, then 40, is seen throwing glitter over a towering tree and into the air, before she begins singing the 80s pop song.
Children of varying ages then arrive, and begin to dance freestyle around the star.
After the vintage video resurfaced again this year, thousands have commented on the footage…with many fascinated by the dance moves of one particular child.
A boy wearing a pair of green trousers and a white beanie hat has particularly caught the eyes of those experiencing the vintage clip more than 40 years on.
The boy, thought to be aged around seven, body pops to the track by the US pop star, which was released the same year, and appears totally lost in the music.
One captivated viewer of the clip wrote on Instagram this week: ‘Watch this video a couple of times and focus on a different dancer each watch. I promise you will not be disappointed.’
Cilla thriller: The Liverpudlian star, at the height of her fame in the 80s, recorded the Cilla Black’s Christmas Eve TV special in 1983, footage of which has recently resurfaced – much to the fascination of modern viewers
While Cilla shimmied around the room in a silver dress, the children in the clip dance to the song alone, with one boy particularly catching the eye of modern audiences in the resurfaced clip
Another penned: ‘Green trousers moving like a malfunctioning animatronic and I’m here for it.’
And one person quipped: ‘The one in the green trousers is surely Jamiroquai.’
While some have claimed to be the boy on social media, the identity of the body popping kid still remains a mystery.
Elsewhere, there’s a young EastEnders star in the making in the footage.
Jake Wood, who plays Max Branning in the BBC soap, is seen wearing a bright red and blue tracksuit, with his full head of red hair in sharp contrast to the close-shaved look he wears now.
Before Albert Square beckoned in 2006, Wood trained at the Anna Scher Drama School in Islington, North London and landed his first role as a 12-year-old in ITV series The Gentle Touch.
In the Christmas Eve clip, Jake’s seen smiling cheekily directly at the camera as other children party around him.
The video ends with Cilla offering presents to her young guests before ushering them out of the door of the studio house.
The ITV special saw some of the biggest stars of the day make an appearance including the Bee Gees, Julio Iglesias, George Benson, and comedian Frankie Howerd.
The green-trousered boy’s identity remains a mystery 40 years on…but those watching the clip in 2025 loved his unique dancing style
Doing his own thing: The boy in the beanie appears lost to the music, as Cilla is seen dancing behind him
Jake Wood, aka Max Branning in EastEnders, also featured in the Christmas special, left. Right: The soap star pictured more recently
Cilla, who was born Priscilla Maria Veronica White in Liverpool on May 27, 1943, became a British pop star in the early sixties, helped by her friends The Beatles, before turning to TV later on.
Her small screen TV career spanned decades and included smashes such as Blind Date between 1985 and 2003 and Surprise Surprise from 1984 to 2001.
The star died from a stroke following a fall at her Spanish holiday home in Estepona on August 1, 2015.
She was buried at Allerton Cemetery, with hundreds of mourners lining the streets of Liverpool on the day and some even crashing the internment.
