British TV star Cilla Black died of a stroke after falling at her Spanish villa

Cilla Black died of a stroke after falling at her Spanish villa, it has been confirmed, as the TV star’s sons said they were “devastated by the sad loss of our mother”.

Black’s family announced yesterday that they now have a conclusive postmortem report on how she died, with authorities in Spain permitting her body to be returned to the UK.

The former Blind Date host, whose showbiz career spanned five decades, died at her home in Estepona near Marbella in Spain on Sunday.

“Cilla was sunbathing on her private terrace at her villa in Estepona, got up, lost her balance and fell hitting her head, which knocked her unconscious, and she subsequently died of a stroke. She would not have suffered,” a family statement said.

Black was found by her son Bobby, 44. Newspaper reports had speculated the extreme heat in Spain may have been a contributing factor, where the summer is the hottest in 40 years.

The delay in confirming the cause of death was because forensic experts had asked first responders for more information about the circumstances of how Black’s body was found and to carry out further tests, not because foul play was suspected, a spokeswoman from Andalucía’s high court told The Guardian.