DELIA WICKSDelia Wicks, a dancer who dated Cliff Richard for 18 months in 1960 has died, aged 71.When she died, the letter he sent her to end their relationship was published, in which he claimed he was prepared to put his career first.He wrote in October 1961 because he was in the middle of an Australian tour - and didn't want to string her along.He said it was "one of the biggest decisions" he would ever have to make.The singer urged her to "find someone who is free to love you as you deserve to be loved" and who "is able to marry you".The letter reads: “Dear Dellia, I know I haven’t written for a long time but I’ve been so confused in my mind about you and about myself. I’ve just had to make, probably, one of the biggest decisions I’m ever going to make and I’m hoping that it won’t hurt you too much.“Dellia, I want you to try and understand the position I’m in. Being a singer I’m going to have to give up many things in life. But being a pop singer I have to give up one priceless thing — the right to any lasting relationship with any special girl.“Dellia, you must find someone who is free to love you as you deserve to be loved, and is able to marry you. I couldn’t give up my career, besides the fact that my mother and sisters, since my father’s death, rely on me completely. I have showbiz in my blood now and I would be lost without it.“D, all I can say now is goodbye and don’t think too badly of me. Love, Cliff.”Delia had dated Cliff for 18 months after they got together in 1960 when Cliff was 20.She had left her Leeds home at 15 to pursue a dancing career in London.She went on to marry company director John Pyle in 1970 but later divorced.Delia, who starred in the Black and White Minstrel Show, retired from the stage in her late 30s, and went on to work in a shoe-shop in Warwick until it closed in 2000.She died at Barford, Warwick, from cancer and a stroke on April 2, 2010.
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