Cliff Richards painting of him and Elvis unveiled after fat-shaming row

Cliff Richard says he didn’t meet Elvis due to his weight

Sir Cliff Richard’s painting alongside Elvis Presley has been unveiled following the recent uproar.

BBC Radio 4 presenter Jon Holmes has cheekily posted the 83-year-old’s artwork which featured none other than the rock ‘n’ roll hitmaker.

It comes after Cliff claimed in the early days of his career he was given a chance to get a photo with Elvis but at the time the Caught In A Trap singer had gained weight, so Cliff decided against meeting him.

Taking to Twitter on October 21, The Skewer presenter shared a photo of Cliff at home and in the background fans caught a glimpse of an oil painting that sees him singing alongside Elvis.

Jon tweeted to his 26,900 followers: “See, #cliffrichard actually *does* have a painting of him with (thin) #Elvis in his house. A painting that he commissioned despite them never having met. I know this because we recorded a programme there some years back. (I have subtly disguised the producer to save her sanity).”

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In a follow-up tweet, Jon quipped: “Note how Cliff is taking the vocals, while Elvis stands watching in awe.”

His post was accompanied by a photo that saw the singer beaming at the camera and in the background the painting is visibly hung on the wall behind him beside a grand piano.

The framed painting shows a very slim Elvis watching Cliff, who is seemingly belting out his songs on stage.

Social media users reacted to the post, as fans addressed the previously unseen painting.

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One person wrote: “Love that Cliff is shown giving it large and Elvis bloody Presley is just drinking him in.”

Another joked: “There is quite a lot to unpack here,” while a third person remarked: “Of course, it’s #ThinElvis.”

A fourth person added: “Elvis clearly in awe of Cliff!”

It comes after the singer and actor’s appearance on Monday’s episode of This Morning where Cliff was joined by hosts Alison Hammond, Dermot O’Leary and stand-in Sarah Ferguson.

When he was probed about whether he ever got the chance to meet his hero Elvis, his answer surprised everyone – especially given he’d previously admitted being “obsessed” with the singer.

“I had one chance through a journalist while I was promoting Devil Woman in the States,” Richard began.

“He said, ‘I know Elvis’, because he knew I was influenced, and he said, ‘Do you wanna meet him?’

“I said, ‘Yeah’… (but) at the end of the interview though I said, ‘Can we put it off?’

“Because I knew he had put on a lot of weight and I thought, ‘If I am having a photograph taken with him and it’s going to be hanging on my refrigerator, he’s got to look good’.”

Cliff added: “And I put it off and, of course, then he died. If you’re a fan of somebodies if you get the chance to meet them, meet them! Even if they’ve put on weight.”

The singer let out a chuckle with the clip going viral as viewers complained Cliff had fat-shamed Elvis.

Express.co.uk has contacted Cliff Richard’s representatives for comment.

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