Cliff Richard as Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights: The musical you probably forgot explained

24 February 2026, 12:11

"Wuthering Heights" is back on the big screen, but Sir Cliff's version will always be in our heart.

Emerald Fennell's unconventional adaptation of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights has grabbed plenty of attention.

Starring Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff, it plays fast and loose with aspects of Brontë's novel and has an excellent songtrack from Charli XCX, too.

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Wuthering Heights has been adapted for the screen so many times that it's hard to pick the very best.

The 1939 version starring Mere Oberon, Laurence Olivier and David Niven is obviously worth of mention, as is the 1992 take with Juliette Binchoe and Ralph Fiennes. More recently, there was Andrea Arnold's gritty 2011 adaptation starring Kaya Scodelario and James Howson.

But a version that has definitely lingered in the memory is a radical reworking from 1996. Heathcliff, the musical, co-written by and starring none other than Cliff Richard.

Yes, in 1996, Sir Cliff and theatre director Frank Dunlop adapted Brontë's classic for the stage.

Best Wuthering Heights Adaption: Cliff Richard's Heathcliff

While Cliff worked on the book, he left the songwriting to others, with music by one-time Shadows man John Farrar and lyrics by musical theatre icon Tim Rice.

As you could probably tell from the title (and the casting), the adaptation was very much based around Heathcliff, rather than Cathy.

But while the songs filled out some of Heathcliff's backstory, the dialogue was all taken from Brontë's book, albeit moved about a bit to work in the new medium and with the new focus.

It's fair to say the announcement of the show raised plenty of eyebrows at the time.

Cliff Richard Launches HeathCliff Video

And the anticipation was raised by some studio releases from Sir Cliff ahead of the production. First came the single 'A Misunderstood Man', followed by the album Songs from Heathcliff, which even made it into the charts at 41.

There were ten tracks on the album, half of which featured Richard's old pal Olivia Newton-John, though she wouldn't appear in the eventual stage musical.

In the production, Sir Cliff would be on stage with Helen Hobson (Cathy), Jimmy Johnston (Earnshaw/Hindley), Darryl Knock (Edgar), Sara Haggerty (Isabella) and Gordon Giltrap (Troubadour).

It's fair to say the critics weren't all that kind. But when it came to Sir Cliff Richard in the 1990s, that was par for the course, really.

Cliff Richard & Olivia Newton-John - Had To Be (Official Video)

"It is difficult to describe the sheer awfulness of Cliff Richard's Heathcliff," moaned the New York Times

"Critics were banned by the Cliff Richard organisation from attending this first night," snarked The Independent. "It is to be hoped that members of the Emily Bronte Society suffered the same exclusion order."

One of the least scathing notices came from the Financial Times, which still quibbled about Sir Cliff's acting chops ("an erratic accent and an implausibly smouldering manner") and overall vibes ("all the brooding menace of the Millennium Dome").

Heathcliff was also a commercial smash hit. There was so much buzz as the show rehearsed first in Camden and then at Earls Court 2.

CLIFF RICHARD - Misunderstood Man (Cosmic Cut)

Previews were held at Earls Court proper before the show opened for real on October 16, 1996 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham.

Following its successful run in Birmingham, it transferred to the Playhouse Edinburgh for a month, returned to the NIA, then travelled to the Palace Theatre in Manchester before playing at the Hammersmith Apollo in London.

The final performance took place in London on May 17, 1997.

For those who weren't able to make it to any of those shows, a full cast recording named Heathcliff Live was recorded in October 1996 and released a couple of months later, having been trailed by a single 'Be With Me Always".

Be With Me Always (with Olivia Newton John) (2000 Remaster)

In 1997 a full VHS taping of the show was released.

For those wanting even more, a year later came the behind-the-scenes video Cliff Richard: Making of Heathcliff. Look around in the right places, and you can still find it.

"I have done this out of love," said Sir Cliff. "That's why nobody could really hurt me, the press couldn't really hurt me.

"I was doing this knowing that there might be a loss and I was doing this because I wanted to do it for me and for my fans."