Her demeanour is uninhibited, her attire provocative (skin-tight leather trousers and stilettos), the surroundings distinctly louche: a Soho nightclub in the early hours.
The middle-aged woman in question is in her element - hips swaying, hands waving, lips miming to the music. Indeed, in the smoke-filled haze and semi-darkness of this establishment, she could pass for someone much younger.
Certainly her frenetic energy (she has been on the dance floor for nearly an hour tonight), matched by a svelte physique beneath that daring outfit, are not the attributes you would normally expect to find in someone fast approaching 60.
Who is she? Take a deep breath. . . it's Cilla Black. Not the matronly doyenne of light entertainment we have become accustomed to, but a rejuvenated Cilla.
She is revelling in her new slimmed down figure, racy wardrobe and raffish metropolitan lifestyle, where champagne and late (very late) nights, it seems, feature daily.
Indeed, at the risk of being mischievous, it's the kind of behaviour one has come to associate with Blind Date contestants, rather than the host herself.
How ironic, then, that after reinventing herself, her position on the legendary show - with which her name has become synonymous - was rumoured this week to be under threat because the format had become too 'tired and predictable'. And so, by implication, had Cilla.
Clearly her ITV bosses, who have strenuously denied they are looking for a younger replacement (at least officially), were not at London's fashionable Shadow Lounge recently, where she was enjoying yet another night out with her new circle of gay male escorts.
Moreover, her friends are convinced that Cilla, now 58, may soon be ready to begin dating again - and perhaps, one day, even remarry.
Not so long ago - in the aftermath of her husband Bobby's death from cancer two-and-a-half years ago - such an eventuality would have been unthinkable.
Privately, those who knew Cilla wondered how she would cope without him. No doubt Bobby would be proud and relieved - but, at the same time, also surprised - at how his wife of 30 years has embraced life.
Certainly, her glamorous, lady-about-town image bears little resemblance to the old Cilla - her trademark red hair and Liverpudlian accent are all that remain recognisable.
Of course, she and Bobby went out. But they valued their privacy, and avoided the London party scene and showbusiness circuit. Since the day they married, the couple had spent only three nights apart - when Cilla went to hospital to give birth to their three sons.
Bobby was more than her partner; he was her manager and mentor too. Indeed, those who knew them fondly reveal how he did everything for her - 'from organising her diary to operating the TV remote control,' says one. No wonder she called him her 'rock'.
'When Bobby died, it was devastating for Cilla because he was her life,' explained her close friend, actor Christopher Biggins.
'They were constantly in each other's company. They worked and played together. But she knows now, because of the way Bobby was taken away from her, how fragile life is.
'Her attitude now is "You have to get out there and enjoy it" - and that is exactly what she is doing.'
The most obvious manifestation of Cilla's new-found liberation is her appearance. She has lost two stone - dropping from a size 12 to a shapely eight - and now employs a personal trainer. But that is not the only factor here. The weight loss has been accompanied by a kind of reckless bravura - both in her private life and her choice of clothes.
Gone is the rather dated, slightly suburban dress code. Those padded, garish jackets have been replaced by the ubiquitous leather pants, figurehugging denim jeans (bought at Saks on a recent trip to New York), black knee-high stiletto boots from Gina, a chunky gold belt draped across narrow hips. . . you get the picture.
Somehow it would be difficult to imagine Cilla wearing such garments when she and Bobby, for example, had a cosy meal with Jimmy Tarbuck, an old friend.
So has she pulled it off? Cynics might suggest - unfairly - that Cilla is perhaps trying a little too hard to turn back the clock. Indeed, in an unguarded moment during a recent magazine interview, she sought reassurance from the journalist, inquiring nervously: 'You don't think I look like mutton dressed as lamb, do you?'
Actually, most people who have met her think she looks 'a million dollars', to borrow the words of one admirer.
Even so, the transformation of Cilla is no accident. Her eldest son Robert, 31, has now stepped into his father's shoes. 'He's now my manager, my agent and my new best friend. . . he's my mentor,' she said recently.
Robert is ambitious. He accompanies her to interviews, and, according to those who have met him, interjects far too much. Observers say he likes his mother to present an upbeat, sparkling image. They claim he is delighted with the 'new' Cilla.
There are other factors, too. Friends tell how, after Bobby's death, Cilla underwent bereavement counselling.
'She was told to change fundamental things about her life,' says a source. 'To do things that she had never done before.
'One of the first things she did was get on a flight to New York on her own. She had never done this before, or even booked a ticket. Bobby took care of everything.
'Moreover, both she and Bobby were from working class backgrounds. They knew the value of money. Cilla, for example, used to scrape the butter off the wrapper.
'She didn't allow herself to "flash the cash". They had a fantastic life, but they were taught to be careful, not flamboyant. Now she thinks: "Life's too short."'
Whatever the reason, the results are self- evident. She has installed a leisure complex with pool, gym and tennis courts at her house in Denham, Buckinghamshire - and her London penthouse, just a stone's throw from the Houses of Parliament, has also been refurbished.
The one-bedroom London flat used to be an office for her and Bobby. But she has enlisted an interior designer to turn it into a stylish weekday
pied á terre, complete with beautiful drapes, cosy sofas and Aubusson rugs. It is here, not the family home, that Cilla now spends much of her time.
So, a new(ish) London base, different clothes - and, most significantly, a new attitude to life in general. But what of the company she keeps?
Cilla has a wide circle of friends, men and women. But, increasingly, she can be found socialising and clubbing with members of what she affectionately calls 'Cilla's mafia' - including the likes of Dale Winton, Paul O'Grady (alias Lily Savage) and Christopher Biggins. Two of them (O'Grady and Biggins), of course, are openly gay.
You do not need an in-depth knowledge of psychology to understand the advantages of such relationships for her: Cilla having an intimate dinner with a heterosexual male companion could be misconstrued; Cilla having dinner with Christopher Biggins, on the other hand, can't.
As Biggins himself confirms: 'I think Cilla feels comfortable with gay men. She knows she is not going to be jumped on.
'She is very vulnerable at the moment. She is bright, attractive and wealthy - a woman in her prime, with so much going for her. 'I think there is every reason to think Cilla will find a new partner and get married. But not necessarily yet. At the moment she just wants to protect herself.'
Biggins and Cilla are old friends. They worked together on the TV show Surprise, Surprise. They are on the phone to each other two or three times a week, and meet up about once a fortnight.
Winton and O'Grady knew Bobby, and rallied round Cilla after his death. Since then, she has hardly been out without one or more of her 'mafia' in attendance.
On Sunday, she was at the Beckhams'World Cup charity bash (with Winton); on Wednesday it was the Donmar Warehouse theatre - plus after-show party (with Biggins) - to watch Gwyneth Paltrow making her West End stage debut; and recently the Shadow Lounge.
No doubt, O'Grady -with whom she famously chose to step out in fishnets and basque at last year's Royal Variety Performance - would have been there too, had he not suffered his recent heart attack. So just a typical week for Cilla.
Indeed, it is fair to say that her London itinerary over the past few months would test the stamina of a teenager.
To the above can be added Joan Collins's wedding, cameo appearance in only a leotard and jacket in Morecambe and Wise tribute The Play What I Wrote at Wyndham's Theatre, An Audience With Ricky Martin -and after-show party- and the Pride of Britain awards at the Hilton in Park Lane.
Then there was the 21st birthday party of American heiress Paris Hilton at the Stork Rooms in London's Regent Street, innumerable visits to Soho's Shadow Lounge and, it seems, too many champagne lunches (at Teatro restaurant in Shaftesbury Avenue, for example) to mention.
At one such lunch, it emerges, she was enjoying a meal with a group of female friends when a handsome young man walked past and dropped a napkin on to her lap.
On it, says an observer, the man had written: 'You look fantastic, let me take you to dinner next week.'
Cilla, by all accounts, blushed as red as her hair, and was left momentarily speechless. 'He's far too young for me,' she later told her friends.
Back at the Shadow Lounge, Cilla is a familiar face and a photograph of her is even featured on the club's website.
The popular gay nightclub and bar in the heart of Soho has bright pink walls, a glittery, mirrored ceiling and purple leather sofas.
During one visit recently, she spent the best part of an hour dancing. 'She didn't stop,' says a fellow customer. She often sits in a curtained VIP corner with, naturally, a glass of champagne which is her favourite tipple.
She has been spotted there with Paul O'Grady, comedian Graham Norton, actor Rupert Everett - even George Michael and Liza Minnelli; on that occasion, her party stayed up all night.
Afterwards, they went for a champagne breakfast at 5am at neighbouring Balans Restaurant. 'They were at the back, quaffing Crystal champagne by the bottle,' said a waiter.
There have also been frequent trips abroad: to Paris, New York and Barbados - where she has a penthouse, and where she has been accompanied by Paul O'Grady.
The two, apparently, have been known to salsa dance on the roof terrace - her apartment is at the top of a converted mansion with views over the ocean.
'The old sparkle is definitely back,' says Harry Hinds, proprietor of the Crocodile Den, a bar which Cilla frequents when she is on the island.
'She has slimmed down, she's relaxed, and I would not be surprised to see a man in her life before long.'
And there is a not too remote chance that we will soon see Cilla heading for allnight raves in Ibiza. She is releasing two records - a clubland version of Step Inside Love, and a garage track called Something Is Going To Happen - to coincide with the summer party season on the island.
'All of her life, Cilla has had someone guiding her,' says a source. 'First it was Brian Epstein, when she was part of the Merseybeat scene back in the Sixties, then it was her husband Bobby.
'Now, possibly for the first time, Cilla is actually making decisions for herself. Maybe we are now seeing the real Cilla.'
For the moment, she is also one of the highest paid entertainers on television, earning nearly £5 million a year.
How much longer this will continue is debatable. After seeing off The Premiership, Blind Date - now in its 18th year - is back in the coveted prime-time Saturday night slot.
But the ratings have been disappointing. On one recent show, the audience fell to 4.6 million. In its heyday, it attracted 14 million viewers.
Granada, which makes the programme, stresses there is no question of her being dropped - and says she is in discussions about doing another two series.
By then, of course, Cilla will be touching 60. As her friend Christopher Biggins points out: 'She has had the most fantastic career, and she can do whatever she wants because she is hugely popular.
'But she is coming up to an age where she might even think about retiring.'
Whatever she decides, anyone who saw her in action at the Shadow Lounge - or any of her other glitzy engagements recently - would have difficulty in believing this is a woman who will soon be eligible for a bus pass.
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