Lena Zavaroni's father has said he hopes she will become better known for her "great talent".
Victor Zavaroni shared emotional recollections of his daughter's life for a compelling new documentary charting the life of the child-star with the big voice from the Isle of Bute who captured the nation’s heart.
He recalls the moment a doctor told him that he suspected Lena had anorexia.
The 84-year-old said he was shocked at her appearance when she returned home for a holiday at the height of her singing career.
"I noticed she was very, very thin," said Mr Zavaroni.
"I’d never heard the word ‘anorexia’ that’s for sure.”
Millions of viewers tuned into TV talent show Opportunity Knocks one Monday in Monday night in 1974 to watch 9-year-old Lena from Rothesay steal the show.
It would prove to be a springboard for success, leading to performances on Top of the Pops and the Royal Variety Show, a chart-topping debut album, sharing a stage with Frank Sinatra, performing for the US President and an embarking on a world tour.
However, for Lena, fame came at a heavy price and her light was dimmed by her battle with anorexia as the pressures of fame took their toll.
She died in 1999 at the age of 35.
READ MORE:
- Balamory return to TV gives hope to increased tourism on the Isle of Bute
- Scottish football gains new overseas TV presenter
The voice of Lena is spoken by actress Erin Armstrong who recently played the star in the acclaimed musical theatre production about her life.
Lena’s words are quoted from real interviews over the course of her career.
“There’s a lot of young people don’t know Lena but I’d like her to be remembered really because she had a great talent," said her father.
Lena Zavaroni: The Forgotten Child Star will air on BBC Scotland at 9pm on Sunday October 6.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here