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Crossroads (later known as Crossroads Motel) is a British television soap opera. It was shown on ITV. It began in 1964 and finished in 1988. There was a revival from 2001 to 2003.
"Crossroads" was set in a fictional motel in the Midlands. "Crossroads" was later called a hotel. The show became a byword for cheap production values. Despite this, the series regularly attracted huge audiences. It had as many as 15 million viewers.
It was created by Hazel Adair and Peter Ling and produced by ATV. In 1981, Central Independent Television took over ATV's broadcast licence and continued the programme until it was cancelled in 1988. In 2001, the series was revived by Carlton Television. It was cancelled again in 2003.
The original idea of "Crossroads" was based around two feuding sisters, Kitty Jarvis, played by Beryl Johnstone, and Meg Richardson, played by Noele Gordon. Meg is a wealthy woman. She had her late husband Charles' insurance money, and compensation money from the council. The compensation was for them building a motorway through her land. Meg used her money to turn her large Georgian house into a motel.
"The Crossroads Motel" was located near the fictional small village of King's Oak. This was on the edge of Birmingham. Meg had two children. A girl named Jill, played by Jane Rossington), born in 1946, and a boy Alexander, born in 1950. Alexander was called "Sandy" and played by Roger Tonge.
The other sister, Kitty, is married to the unemployed Dick played by Brian Kent. She is not wealthy. Dick and Kitty bought a newsagents and tobacconists shop in the nearby town of Heathbury a few years after the show started. Kitty and Dick had a son called Brian, played by David Fennell, born in 1945. The story idea of the sisters feuding was dropped early in the series.
Characters in the show's early years included Meg and Kitty's brother, Andy Fraser, played by Ian Patterson. In 1965, Andy marries motel secretary Ruth Bailey, played by Pamela Greenhall. Other characters in the first series include
Amy was briefly arrested as a suspected Soviet spy.
In 1966, long running character Diane Lawton, played by Susan Hanson arrived. Other additions included
Perhaps the most memorable character was the "village idiot" Benny Hawkins, played by Paul Henry. His trademark was a woolly hat that he wore all the time. His fans included British troops serving in the Falklands War. In 1982, they nicknamed the Falkland Islanders "Bennies" after the character. Instructed to stop using the name, the troops came up with "Stills" for locals - because they were "still Bennies".
The series had storylines which were controversial at the time. These include
The series also saw black characters appearing regularly. This followed from the 1960s BBC soap "Compact". This was also created by Hazel Adair and Peter Ling. Melanie Harper, played by Cleo Sylvestre, arrived at the motel in 1970 as Meg's foster daughter. Sylvestre was given the role by producer Reg Watson after press coverage of racial tensions in Birmingham.
In 1977, an interracial summer romance took place between Cockney garage mechanic Dennis Harper, played by Guy Ward, and motel receptionist Meena Chaudri, played by Karen David.
In 1978, garage mechanic Joe MacDonald, played by Carl Andrews, arrived.
In 1981, a storyline about a false accusation of rape.
In 1983, a storyline about a test tube baby born to Glenda and Kevin Banks, played by Lynette McMorrough and David Moran.
In 1983, the subject of Down syndrome was also raised when a little girl was befriended by three of the regular characters.
The character of Meg Mortimer was axed in 1981. She was thought to have died in a motel fire. Later she turned up alive aboard the QE2, about to sail to a new life overseas. Newspapers reported that two endings were planned for Meg. She would either die in the fire or disappear and turn up on the QE2. Viewers were surprised to see producers had used both. Meg returned briefly in 1983 for a reunion with Jill and Adam on their honeymoon in Venice.
In 1985, new producer Phillip Bowman was planning to bring the character of Meg Mortimer back into the show as a "permanent occasional." Plans were well advanced when Noele Gordon died in April of that year, aged 65. Edward Clayton was brought back as Jill's ex-husband Stan Harvey to read the lines originally written for Gordon.
In 1986, the new character Ray Grice played by Al Hunter Ashton was introduced as part of an attempt to create wider storylines.
In 2001, the show was revived. Changes were made to characters and stories. Jill Chance had married John Maddingham, played by Jeremy Nicholas. She had been widowed and was calling herself Jill Harvey again. This had been her name before her marriage to Adam Chance in 1983. References were also made to the Russell family taking over a "failing motel", despite Crossroads having become a hotel in the late 1980s. In the final episode of the original series, the name 'King's Oak Country Hotel' was seen over the entrance doors.
Lack of real links to the past, and the killing of Jill a few months into the new run, turned many fans away. Popular characters in the new "Crossroads" included new owner Kate Russell, played by Jane Gurnett. Receptionist Virginia Raven, played by Sherrie Hewson, and womanising deputy manager Jake Booth, played by Colin Wells. The storyline of the final episode was the revelation that the revived series and glamorous hotel had been a dream of supermarket worker and Crossroads fan Angela, with all the other characters revealed as shoppers. Angela even approaches a female customer in the supermarket and tells her she recognises her as "Tracey Booth from Crossroads". Tracey's mother-in-law, Kate, was also shown as one of Angela's colleagues in the supermarket.
"Crossroads" began its run on Monday 2 November 1964. It was shown five days a week. The episodes were recorded "as live", a common practice at the time, with few opportunities for retakes. Within a few months, 10 of the ITV companies had started broadcasting the series. Granada never screened it during the 1960s. The Independent Television Authority (ITA) decreed in 1967 that "Crossroads" should be reduced to four episodes per week to improve its quality.
The series was no longer networked and each ITV station broadcast the show on different days.