A tribute to popular TV soap Crossroads as it celebrates its 50th anniversary | TV & Radio | Showbiz & TV | Daily Express 18:47, Thu, Oct 30, 2014 Crossroads motel exterior was one of the few sets that didn’t wobble [REX] It was the soap opera set in a Midlands motel than ran for 24 years and in its heyday was more popular than Coronation Street. Crossroads may have disappeared from our television screens but the much-loved and often much-derided series is far from forgotten. This week sees the 50th anniversary of the broadcasting of the first ever episode and to mark the occasion the surviving stars of the soap will be reunited on the Paul O’Grady Show on BBC Radio 2. Crossroads was more than just a TV series, it became a national institution. By the end of its original run which ended in 1988, 4,510 episodes had been screened. Its characters and the actors who played them were household names. The plot revolved around the running of the fictitious King’s Oak Crossroads Motel near Birmingham and the relationships between the staff.

The lead character was the motel’s owner Meg Richardson, played by Noele Gordon. When it first began Crossroads was shown in only three ITV regions but such was its popularity that others were soon broadcasting it. Among its millions of fans was Mary Wilson, wife of prime minister Harold Wilson. She campaigned successfully to have the show reinstated by Thames Television when it was temporarily dropped in 1968. Crossroads didn’t just have engaging characters and believable story lines, it also benefited from having a memorable signature tune composed by top songwriter Tony Hatch and which was later rearranged by Sir Paul McCartney. The programme proved more popular with the public than it was with critics. As it was recorded “as live” its stars often didn’t appear to be word perfect. The sets were sometimes shaky but while critics mocked the soap, the lack of slickness in its production only added to the appeal for its legion of fans and made it more realistic. At its peak Crossroads was watched by 18 million viewers and remains the most watched weekday daytime programme in ITV history. The head of the Independent Broadcasting Authority, Lady Plowden, was not impressed.

She described Crossroads as “distressingly popular” and ordered that transmissions be cut from four times to three times a week. But viewers continued to show loyalty to the soap although the controversial axing of Noele Gordon “the queen of Crossroads” in 1981 proved highly unpopular. The last episode of its original run was broadcast in 1988 and although the series was revived in 2001 the new Crossroads ran for only two years. The sets might have been better, but the charm of the old series had gone. Noele Gordon as Meg Richardson [ITV/REX] The characters and who played them MEG RICHARDSON – NOELE GORDON The leading character from 1964 until 1981, the woman who kept the motel running through thick and thin tearfully sailed off on the QE2 to begin a fictional new life. Thanks to Crossroads Noele Gordon became the most popular woman on television in the 1970s. She won so many TV Times awards, that in 1978 ITV banned her from being nominated.

There were plans to return her to Crossroads after she had been axed but Gordon – who was also a talented singer and cabaret artist and who starred in musicals at the West End – died of cancer in 1985, aged 65. “She was loved by millions and brought happiness to lots of lonely people. "They watched her in Crossroads and believed in her,” her friend the comedian Larry Grayson said at her funeral. JILL RICHARDSON – JANE ROSSINGTON The daughter of Meg Richardson, Jill uttered the very first words in the first episode of Crossroads: “Crossroads Motel, good evening.” The only character to remain in the series for the whole 24 years of its original run, the three-times married Jill also appeared in the 2001 revival before being killed off by an ex-husband. Actress Jane Rossington, now 71, is a patron of the Crossroads Appreciation Society. Of the unsuccessful 2001 revival she said: “They made a big fuss about building this enormous set for a million pounds which was totally rigid and didn’t move.

"But the whole thing is that people watched the show with the set that shook.” SANDY RICHARDSON – ROGER TONGE Meg’s son became confined to a wheelchair following a car accident in 1972, making him the first regular paraplegic character in a British television soap. In an uncanny and tragic example of life following fiction, actor Roger Tonge also became confined to a wheelchair when stricken with Hodgkins Disease. He carried on playing Sandy until he died aged just 35 in 1981. Noele Gordon said afterwards: “I’m shattered. "He has been the sort of son I would like to have had in real life.” DAVID HUNTER – RONALD ALLEN A good-looking ladies’ man, he was a shareholder of the motel who became its manager. He survived a shooting by a jealous ex-wife before marrying Barbara Brady, a rather glamorous author who was staying at the motel to research material for her new book. In another example of Crossroads plots being followed later in real life, actor Ronald Allen married Sue Lloyd, the actress who played Barbara Brady, shortly before his death from lung cancer at the age of 60 in 1991.

Paul Henry as handyman Benny Hawkins [ITV/REX] BENNY HAWKINS – PAUL HENRY A rather dim-witted, accidentprone and not so handy handyman, Benny Hawkins provided much comic relief. He became famous for the green woolly hat he wore all year round. In 1978 actor Paul Henry’s song Benny’s Theme got to No 39 in the charts and his character was regularly impersonated by impressionists of the time. Now 67, Henry is one of the surviving Crossroads stars who will be appearing on the Paul O’Grady show on Sunday. Ann George as charlady Amy Turtle [ITV/REX] AMY TURTLE – ANN GEORGE A bespectacled Brummie charlady who loved to gossip, she first appeared in 1965 and became one of Crossroads’ most popular characters. She left in 1976 but returned in 1987. Actress Anne George, a real-life Brummie, was a professional singer who gave up her first career because of her husband’s poor health. She died at 86 in 1989.

Susan Hanson as receptionist Diane Lawton [ITV/REX] DIANE LAWTON – SUSAN HANSON Receptionist Miss Diane was a mainstay of Crossroads for more than 20 years and taught Benny to read and write. In 1987 the character died of a brain haemorrhage in the Crossroads foyer. Actress Susan Hanson, now 71, looks back fondly on her time at the motel. “I’m glad I gave a good deal of my working life to playing Diane. "They spent no money on it so sets wobbled but everybody’s sets wobbled in those days.” ADAM CHANCE – TONY ADAMS He was a womanising accountant who married Jill Richardson until she later left him. The character appeared in the soap in the last 10 years of its original run and again when it returned in 2001 when he murdered Jill. Adams, 73, recalled earlier this year that it wasn’t all plain sailing playing a cad.

“One man was so upset at the way Adam treated one of his girlfriends, that he sneaked into the studios and charged at me with a knife.” Paul O’Grady Show, BBC Radio 2, Sunday, 5pm Related articles "Crossroads" Reviews & Ratings - IMDb IMDb trailers and videos full cast and crew trivia official sites memorable quotes Overview 7 out of 7 people found the following review useful: The 1960s Soap That Became A Legend... 4 April 2008 At its best probably in the 1960s, Crossroads was always terrific fun. The programme had an innocence and lightness of touch in its 60s days that it lost in the 70s and great fun was to be had as sets occasionally wobbled and studio arc lights fell down! The 1960s characters were great - and included such legendaries as the Richardsons and Hugh Mortimer, Diane, Tish Hope, Marilyn Gates (mark 1!) Mr Lovejoy and Mr Booth and Amy Turtle. The show was daring - a storyline about a single mother, a waitress at the motel, was strong stuff back then. But murder was more difficult.

In a 1960s story involving the character Gerald Bailey (whose wife, Ruth, later married Meg's brother) great pains had to be taken so as not to "distress" viewers in a storyline originally envisaged as murder, but later reconfigured to "sudden death". However, by the late 1960s, attempted murder WAS allowed as we saw the character Malcolm Ryder trying to poison the show's heroine, Meg Richardson - his wife in the plot at that time! The 70s and 80s episodes are also great fun. The 70s episodes have added value as we see all sorts of middle aged people wearing the garish and flared style of clothes which were so cutting edge and trendy amongst the young hippies of the 1967/1968 Summer Of Love. Younger 70s characters, like Martin Bell, look positively dowdy in comparison to the 60s fashion following older set!

The 70s and 80s episodes saw a continuation of cutting edge soap story lines - I particularly recall the introduction of Benny in the 1970s (learning difficulties) and the terrific Downs Syndrome and racism story lines in the 1980s. In the 1980s, the show altered dramatically and it seemed a terrible shame to dispatch Meg, but Crossroads gave excellent value with the introduction of chararacters such as Valerie Pollard and Nicola Freeman and a brief return for Amy Turtle! I followed the show from start to finish and enjoyed it all, though I do feel now that the 70s episodes are rather over-hyped (so much 70s stuff really belongs to the 60s!). From wonky but lovable 60s soap to shoulder padded, witty but gentle late 80s ending, Crossroads was required viewing for me for an awful lot of years. Happy memories! from York 13 January 2000 For about 25 years, this was British TV's best loved bad soap. Shaky sets, some over the top storylines and a host of okay actors revelling in the whole affair.

Set in a fictitious Midlands town, it centres on the staff and guests at the eponymous Motel - in the early days run by Meg Mortimer (Noelle Gordon) and later by Nicola Freeman (Gabrielle Drake). The best characters included irascible Scots chef Shughie McFee (from The Great Escape); David Hunter (Ronald Allen from a Night to Remember) and Hammer veteran Sandor Eles (Countess Dracula) as a cliched chef. Look out too for the late Jeremy Sinden (Donald's son) who went on to play one of the ill-fated pilots in Star Wars - a little movie he shot inbetween breaks from Crossroads. However, head and shoulders above them all was scruffy, backward, lovable Benny Hawkins who never had much luck - his gypsy girlfriend was knocked down and killed on his wedding day - but with his woolly hat and good heart, he was the Midlands version of Forrest Gump long before Tom Hanks cornered the market in loveable simpletons. The whole thing was repackaged and revamped as Neighbours, a show also boasting a Tony Hatch theme tune.

At one point in the late Seventies, Paul McCartney and Wings even provided a rockier theme tune for this Seventies slice of nonsense, nicely spoofed as Acorn Antiques in Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV. Was the above review useful to you? 7 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Awfully Wonderful from Seattle, USA 24 January 2000 The previous reviewer is quite right. Crossroads was of the "so bad, it's good" ilk. Still, during its peak it had its followers including the (then) prime minister's wife, Mrs. Mary Wilson, a staunch follower. Crossroads suffered from a hectic schedule, originally five days a week. No time for retakes, so it was not uncommon to see a camera crew whizzing by in the background, or to witness an overhanging microphone at the top of the TV screen. Fluffed lines guaranteed in every episode. In its favor, it did not bring dead and buried characters back to life, or have five different actors play the same character (as is common in US soaps).

Aside from those mentioned, there were many other memorable characters such as the mousy postmistress Miss Tatum (Elisabeth Croft), the "tart with a heart" hairdresser Vera Downend (Zeph Gladstone), and the kitchen gossip Amy Turtle (Ann George, who deserved an award for worst actress). Looking back years later, and having spent ten years in the States, I can only compare Crossroads star Noele Gordon to Susan Lucci, the queen of US soaps. Gordon was hardly the glamorous star that Lucci is, but she was undoubtedly THE queen of the UK soap. When she was unceremoniously dumped from Crossroads in 1981, there was a public outcry, and the soap's fate was sealed (as was Gordon's who never quite got over her dismissal and died four years later). Crossroads was given an overhaul and plodded on for a few more years. In the last episode, Jane Rossington (Gordon's screen daughter who spoke the first lines in 1964) drove off into the distance (sunset unavailable) and it was the end of an era. Crossroads and Coronation Street often replaced each other at No.

1 in the charts, just as Coronation Street and Eastenders do these day. That's how good/bad it was. Was the above review useful to you? 8 out of 11 people found the following review useful: A Soap made for fans not TV critics from Birmingham 18 May 2004 To sum up Crossroads is a task which is practically impossible. The wobbly set legend is a strange one, we know when the show started it was filmed in a old cinema, so the sets were of a stage-production quality, but when Crossroads moved into ATV Centre (1970) those wobbles became no worse than any other TV show. (In fact I noticed a wobble in one of the sets on Coronation St a few months ago) Was the 'so bad, its good' true? Well no, the cast and crew put in 110% into the programme, ATV were not exactly generous with cash, so maybe it did look cheap, however unless other soaps they were doing Crossroads five times a week on less cash than the rest so the fact they made anything at least half decent should be praised not knocked.

The show was a ground-breaker, but people prefer to knock it and insult its 17 million fans in the process. Crossroads made television history time and time again, yet how many people know of any of these feats? Maybe the legend of the wobbles and the poor standards have actually stood the show well as even nearly 20 years after it disappeared everyone still knows of Crossroads. Today compared with the poor Carlton version, the original Crossroads now stands out as a classic. The show boasted a host of stars, David Jason, Bob Monkhouse, Max Wall, Elaine Paige, Ken Dodd, Sue Nicholls and Johnny Briggs all stayed within the motel to name only a few. The story lines at the time were said to be sometimes far fetched, but nothing compared to some that appeared later in Brookside or Coronation Street. Crossroads set the trend for real-life issue based plots, it also aimed to entertain. It was a family soap, something that is rare on television today. It wasn't afraid to be different, and it never gave in to the TV Critics, as Lord Lew Grade said, he made the show for the fans, not for the ATV cash generator or critics. Something ITV could learn from today.

It might have been cheap but it was popular, and thats something many expensive shows have failed to be! Was the above review useful to you? 5 out of 6 people found the following review useful: When Meg Married Hugh 19 August 2006 *** This review may contain spoilers *** Hardly a week used to go by in the '70's without some comedian taking a pot shot at 'Crossroads'. Ernie Wise said the soap opera had all the entertainment value of 'a cemetery with lights', and Benny Hill did a very funny lampoon with himself both as 'Benny' and 'Meg Richardson'. Noele Gordon publicly complained that the show was the target of 'destructive, rather than constructive criticism'. She was right, but was this hostility deserved? It was a terrible show, no doubt about it, but I think most of its fans probably knew that already. It seemed to exist in some strange parallel universe with its own laws. To give an example, in 1975, Meg Richardson ( Noele Gordon ) married Hugh Mortimer ( John Bentley ). A.T.V. milked maximum publicity from the occasion; hundreds of people lined the streets of Birmingham to get a glimpse of the happy couple.

It was like a Soap version of a Royal Wedding. Even Larry Grayson acted as chauffeur! Watching this, I remember thinking: "Why would an entire city grind to a halt just because a motel owner marries a businessman?". The marriage was short-lived; poor Hugh was later kidnapped and killed by international terrorists ( ! ). Other outrageous plots included Benny ( Paul Henry ) being suspected of murder, and Arthur Brownlow ( Peter Hill ) suspected of being a sex pest, an allegation he endured without once managing to change his expression. Then there were grotesque characters including the legendary 'Amy Turtle' ( Ann George ) and 'Wilf Harvey' ( Morris Parsons ). On the plus side, the show did have some decent performers, such as the late Roger Tonge ( who played Meg's crippled son Sandy ). I also liked the guy who played 'Vince Parker' the postman. My grandmother was a huge 'Crossroads' fan, and was the first in line when in 1971 'The T.V. Times' brought out a souvenir tie-in magazine. She had a crush on the late Ronald Allen ( David Hunter ), an actor so wooden you could smell Cuprinol every time he was on screen.

When Noele got the sack in the early '80's, the writing was on the wall for the motel. Incoming producer Phil Bowman tried to make it more upmarket by bringing in sexy Gabrielle Drake to play 'Nicola Freeman', but it did not work out, and when in 1985, Victoria Wood savagely lampooned it on her 'As Seen On T.V.' show, that was it. It ended in 1988, but was revived a few years back on I.T.V. The new-look show initially attracted good reviews and ratings, but then interest waned and - after a shake-up in which Jane Asher was brought in as the motel's new owner - the doors were closed once again. I very much doubt whether 'Crossroads' will be revived a second time. With soap operas clogging up channels like cholesterol in the arteries, there just is no room for it to stand out. I will leave the last word to Jane Rossington, who as 'Jill' closed the last edition of the original series by saying: "Crossroads! What a great name for a motel!". Was the above review useful to you?

6 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Verging On Pantomime But Strangely Enjoyable from England 13 December 2002 We've all criticized Crossroads at times. We've all commented on the wooden sets, the intentionally bad acting and the lack of guests at Crossroads Motel. However, it was addictive in some way and was on air from 1964-1988. Meg Richardson was in charge of the Crossroads Motel for awhile. That woman had one long bad life and everyone else in the show did as well. It seemed odd that people could live such eventful lives but that is soap for you. One of the shows favourite characters was Benny Hawkins played by Paul Henry. Benny was the motel idiot but we liked him all the same. He was an odd character with his woolly hat but even odder, he once went AWOL from the show for several months without any explanation. The actor who played Benny opened up a pub in Birmingham. I last visited it in 1994 but I'm not sure if it is still there. There were some rather odd stories on the show which perhaps ensured it's enduring popularity.

Bizarre is the only word to describe some of the plots at times but hey, it was a lot better than Brookside ever was. All in all, Crossroads will always have a place in my heart even if it was never clear whether it was a soap or comedy. It made a comeback in the 21st century but I haven't watched the new show. I don't have the time or inclination (at least currently) to watch the new version but I am sure nothing could ever compare to the original. I wonder if, in the pilot episode of the new version, they still said, "Crossroads Motel, may I help you?" Was the above review useful to you? 9 out of 15 people found the following review useful: Benny Was The Star Of This Ridiculous Soap from Isle Of Bute, Scotland 21 April 2005 The very first producer of this Brummie based soap opera was a gentleman called Reg Watson . This name may not be recognisable but it will ring a bell at the back of your mind and when I say he moved to Australia and created a show called PRISONER CELL BLOCK H you'll know who he is now .

And like PRISONER this soap based at a Midlands motel was total turd , but often highly entertaining . In fact both myself and many of my peer group would discuss the previous night's episode at school Every episode starts on a cliff hanger opening : " What you mean you're having my husbands baby " . The actors freeze , but it not a freeze frame camera shot as you can clearly see the actors tremble in fright at their dialogue . The caption CROSSROADS flashes up and Tony Hatch's guitar theme tune blasts in - Ding Ding Ding - Ding Ding Ding Ding . Then the actors get back to what they were doing before . Very bizarre and there's another idiosyncratic revealing mistake in almost every scene and that's the actors waiting for their cue . When the action cuts from one location to another you can clearly see for a brief moment the actor standing still like a statue then they go on to pour a cup of tea or make a phone call etc But it was the script and characters that made the show entertaining garbage . Shugie McPhee was a master chef and head of the kitchen and in one subplot tried to bring down the motel by contaminating guests food . In one memorable scene a big plastic spider finds itself becoming dessert .

And there was Adam Chance who was Ken Barlow's only rival in British Soapland's least convincing hetrosexual character For me and many others the real star was Benny the retarded oddjob man at the motel . If Channel 4 did a programme called 100 GREATEST RETARDED CHARACTERS IN TELEVISION Benny would win by a mile and unsurprisingly the more ridiculous plots revolved around him . Benny is maimed trying to stop a couple of joy riders , Benny is left 25,000 pound in a relatives will , and Benny is framed for murder . Don't worry he was innocent , it turned out the manager of the garage killed his lover , heard someone walk in and hid as Benny found the body then gasped " My god Benny what have you done ? " . Benny was something of a national institution and no amateur talent contest of the late 1970s was complete without an impressionist trying - And failing - to capture Benny's mannerism I stopped watching it in the early 1980s and I heard that the producers at the time tried to make it a serious drama which caused the viewing figures to drop and led to its ultimate cancellation .

Was the above review useful to you? 4 out of 6 people found the following review useful: Awful but part of growing up 1 December 2006 *** This review may contain spoilers *** I watched Crossroads from about 1974 to 1988, missing some portions towards the end. Much has been said of wobbly sets, dire acting (yes, Amy Turtle was truly dreadful) but who remembers... David Hunter's home being occupied by squatters, who he eventually helps; Jim Baines and family... Avis Tennyson "no relation" (to the poet) the plain maid who arrived at the same time as a glamorous woman; much confusion between Sandy and David ("I don't fancy yours much", or a middle class version of the same). Carney the "old codger". Benny whose bathwater was a constant threat on Tiswas. Miss Diane, Benny's friend ("mist dye-onn"). ----- Yes of course it was awful, and no apologists can correct that; it is however a travesty that most of the shows have been wiped, gone forever.

Unlike the similarly erased Dr Who it seems unlikely that any early video owning fans will have hundreds of hours of Motel videos in an attic... Was the above review useful to you? 1 out of 1 people found the following review useful: Not as bad as people remember 16 November 2013 *** This review may contain spoilers *** OK it went rubbish when Meg Mortimer left and the noughties revival was terrible and is best forgotten, but prime era Crossroads was watchable with a killer theme tune by Tony Hatch. The soap concerned a motel near Birmingham, run by Meg Mortimer, played by former host of Lunchbox, Noele Gordon. It was ITV's first attempt at a daily soap and at its peak in the late seventies had 16 million viewers and numbered a Prime Minister and his wife as fans. Yes the set was cheap and the show was largely studio bound and made on VT, but so were most shows in those days, so it is a bit mean to say Crossroads was cheaply made as it looks no cheaper than many of the classic shows from the seventies.

Also people knock the acting, but was it any worse than the Australian shows that replaced it, and certainly huge viewing figures suggest people didn't have a problem with the so called ham acting. I sort of liked Crossroads and some of it was unintentionally funny, such as when Benny the handyman( my favourite character) went to get a spanner and vanished for four months and one memorable plot where a cleaner was accused of working for the KGB. Also the camp chef Shooey Mc Phail was hilarious. While Crossroads could be serious, such as the fire and Sandy Richardson's car crash, it had plenty of lighter moments, something that seems to be lacking in modern soaps, and in the main the characters were likable. Was the above review useful to you? 3 out of 6 people found the following review useful: Crossroads Returns 1 October 2000 Yes, Carlton Television who brought Central TV is now bringing back the Queen of soaps. Crossroads will no doubt be very different to what we used to see on our screens, but it would be wonderful to hear that music again as well as travel through the village of Kings Oak once again.

I, for one, will be glued to the screen to see what strange new storylines the writers will come up with. I don't think I'll be alone either. Welcome back Crossroads, show EastEnders and Coronation Street what REAL soap-opera is all about! Was the above review useful to you? BBC News | ENTERTAINMENT | Crossroads comes back to ITV Wednesday, 30 August, 2000, 14:37 GMT 15:37 UK Crossroads comes back to ITV Crossroads attracted 18 million viewers in its heyday ITV has announced it is bringing back Crossroads next year, as a daytime soap to run five times a week. The show, famous for its wobbly sets and wooden acting, ran for 23 years, from 1965 to 1988, pulling in 18 million viewers at its peak. Carlton's director of programmes Waheed Alli first submitted the proposal to revive the programme in April. ITV has now accepted it, along with a new teatime soap called Trafalgar Road, which will replace Home and Away, bought by Channel 5.

Paul Henry starred as Benny in Crossroads for years Maureen Duffy, ITV's controller of daytime, said "The new Crossroads will be absolutely of our time - with strong narrative dealing with the realities, issues and fun of everyday life." Actor Paul Henry - who played odd-job man Benny Hawkins in the soap for more than 12 years - told BBC News Online he would be happy to return to the Crossroads motel. "Benny was a wonderful character and I very much enjoyed playing him so I certainly wouldn't mind going back to Crossroads - I'll just have to wait and see if they ask," Henry said. The show was created by Lew Grade's ATV company and was only scheduled to run for 13 weeks. Melodramatic It centered on glamorous widow Meg Richardson, played by the late Noele Gordon, who ran a motel in the village of Kings Oak with the help of her daughter Jill and son Sandy.

Crossroads was the kind of show that generated a lot of myths and stories but, as one of its actors, I never once saw the set wobble Paul Henry, who played Benny Hawkins Asked if he thought the programme could be successfully revived for a modern-day audience, Henry said it had every chance of becoming just as much of a draw as any contemporary competitor. "It was very popular in its day and very popular when it was taken off so there is no reason why it shouldn't become so again. "If it had stayed on air, it would probably have gone through the same evolution and modernisation as Emmerdale has. "That's the point at which it should therefore come back," Henry commented. In Crossroads' heyday, critics would love to poke fun at its low-cost production and melodramatic storylines. Characters were also said to vanish without trace and no-one would notice. In 1967, the coffee bar manager went to get some sugar and was never seen again. However, Henry added that the story about his own year-long disappearance, when he supposedly popped out to get a spanner, was a "myth".

"The story was based on a joke anecdote I once told in a radio station interview - but it never actually happened," laughed Henry. "But then Crossroads was the kind of show that generated a lot of myths and stories but, as one its actors, I never once saw the set wobble." After 4,510 episodes, the plug was pulled in April 1988, when Jill and Adam Chance sold up and drove off to start a new life in the West Country. Celebrities who appeared in the series over the years included Bob Monkhouse, Ken Dodd, Larry Grayson and Max Wall. Carlton has not said whether it intends to bring back any of the soap's original actors. Search BBC News Online Coronation Street: Sue Hanson aka Miss Diane from Crossroads to join the soap - Mirror Online Comeback: Sue Hanson in Crossroads woth Benny (Photo: Rex) Share Get soaps updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email One of British soap’s most iconic actresses is joining the cast of Coronation Street. Sue Hanson became a household name for her role as Miss Diane in the Midlands-based motel series Crossroads.

She played the part of Diane Parker for 22 years after making her debut back in 1966 – six years after Coronation Street hit the screens. When she left in 1987 to be a full-time mum to her baby son Jack, she deliberately turned her back on acting and didn’t work again. But after the death of her beloved husband, Birmingham musician Carl Wayne, she said would like to return to her career. Now she’s returning to our screens and the cobbles of Weatherfield as ‘Penny’ Sue, 69, played ‘Miss’ Diane Lawton in the soap, which ran from 1964 to 1988 and attracted up to 15 million viewers and was famous for its ‘wobbly sets’ Diane had an illegitimate son, Nicky, by film star Frank Adam, then married and divorced postman Vince Parker. When Frank kidnapped Nicky and took him to America, she hit the bottle. Video Loading Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8Cancel Play now She died in the show in 1987, dropping down dead from a brain haemorrhage in the motel foyer.

Sue is still in touch with actor Paul Henry who played bumbling misfit Benny Hawkins – the character who was famous for calling her Miss Diane. She said of him : “I must credit him with giving me the famous name Miss Diane – it wasn’t in the script, he just came out with it one day and it stuck.” Sue, who has homes in Surrey and Spain, said: “It was a conscious decision to leave my career behind. "I was really happy being a housewife and mother. But now it would be good to work again. “Parts are harder to get as you get older, and I won’t cry if I don’t get offered anything, but I’d like to give it a go.” Sue - who is in her sixties - has also appeared in Holby City. It’s understood Sue’s character will be with the programme for a short-term. Her arrival on screen in mid-October coincides with the temperature departure of Nigel Havers who is off to perform in a Christmas pantomime. Perhaps the ex-Crossroads cutie could be putting on her own charm offensive on the Street?

Like us on Facebook Most Read Most Recent Most Read Most Recent TV Shows We Used To Watch - Crossroads 1964-88 | The sillies… | Flickr Paul Townsend By: Paul Townsend TV Shows We Used To Watch - Crossroads 1964-88 The silliest TV soap ever! Wobbly sets, ludicrous plots, awful acting... but 50 years after its launch, fans are still devoted to Crossroads. The sets were famously wobbly, the characters notoriously flaky and the stories lurched from the unlikely to the downright bizarre. But the millions of viewers who checked in every weekday at the Crossroads motel for their five-times-a-week teatime fix couldn’t have cared less. They loved every shambolic moment of it — fluffed lines, mistakes and all. Launched to fill a gap in the schedules 50 years ago, Crossroads ran for almost 5,000 episodes. Its first incarnation lasted until 1988, and it was revived — disastrously — for two years in 2001. At its peak in the Seventies, it pulled in 18 million viewers and was second only to Coronation Street.

Its stars won viewers’ polls and showbiz awards. However, not everyone was so enthralled. ITV’s regulator, the Independent Broadcasting Authority, twice ordered it to cut its output, first to four, then three, episodes a week to improve its quality. The chairman, Lady Plowden, lamented that Crossroads was ‘distressingly popular’. It is, however, sadly missed these days, not least by its stars. Jane Asher, who played the motel’s owner (and arch-bitch and sexual predator) Angel Samson, in the revived version, says she loved every minute of it. So much so, that she even posed in a bath of bubbles and discreetly placed rose petals, while sipping from a glass of Champagne to promote her motel. ‘It was an iconic soap and greatly under-appreciated’, she insists. ‘I watched the original as a teenager, and could easily have got hooked on it. But I was more a fan of The Archers on the radio. But by the second time around the show had really had its day’.

Crossroads first opened its doors in November 1964 — set in the fictional King’s Oak, Birmingham, and charging guests £4 a night for each of its 18 rooms. The show, with the formidable Noele Gordon as the motel’s matriarch, Meg Richardson, was scheduled to run for 30 episodes over six weeks. It was an immediate hit with viewers in spite of its visibly cheap production values. The budget was reported to be only £10,000 for an entire week’s five episodes, compared with the same amount spent on each episode of rival Coronation Street. The sets had been constructed out of flimsy canvas and board because they had never been meant to last for long. The highest-paid star was Gordon, whose salary was reportedly £200 a week. Some minor characters were persuaded to work for £10 an episode on the grounds that the show would be good exposure for them. With such a demanding schedule, there was little time for scripts to be re-written and polished, still less for rehearsal, so everything had to be filmed in one take. The expense of editing out mistakes was so great, given the tiny budget, that the producers ordered them to be left in.

Jane Rossington, who was in the show for 24 years as Meg’s daughter, Jill, has the distinction of speaking the very first words in the opening episode, and the final words in the last, and remembers how many bloopers crept in. She recalls: ‘Noele would sometimes call me Jane, on camera, rather than by my character name, Jill, but there was no time or budget for re-takes. “Oh, no one will notice”, she’d insist. ‘I loved her, but she did speak her lines very slowly and sometimes I would wonder if she was ever going to finish a sentence!’ The story lines were equally erratic. Jill had an on-screen pregnancy that went on for over a year — and, to the shock of viewers, the father was her screen stepbrother. But after the baby was born, it was never mentioned again. The script called for her to marry three times — once bigamously — and to become a drug addict and an alcoholic. ‘Everything that could happen to a person happened to me’, she says, ‘but it was all terrific fun’.

TV critics sneered — ‘amateurish pap,’ said one — but the show attracted viewers of all ages and a huge fan base. Indeed, the more absurd the plots became, the more they lapped it up. Meg survived regular murder attempts. Motel Lothario Adam Chance (Tony Adams) would try to seduce most of the female guests. Various members of the staff would go berserk with pots and pans and one of them, cleaner Amy Turtle (Ann George), was briefly arrested as a Russian spy named Amelia Turtlovski. Characters disappeared for months on end with little explanation. Chef Shughie Mcfee (Angus Lennie) went behind the fridge for some ingredients and was gone for the rest of the year. Deke Arlon, who played coffee-bar boss Benny Wilmott, was told by Meg to get some sugar. He exited the kitchen and was never seen again. Dim-witted handyman Benny Hawkins (Paul Henry), rarely seen without his iconic blue beanie, once went out for a spanner and returned six months later.

He was beset with a litany of troubles: falsely accused of murdering his gipsy fiancee Maureen — killed on the morning of their wedding — he was then temporarily blinded and lost his best friend, Miss Diane, the manager (Sue Hanson), when she died of a brain haemorrhage. He subsequently commemorated her by naming his pet donkey after her. Motel manager David Hunter, played by Ronald Allen, was an incurable gambler for just one week in 1977, his son Chris was a part-time terrorist and his ex-wife Rosemary shot him. We all remember the shooting of JR Ewing in 1980 - it shook soap fans across the world. But, at the Crossroads Motel, David Hunter's ex-wife, Rosemary (played by Janet Hargreaves), was the first soap character of 1980 to pull a trigger. It shook... er... several soap fans across England. Suddenly, Rosemary pulled out A GUN!! "David... say it... tell me you love me... SAY IT!" she whined menacingly. When he refused, she shot him. Of course, all was well.

David was discovered by Meg and made a full recovery, Rosemary underwent psychiatric treatment and was never seen again, and that was that. According to legend, the reason for David's somewhat informal attire at his engagement party had its roots in a behind-the-scenes mishap. When Janet Hargreaves first pulled the trigger of the gun, it didn't go off. But Ronald Allen had already broken the bag of stage blood, ruining the suit he was wearing. It seems that the Crossroads wardrobe allowance could not run to another suit! But motel boss Meg had more than most to endure. One husband tried to kill her by painting the living room with poisonous emulsion and she lost another to a heart attack. viewers thought they’d lost her in a huge explosion at the motel. The big bang allowed them to start with a new set and motel, but Meg’s days were numbered. She was sacked in 1981, despite thousands of protests, including a petition from a Hell’s Angels chapter. In the story, she sailed off into retirement on an Australia-bound QE2.

In reality, she believed she had become the victim of TV politics: The network’s bosses were said to want to ditch what they deemed to be downmarket shows like Crossroads in favour of ‘quality drama’. Without the soap’s most popular star, the show would lose viewers and thus give them an excuse to drop it, which is what happened. Another character who was to come to a real untimely end was Meg’s son, Sandy, played by Roger Tonge. He had intrigued viewers by apparently never growing any taller during his 17 years in the show, and retaining a perpetually breaking voice. The height problem was resolved when scriptwriters invented a car crash which obliged Sandy to spend the rest of his time at the motel in a wheelchair. In a case of life imitating art, Tonge really became confined to a wheelchair when he contracted Hodgkin’s Disease. He died aged 35 in 1981 — and Sandy was never mentioned again. Virtually anyone who appeared in the series automatically became the victim of some scriptwriter-inspired mishap within six months. There were poisonings, rapes, drug addiction, incest, abortions, nervous breakdowns, kidnapping and even the bomb which blew up the motel.

That didn’t stop soon-to-be famous faces making brief appearances in the motel lobby. David Jason made his TV debut in Crossroads in 1966 as a crook; Elaine Paige checked in as a guest; and Malcolm McDowell was public relations consultant Crispin Ryder in 1965. Ken Dodd played himself in 1973, Larry Grayson attended a wedding in 1973, Max Wall checked in in 1982, and Dad’s Army veteran Arnold Ridley (Private Godfrey) was a vicar at the motel opening ceremony in 1964. The £10 million revamp in 2001 was bereft of many of the touchstones of the original, like the imperious Meg, or sad Sandy. Some of the original cast couldn’t reprise their roles because they had succumbed to cancer: Noele Gordon, in 1985; Roland Allen (David Hunter) in 1991; Ann George (Amy Turtle) in 1989; and Pamela Vezey, who played Kath Brownlow, in 1992.

And if the original cast was scarce, so, too, were many of the quirks that used to make it so endearingly popular. The sets no longer wobbled, the actors were better rehearsed and remembered their lines; and there was sex. ‘It was all great fun,’ laughs Jane Asher. ‘My character, Angel, was a real super bitch, deeply unpleasant to her staff and her children, ruthlessly ambitious and very glamorous. There was a lot of sex — we would all be exhausted if we had that much sex in real life — but we were quite discreet. It did go out at 5.30pm’. Not all the cast were happy about the adult content. Kathy Staff, who played cleaner Doris Luke in both the original series and the revival, left in dismay at the raunchy sex scenes. ‘It’s no longer a family-friendly show,’ she complained. She needn’t have worried. Viewing figures slumped to below 1.4 million, and after two years the revival was axed. Says Asher: ‘There were rumours that the company wanted to sell the studios in Nottingham where Crossroads was filmed.

Whatever the reason, we were surprised they didn’t give it enough time to build up a following. ‘My character was very glitzy and over the top. I didn’t have any input to the stories. I’d like to make that quite clear. They weren’t the most subtle of scripts, I have to say’. That’s one way of putting it. Another would be that Crosswords was the best worst TV show Britain has ever made. But despite it all, the show has lived on to enjoy a continuing repeat life on extra-terrestrial TV. However, the final indignity for the fictional motel is the derisory fees paid by the satellite channels for the re-showings: £1.25 per episode. 2002 Crossroads 'was all a dream' TV soap Crossroads ended on Friday, with the twist that the entire series had been a figment of a character's imagination.. The show, which was reinstated in 2001 after a 13-year hiatus, is being cancelled because of poor ratings.

The final episode saw the Crossroads hotel boss Angel (Jane Asher) realise her job had all been a dream - as she returned to her real-life job as a supermarket checkout assistant in Birmingham called Angela. "I've just woken up from an amazing dream and dreamt that I owned a hotel called Crossroads," she told a co-worker. Shortly afterwards the supermarket's staff were told the store was closing, and the lights went out on the show, with the final words being: "Oh, fudge." The dream ending echoes the end of one series of US drama Dallas, where Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) stepped out of a shower months after he was supposed to have been dead. His death turned out to be a dream. A Crossroads spokesman said before the show went out: "The final episode will tie up all the loose ends from all the outstanding storylines. "Then as a special twist at the end, the scene cuts to Angel checking through a floret of broccoli and chatting to the person on the next till. We hope to give our viewers a smile on their faces as the show finishes." Characters from the hotel turned out to be customers at the supermarket, including Angel's husband Max (Graham McGrath).

The soap returned to British screens in 2001 with hopes it would become ITV1's flagship daytime soap. The original Crossroads, which ran from 1964 to 1988, was seen as a TV institution, although wobbly sets were also part of the experience. But from a high of 3.2 million viewers when it first returned, ratings have continued to decline. Critics were unimpressed. The show underwent a recent revamp, designed to get rid of unpopular characters and give the soap a new direction. But the Crossroads hotel announced it was to close for good earlier this year. Another second daytime soap commissioned at the same time, Night and Day, limps on a late-night slot after also being axed. Midland soap opera Crossroads celebrates 50th anniversary - Birmingham Mail News Midland soap opera Crossroads celebrates 50th anniversary This week celebrates the 50th anniversary of Midland classic soap opera Crossroads. Zoe Chamberlain catches up with Sue Hanson, who played one of its best loved characters Miss Diane Share Get daily updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe It’s been 50 years since the cult Midland soap Crossroads first graced our screens.

Over the years, millions of families have tucked into the teatime dramas of the classic motel series. Famous for its wobbly sets, the programme initially ran for 24 years from November 2, 1964 to April 4, 1988. Then it was controversially revamped for the 21st century in 2001 but only lasted a couple of years. Sue Hanson, who played Miss Diane for 20 years, remembers the show fondly. “I can’t believe it’s been 50 years,” she says. “I never dreamt Crossroads would be the success it was when it first started but it was probably the only one of its type. “It was daily and very gentle and it catered for a certain type of person, mums bringing their kids home from school and sticking them in front of the TV with their supper. “And, of course, it had Noele Gordon at the helm who was a damn decent person. “It’s a great shame it had to come off the screen but I don’t know how it would have progressed to be running now.

“It was unique in its day.” Sue is getting together with co-stars Paul Henry (who played Benny Hawkins), Jane Rossington (Jill Richardson) and Tony Adams (Adam Chance) to appear on Paul O’Grady’s chat show, talking about the 50th anniversary. “Apparently Paul was a big fan,” says Sue, who returned to acting following the death of her husband, musician Carl Wayne in 2004. “I hadn’t even realised it had been 50 years until the BBC phoned and asked me to go on the show.” Throughout its first two decades, the series handled some serious plots, featuring subjects not touched on TV before, especially in a pre-watershed family soap opera. Taboo-breaking plotlines included actor Roger Tonge appearing in a wheelchair as the paraplegic son of hotel owner Meg Richardson, and the 1983 test-tube baby heartbreak of garage mechanic Kevin and his wife Glenda, to say nothing of stories touching on inter-racial relationships, domestic violence and even rape. But there were real-life dramas among the cast to rival anything shown on screen.

Crossroads matriarch Noele Gordon, who played motel owner Meg from the first scene in 1964, was written out of the soap in 1981. It caused a national outcry and a succession of changes to the show’s formula were introduced. Politicians of the day even voiced their disapproval. Stories began to revolve around new motel boss Nicola Freeman (Gabrielle Drake). Long-term characters, such as David and Barbara Hunter (Ronald Allen and Sue Lloyd), were axed bringing more protests from viewers. Then, in 1986, new producer William Smethurst, known as Butcher Bill after a controversial spell at the helm of radio soap The Archers, was brought in to freshen up the show and it was at this point that Sue left. Although she’d wanted to leave after the birth of her son Jack, she was saddened by Miss Diane’s dramatic end – dropping down dead from a brain haemorrhage in the motel foyer. “I was really upset with my character’s end,” reveals Sue, who says her son has watched the odd episode of Crossroads . “I didn’t think it was a good way to do it.

“I’d already brought the drawbridge down as I wanted to leave because I’d had my son Jack. “Even with a nanny I couldn’t really cope with the workload and I thought what’s the point of having a child if you’re working all the time? “So it was a conscious decision for me to leave. I had thought maybe after a year or so there would have been a door open for me to go back but obviously that wasn’t going to be the case and, to be honest, I’d had enough by then. “I never missed it, I found fame quite hard to cope with. I felt I’d spent my life being that character, who was I? “I missed the people though but we kept in touch. We were like one large family, I know it’s a bit corny to say that but we all got on extremely well. “Twenty years is a long time to spend together and we did laugh a lot.” Despite all the changes made, Crossroads axed for the first time in 1988. But this was not to be the end of the road for the popular show set in the fictional town of Kings Oak, near Birmingham.

Crossroads was sensationally revived in March, 2001, when ITV needed a replacement for Home and Away, which had been lost to Channel Five. The glitzy updated version featured new sets, storylines and cast members headed by actress Jane Asher, who played bitchy motel boss Angel Samson. Original favourites were re-introduced, including Jane Rossington, Tony Adams and Kathy Staff. But Staff, who famously played Nora Batty in Last Of The Summer Wine, quit over the amount of sex in the scripts, claiming it was no longer the family-friendly show of years gone by. The brash new show was never out of the spotlight but traditional viewers steadily deserted it. New producer Yvonn Grace upset many regular fans by claiming the new version was targeted at the gay market, warning that it was the revived programme’s “last chance”. The cast learned in early March 2003 that Crossroads was set to check out of the ITV schedules for good and the last episode was broadcast on May 30 that year. “I envied the sets on the new version of the show!” laughs Sue, who has since appeared in Coronation Street and Holby City. “They spent no money on our sets.

“I knew some of the people in the new version but I had a feeling it wouldn’t quite work. “I don’t think you can go back, not just with Crossroads but with everything in life. Move forward, that’s my philosophy. I think Crossroads was best left as it was.” * Email your Crossroads memories to zoe.chamberlain@trinitymirror.com Where are soap star favourites now? Paul Henry GABRIELLE DRAKE Gabrielle played Nicola Freeman, the glamorous new owner of Crossroads who took over in 1985 when new locations, sets and characters were introduced as David and Barbara Hunter were axed. Aged 70 and the sister of the late musician Nick Drake, she lives in Much Wenlock in Shropshire. She has continued to act on stage and has appeared in Doctors and in Coronation Street as Vanessa, who met Bill Webster at a singles night. Sue Nicholls (Photo: Granada Tv) SUE NICHOLLS Walsall-born Sue played waitress Marilyn Gates in Crossroads from 1964 to 1968 and even had a hit record, when the song she sang, Where Will You Be?, charted.

She went on to star in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin and Rentaghost before joining Coronation Street as Audrey Roberts in 1985. She is married to Mark Eden, who played baddie Alan Bradley in the soap. WE SAID GOODBYE TO THESE ACTORS * Noele Gordon (Meg Richardson) died in 1985. * Roger Tonge (Sandy Richardson) died in 1981. * Ann George (Amy Turtle) died in 1989. * Ronald Allen (David Hunter) died in 1991. * Kathy Staff (Doris Luke) died in 2008. * Sue Lloyd (Barbara Hunter) died in 2011. * Stan Stennett (Sid Hooper) died in 2013. * Angus Lennie (Shughie McFee) died in 2014.

Like us on Facebook April 4, 1988: Crossroads Motel checks out as much-maligned soap is axed by ITV - BT April 4, 1988: Crossroads Motel checks out as much-maligned soap is axed by ITV After 24 years and more than 4,500 episodes, the doors to the Crossroads Motel slammed shut as the once popular ITV programme finally gave in to falling ratings. Print this story Crossroads, the daytime soap opera that spawned a thousand jokes but was at one time the most popular programme on British television, aired its final episode on this day in 1988. The series, which had begun in 1964, centred around the goings-on in the Midlands motel of the same name. For most of its long run, the motel was owned and run by Meg Richardson (later Mortimer), played by Noele Gordon. Other popular and long-serving characters included the suave motel manager David Hunter (played by Ronald Allen), lugubrious cleaner Doris Luke (Kathy Staff), accountant and later manager Adam Chance (Tony Adams), and the somewhat dim-witted handyman Benny Hawkins (Paul Henry).

Shot on a shoestring budget entirely in the studio, for some time the show was filmed ‘as live’ with no time for retakes or edits, occasionally allowing mistakes or fluffed lines to appear on screen. The resultant reputation for gaffes, the low production values and the cheap, occasionally wobbly sets made the series an easy target for stand-ups and comedy shows of the day; Victoria Wood’s affectionate spoof Acorn Antiques became one of her longest-running and best-loved sketches. Despite this, Crossroads became immensely popular – second only in viewer ratings to Coronation Street for most of the 1970s, and very occasionally taking the top spot; 15 million tuned in to watch Meg marry Hugh Mortimer in 1975. After Gordon’s character was axed in 1981, ratings began to fall; a switch in production companies from ATV to Central Television led to further unpopular changes in plot and characters, and the show was finally brought to a halt, after more than 4,500 episodes, at Easter 1988. Were you a fan of Crossroads? What are your memories of the series? Let us know in the Comments section below.

Crossroads – Did you know? The show’s original central plotline had Meg Richardson feuding with her less-successful sister Kitty Jarvis; this idea was watered down due to the popularity of Noele Gordon in the role of Meg. The budget for the show in its early years was so small that some cast members ended up wearing their own clothes on-screen. The memorable theme tune was composed by TV stalwart Tony Hatch; a version by Paul McCartney and Wings would occasionally be used in the closing credits of any episode with a particularly dramatic ending. Thames TV, who took over the independent television franchise for London in 1968, initially refused to buy Crossroads. They changed their minds early in 1969, but for several years London viewers saw episodes six months later than most of the country. The series originally aired on five days a week, but in order to improve its quality the Independent Broadcasting Authority demanded a cut to four episodes a week in 1967, then three in 1980. Towards the series' close, ITV pruned this even further to twice a week.

The bobble-hatted Benny Hawkins proved incredibly popular; however, Falkland Islanders were less than happy to be dubbed “Bennies” by soldiers who came up with the unflattering nickname for them during the 1982 crisis. The series often featured storylines considered controversial for the time; it also boasted the first paraplegic main character in a UK soap, when Meg’s son Sandy Richardson (Roger Tonge - pictured above with his screen mother) was permanently injured in a car accident. The series was briefly revived by Carlton Television, set in a much grander four-star hotel and with a largely new cast, in 2001. It lasted just over two years before being axed. Crossroads fans mark 50th anniversary - BBC News BBC News Crossroads fans mark 50th anniversary 2 November 2014 Close share panel Image copyright NOELE GORDON ESTATE Image caption Noele Gordon, who played motel owner Meg Mortimer for 17 years, acted with Paul Henry, whose character Benny Hawkins is one of the soap's best known Fans of TV soap Crossroads have marked its 50th anniversary at a real hotel which doubled up as the show's motel.

The ITV soap opera, set in fictional Kings Oak in the Birmingham area, was famous for wobbly sets but had 18 million viewers at its height. The Sutton Coldfield Ramada site was used for outdoor filming in the 1980s before the ITV soap was axed in 1988. Memorabilia including popular character Benny Hawkins' hat were on show at the event. 'Tortuous and terrifying' Launched on 2 November 1964, four years after Coronation Street, the show initially ran five days a week and became famous for fluffed lines. Tony Adams, who played womanising Adam Chance for 10 years from 1978, said it was recorded without stopping. He said: "It was tortuous, terrifying… yes there was pressure, but it was enormous fun. "Hardly anybody lifted a cup because they were stuck to saucers so they didn't rattle. "It was one of the best shows I ever did...

if you went into M&S, to Scotland, to Ireland, to Jersey, people recognised you." Image copyright JOHN JAMESON DAVIS Image caption The Sutton Coldfield Ramada site, pictured in 1988, was used for exterior shots of Crossroads Image copyright CROSSROADS APPRECIATION SOCIETY Image caption Tony Adams, who played Adam Chance, said one viewer pulled a knife on him Adams, 73, of Saltdean, Brighton, said one viewer upset at the way his character treated girlfriend Miranda Pollard got into the Birmingham studios. He said: "He pulled a knife. Fortunately, there were two security guards. I didn't get hurt, but it was a bit of a shock." Crossroads was revived in 2001, again starring Adams, but axed in 2003. An anniversary cake featuring the motel sign has been baked for the Sutton Coldfield event. 'Russian spy' But the original red motel sign was not on show because "it's so big" to transport, the Crossroads Appreciation Society said. Proceeds from sales of props and photographs will go to the Crossroads Care charity network, which gives a break to carers.

Fan club member Chris Stacey, 55, of Newham, east London, said: "As a child growing up it was like an extended family... they featured Spaghetti Junction in the opening titles at one point." But he said while it was "escapism", there were "bizarre" storylines including "when Amy Turtle, a famous Brummie, the cleaner… was thought to be a Russian spy". Forgotten Regional Soaps | ATV Today Forgotten Regional Soaps April 20, 2009 Flashback , Soapworld ATV Today All this week we’ll be uploading a range of features looking at Forgotten programmes of television from a range of genre’s such as soaps, dramas and Sci Fi’s. We kick off our “forgotten season” by taking a look at some regional soap’s that have long been forgotten. Our memory of soaps from the ‘good old days’ tend to recall classic episodes of Coronation Street, Emergency Ward 10, Crossroads and even short-lived flops such as Albion Market and Eldorado but as this feature reveals there were a few other soaps which have been forgotten about. How many do you remember?

Weavers Green – Anglia 1966 Rural soap set in Norfolk and about a small community. The soap was notable for extensive location shooting using videotape rather than film, which was the standard practice at the time. Amongst the cast was a young Kate O’Mara (above) playing a student vet and Wendy Richards playing a barmaid in the village pub. Both roles quite different from the ones the actress’ would play later in their careers. 49 half hour episodes of the soap were produced and all were written by husband and wife team Peter and Betty Lambda. In many ways the soap is an early version of Emmerdale Farm; which would launch several years later. Few regional companies outside of Anglia showed the soap and the slots it was given was not good for viewers; airing on a Thursday and Sunday. It was axed much to the anger of Anglia. When Yorkshire Television launched Emmerdale Farm in 1972 Anglia bosses were quick to spot similarities. Later when Emmerdale moved from daytime to peak time, during the 1980s, Anglia left it exactly where it was – daytime.

Poboly Cwm – BBC 1974 -present Welsh language soap that is still running today, and broadcast on S4C, in Wales. In the 1990s the soapaired on BBC Two nationally but English speaking audiences had little enthusiasm for a Welsh soap which they could only follow via the use of subtitles. Very quickly the series disappeared from network BBC Two, despite much promotion of Poboly Cwm by the channel in trailers and publicity as its first-ever soap. The show has been running since 1974 and in 1988 went five nights a week. Some famous faces have appeared on the soap such as Ioan Gruffudd who now enjoys a Hollywood film career and a cameo from Big Brother contestant Imogen Thomas – who was Welsh. High Living – Scottish Television 1969/1970 Launched alongside Yorkshire’s Castle Haven in 1969, High Living was pretty much a Scottish version of the Yorkshire soap. Set in a block of flats, in Glasgow, it dealt with the residents who were – according to the STV press release – “closer to the clouds” whatever that means.

While Castle Heaven was the standard 25 minutes long High Living was produced for a 15 minute slot. 200 episodes of the soap were produced before it was brought to the ground. The Cedar Tree – ATV 1976 – 1979 Period drama set “between the wars” in Larkfield Manor owned by a relatively well off family. The series aired on ATV, the midlands franchise of ITV, and had therefore didn’t have a huge budget. The series was created by Alfred Shaughnessy who had previously been the script editor on the LWT series Upstairs, Downstairs. After the popular LWT period drama ended in 1975 Shaughnessy moved over to ATV and developed The Cedar Tree for the company. Because of the small budget for the series the Cedar tree, which stood in the garden of Larkfield Manor, wasn’t actually ever seen on screen. A plot line involving the tree being hit by lightening featured in the series but no footage of the tree was shown. An animated version of it appeared in the show’s title sequence however. The show, despite its lack of exteriors, was popular enough with viewers to last for three years.

Amongst the cast was Angus Lennie who was also appearing in fellow ATV soap Crossroads as Scottish Chef Shughie McFee at the same time! Later Cedar Tree actor Peter Hill would also switch to the motel rather than the manor. It’s likely the majority of the soap’s episodes no longer exist in the archives. UPDATED: Since they article was published we’ve been emailed and informed that the majority of The Cedar Tree episodes actually do still exist in the archives. So the big question now is why hasn’t it appeared on DVD Related Feature: Southern Television’s soap opera Together Garnock Way – Scottish Television 1976 – 1979 Scottish soap set in a town between Glasgow and Edinburgh and is now considered to be a forerunner for Take The High Road which debuted in 1980 and had a bigger budget that Garnock Way – and, ultimately, was more successful. Amongst the cast was Eileen McCallum, who played Jean Ross, who later joined the cast of High Road when it started production in 1979 and would remain with the soap until its demise in 2003.

Gems – Thames Television 1985 – 1988 Thrice weekly daytime soap set in a fashion house in London’s Covert Gardens, run by two brothers. The brothers had little in common beside their business and were completely different, which lead the plots. While Alan looked after the house’ financial affairs and was happily married – brother Stephen was the designer with an eye for the ladies. Among the cast was Cindy O’Callaghan who had been a regular in the truly awful BBC soap Triangle and in the late 1990’s appeared in EastEnders. The actress is probably best known for her role in Bedknobs and Broomsticks as Carrie. Family Pride – Central Television 1991/1992 Short-lived Birmingham based series that was produced by Central Television and shown in the Midlands by Central but was nationally screened on Channel 4. The series followed the lives of three Asian families in Birmingham and their friends. The show ran for 51 episodes before being dropped in 1992 and among the cast were Paul Henry and Gabrielle Drake, better known as Benny Hawkins and Nicola Freeman in Crossroads, and future Corrie actress Rula Lenska.

Machair – Scottish Television 1993 – 1998 Gaelic language soap set in a further education college on the Island of Lewis, one of the Hebridean islands. The fictional Bradan Mor College specialised in business and media studies and the majority of the soap was filmed on location to showcase the beauty of the island. The show didn’t travel well, being rarely screened outside of Scotland, because it was shot entirely in Gaelic which would have made it impossible for English speaking viewers to follow the action without subtitles. Over 151 episodes were produced before the axe fell in 1998 because of declining ratings. Amongst the directors who worked on the series was Fiona Cumming who had also worked on Eldorado, Angels and Doctor Who. Quayside – Tyne Tees 1996-1997 Tyne Tees Television’s attempt at finding at successful soap along the lines of EastEnders and Coronation Street. Launching in September 1996 it was produced by Zenith North Television for the local ITV company.

The soap was directed and produced by Matthew Robinson; who had written episodes of Crossroads and went on to direct editions of Doctor Who, EastEnders and was a long term director and producer on Byker Grove – the teen drama series. Many actors who appeared in Byker Grove also appeared in Quayside. The series launched with strong figures but these quickly dropped away because, in their wisdom, TTTV aired the soap aired against EastEnders. Another ratings issue was the series wasn’t shown nationally – only broadcasting on Tyne Tees and Yorkshire Television. After just a couple of months the axe fell and Robinson later returned to EastEnders as the show’s Executive Producer. The saga was repeated in the daytime schedules back in 1998 – but even daytime audiences didn’t take to the poor plots and tragic acting. Castle Haven – Yorkshire Television 1969-1970 Twice weekly soap set in Victorian house that had been converted into flats, in a sea-side town. The soap followed the lives and loves of the residents of the flats. Amongst the cast of the Yorkshire TV series was Roy Barraclough, Gretchen Franklin and Kathy Staff.

Staff and Franklin would both join the cast of Crossroads later into the 1970s and Staff would also appear in Coronation Street. When the series ended after just a year, in 1970, one hundred episodes, all 25 minutes long, had been produced. Don’t expect to see them on UK Gold or DVD anytime soon though; as only fifteen minutes of footage is believed to have survived in the archive, and the footage that does remain (a second half of an episode) was only recently discovered. Together – Southern Television 1980-1981 Together went to air at one point live from the Southern Television studios in Southampton. The action revolved around the lives of the troubled characters who resided in Rutherford Court, a modern block of sheltered accommodation flats which were run by a housing association. The warden in charge of the establishment was Lynne Webber (Sheila Fay), her husband Duggie (John Burgess) was the odd-job man about the place, and between them they had countless problems concerning the love life of their teenage daughter Tricia who was played by future Blue Peter presenter Sarah Greene.

Other inmates within the flats were a newlywed couple called Richard and Julie Dunn who began having difficulties after the honeymoon period wore off! Julie would soon find herself considering an abortion due to the dire state of their marriage, these scenes proved extremely realistic because the actors, Richard Everett and Gillian Bailey, were married in real-life. The series ended when Southern Television went off air for the final time in 1981, to be replaced by TVS. Canary Wharf – Live TV! London 1996 – 1997 Very low budget soap set around a cable company in Canary Wharf, a redeveloped area of Greenwich, London. The soap starred Clare Wilkie who had previously enjoyed the sandy beaches and warm climate of Spain during her stint in Eldorado, before the BBC axed the Spanish soap. Not long after Canary Wharf finished Wilkie cropped up in fellow London soap EastEnders as Sandra Di Marco and then later in the “glam” version of Crossroads. Also amongst the cast was future Bad Girl and EastEnders actress Kika Miraless and David Banks who is probably more familiar to TV audiences as the Cyber-Leader in Doctor Who!

Tristan Gemmill, now in Casualty, was also a cast member. The last episode of the dodgy soap saw Canary Wharf disappear in a special effects shot that the word cheap just doesn’t describe. Whether it was abducted by aliens or just fell down a plot hole we don’t know! London Bridge – Carlton Television 1995 – 1998 Originally a late-night drama series that was re-launched after its first series as a twice weekly soap. The drama, later soap, revolved around a restaurant, SE1, and a block of flats nearby. The saga dealt with gritty storylines such as rape, stalkers, armed robbery and murder. Amongst the cast were Simone Lahbid and Mandana Jones who would both work together on Bad Girls a few years later and Sunetra Sarker who would go on to work on Brookside, Emmerdale and Casualty. As with our other regional soaps low ratings finally prompted the series axe in 1998. Tagged

Question: In which TV 'soap' did the character Benny Hawkins appear?
Answer: Crossroads