Crossroads (British TV series)
Meg went on to become engaged to businessman Hugh Mortimer (John Bentley) but he initially married Jane Templeton (Rosalie Ashley), who was dying of a brain tumour, in order for her to come to England to undergo an operation.Some time later, news came that he had burnt to death in a car crash in South America, which turned out not to be true; and after the police arrested him for his doppelgänger's murder, a divorce was sought.In 1977, Stan spent some time on business in Germany and it was during his absence that Jill had an affair with her step-brother, Anthony Mortimer (Jeremy Sinden) to whom she became pregnant, with their child Matthew, who was subsequently born in 1978.Despite trying to reconcile, Jill and Stan's marriage ended in him winning a bitter custody battle, which led to him and Sarah Jane moving to Germany.In the programme's pre-publicity and first episode it is stated that Dick and Kitty have a daughter, Lesley, who is "out in Australia, doing very well for herself", unseen, she later marries Maurice Grant, a doctor at St. Joseph's Hospital Adelaide.Among those closest to Meg or her family were former actress Tish Hope (Joy Andrews), Reverend Peter Hope (Neville Hughes), Kitchen worker Vi Blundell (Peggy Aitchison), hotel chef Carlos Raphael (Anthony Morton), his wife Josefina (Gillian Betts), waitress Marilyn Gates (Sue Nicholls), kitchen assistant Amy Turtle (Ann George), postmistress Edith Tatum (Elisabeth Croft), and motel waitress Diane Lawton (Susan Hanson).Others connected to the motel included, suave manager and later motel director David Hunter (Ronald Allen), his first wife Rosemary (Janet Hargreaves), their son Chris (Freddie Foote and later Stephen Hoye), David's second wife Barbara (Sue Lloyd), Chefs Gerald Lovejoy (William Avenell), Bernard Booth (David Lawton) and Shughie McFee (Angus Lennie), hairdresser Vera Downend (Zeph Gladstone), the Harvey family, consisting of father Wilf (Morris Parsons) and his grown children Stan (Edward Clayton and later Terry Molloy) and Sheila (Sonia Fox), accountant and later motel manager Adam Chance (Tony Adams), and cleaner Doris Luke (Kathy Staff).Perhaps the most memorable character proved to be the mentally challenged Benny Hawkins (Paul Henry), whose trademark was a woolly hat that was worn all year round.The storyline was developed when actor Roger Tonge had himself become a wheelchair user off screen - when he was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma[4] - as a way to keep him in the series, thus becoming the first paraplegic regular character portrayed in a British soap opera.The year before, an interracial summer romance took place between Cockney garage mechanic Dennis Harper (Guy Ward) and motel receptionist Meena Chaudri (Karan David).The character of Meg Richardson was axed in 1981 and was thought to have died in a fire that gutted the motel, but turned up alive aboard the QE2, about to sail to a new life overseas.However by the early 1980's it became apparent that the family and their shareholders thought differently about the motel's future, and in 1985, it was sold off to Major International Hotels, under the management of Nicola Freeman (Gabrielle Drake).Popular characters in the new Crossroads included new owner Kate Russell (Jane Gurnett), supercilious receptionist Virginia Raven (Sherrie Hewson), and womanising deputy manager Jake Booth (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.Series star Noele Gordon, who played matriarch Meg Richardson, won the TV Times 'Most Compulsive Female Character' viewers award eight consecutive years during the 1970s.Storylines began to revolve around new motel owner Nicola Freeman (Gabrielle Drake), and long-term characters like David and Barbara Hunter (Ronald Allen and Sue Lloyd) were axed.Smethurst had been brought in by Central Television's new head of drama, Ted Childs, and ordered changes aimed at improving production values and creating a wittier, more upmarket serial.Smethurst shifted the narrative centre to the nearby village of King's Oak, and yet more long-running characters, including fan favourites Diane Hunter (Susan Hanson) and Benny Hawkins (Paul Henry), were dropped; as with earlier changes, this was unpopular with viewers, who telephoned Central in protest.In January 1988, the series was reduced to only two episodes a week, with Crossroads King's Oak finally coming to an end on 4 April 1988 (the Easter bank holiday).The last, extended episode saw the only remaining original character, Jill Chance (Jane Rossington), riding off with her new lover John Maddingham (Jeremy Nicholas).The lunchtime screening on Tuesday 11 September 2001 began at 14:10, but during the advertisement break, the programme was interrupted by ITV News with coverage of the 9/11 attacks in New York City.The remodelled series, under producer Yvon Grace, appeared to be a self-consciously camp parody with Jane Asher playing a new central character, Angel Samson.[25] The series also featured appearances from Kate O'Mara and Anne Charleston, as well as light entertainment names including Lionel Blair, Les Dennis and Tim Brooke-Taylor.This remodelled revival also launched the careers of Freema Agyeman (Doctor Who, Law & Order: UK), Luke Roberts (Holby City and Mile High), Lucy Pargeter, Shauna Shim and Jessica Fox.A special arrangement of the theme by Wings was occasionally used from the late 1970s, usually when an episode ended with a dramatic event; that version appears on the band's 1975 album Venus and Mars.Central Independent Television's head of music Johnny Patrick rearranged the tune in 1985 for piano and synthesiser, upon the show's relaunch as Crossroads Motel by producer Philip Bowman.An entirely new theme aired in late 1987 when the series was relaunched as Crossroads, Kings Oak, composed by Johnny Patrick with Raf Ravenscroft, Max Early and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.The sets wobbled, actors fluffed their lines and some popular characters simply disappeared; for example, Benny Hawkins (Paul Henry) was last seen on-screen ascending a ladder to put a fairy at the top of a Christmas tree, and never appeared again.Spanning decades of work, Crossroads Care evolved but at its core, it remains devoted to alleviating the pressures faced by unpaid family carers.For a brief period between February and September 2015, the original series aired on Big Centre TV on Freeview channel 8 in the Midlands or available online live at 9.00 pm each evening Monday to Saturday, which could also be watched free on their catchup service.
Crossroads Motel (album)Soap operaHazel AdairPeter LingList of charactersReg WatsonCentral Independent TelevisionCarlton TelevisionBritish televisionthe MidlandsNoele GordonJane RossingtonRoger TongeJohn BentleyJeremy SindenJeremy NicholasCleo SylvestreMollie MaureenNeville HughesSue NichollsAnn GeorgeElisabeth CroftSusan HansonRonald AllenSue LloydAngus LennieZeph GladstoneTerry MolloyKathy StaffPaul HenryBritish troopsFalklands WarFalkland IslandersHodgkins LymphomaparaplegicCompactCarl Andrewsfalse accusation of rapetest tube babyDown syndromeVeniceAl Hunter AshtonGabrielle DrakeTerence RigbySherrie HewsonColin WellsList of Crossroads charactersBorder TelevisionUlster TelevisionAngliaAssociated RediffusionSouthern TelevisionWestward TelevisionChannel TelevisionGrampian TelevisionTyne TeesScottish TelevisionYorkshire TelevisionGranadaIndependent Television AuthorityHarold WilsonThames TelevisionfranchiseeLondonCoronation StreetIndependent Broadcasting AuthorityLady Plowdenspin-offTV TimesCharles DentonHelena Bonham CarterRussell T DaviesscrolledcrossroadTed ChildsThe ArchersRaf Ravenscroftbank holidayIrelandRTÉ OneNew ZealandTV OneTony AdamsTeletextJane AsherinterruptedITV Newsthe 9/11 attacks in New York CityKate O'MaraAnne Charlestonlight entertainmentLionel BlairLes DennisTim Brooke-TaylorFreema AgyemanDoctor WhoLuke RobertsHolby CityMile HighLucy PargeterShauna ShimJessica FoxdaydreamTony HatchPye RecordsVenus and MarsCity of Birmingham Symphony OrchestraPatrick DineenLiverpool PhilharmonicKings OakKings HeathKings NortonSelly OakTanworth-in-ArdenSolihullWolverhamptonShropshireNorth Shropshire CollegeAlcesterJurys InnCheltenhamRamada JarvisSutton ColdfieldGas Street BasinChateau ImpneyHagley Hall