Crossroads UK
/ ATV-Central / 4510x30m-e / 1964-88
Creators: Hazel
Adair and Peter Ling / Theme Music was by Tony
Hatch.
Crossroads
is an often derided UK soap that ran from the
1960's to the 1980's telling stories of the
staff and customers of a Birmingham Motel, the
Crossroads of the title. Main stay of the show
for most of its run was motel owner Meg
Richardson. Because the show was filmed as live
with minimal rehearsal time and with some of the
sets being on the flimsy side the show often had
the mickey taken out of it most memorably by
Victoria Wood in her Acorn Antiques sketch in
her As Seen On TV series. Long running
characters included the wooly hatted handyman
Benny, Meg's daughter Jill and her son Sandy
(later confined to a wheelchair), smoothie David
Hunter and the equally smooth Adam Chance,
cleaner, the highly forgetful Amy Turtle
("lines, what lines", Scottish chef
Shughie McFee, receptionist Diane Lawton and
waitress Marilyn Gates (Sue Nicholls who played
Marilyn would later go on to become a mainstay
of Coronation Street). Even though mocked by the
critics the show was very popular with the
viewers and Paul McCartney even recorded his own
version of the tune (used on the show for
special dramatic or sad endings). Crossroads
never really recovered from losing Meg (even
though the producers had written her out) and
having the motel burn down in 1981. The new
motel was renamed Crossroads, King's Oak.
The
show was to have originally to have been called
The Midland Road. Initial producer of the show
Reg Watson later went on to help create the
Australian soap Neighbours. The first words on
the show were spoken by Jill (she said
"Crossroads Motel. May I help you?"
The show was shown weeknights but in most ITV
regions appeared at different times of the early
evening. The ITV Network have recently started
broadcasting a new version of the show.
Cast
NOELE GORDON
as Meg Richardson / JANE ROSSINGTON as Jill
Richardson / ROGER TONGUE as Sandy Richardson /
ANN GEORGE as Amy Turtle / RONALD ADAM as
David Hunter / PAUL HENRY as Benny Hawkins /
SANDOR ELES as Paul Ross / KATHY STAFF as Doris
Luke / TONY ADAMS as Adam Chance / SUE LLOYD as
Barbara Brady / STAN STENNETT as Sid Hooper /
DIANE GRAYSON as Penny Richardson / SUSAN HANSON
as Diane Parker / PETER BROOKES as Vince Parker
/ DIANE KEEN as Sandra Gould / JOHNNY BRIGGS as
Clifford Leyton / SUE NICHOLS as Marilyn Gates /
JOHN BENTLEY as Hugh Mortimer / ANGUS LENNIE as
Shughie McFee / GABRIELLE DRAKE as Nichola
Freeman / TERENCE RIGBY as Tommy 'Bomber'
Lancaster / JOHN FORGEHAM as Jim Baines
UK
/ ATV-Central / 4510x30m-e / 1964-88
The
show was to have originally to have been called
The Midland Road. Initial producer of the show
Reg Watson later went on to help create the
Australian soap Neighbours. The first words on
the show were spoken by Jill (she said
"Crossroads Motel. May I help you?"
The show was shown weeknights but in most ITV
regions appeared at different times of the early
evening. The ITV Network have recently started
broadcasting a new version of the show.
