Crossroads (1964–1988)

The four or five times a week adventures of a motel owner, son, daughter and her staff. Drama was never far away from the ringing of the reception bell.

Creators:

Hazel Adair, Peter Ling

Stars:

Noele Gordon, Susan Hanson, Ronald Allen

Cast

Series cast summary:
Noele Gordon	...	Meg Mortimer (219 episodes, 1964-1981)
Susan Hanson	...	Diane Parker (203 episodes, 1966-1985)
Ronald Allen	...	David Hunter (195 episodes, 1972-1983)
Paul Henry	...	Benny (172 episodes, 1976-1987)
Roger Tonge	...	Sandy Richardson (151 episodes, 1964-1980)
Jane Rossington	...	Jill Harvey (126 episodes, 1964-1988)
Sally Adcock	...	Jane Smith (119 episodes, 1973-1978)
Kathy Staff	...	Doris Luke (107 episodes, 1978-1982)

Storyline

The four or five times a week adventures of a motel owner, son, daughter and her staff. Drama was never far away from the ringing of the reception bell.

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Plot Keywords:

motel | sergeant | partially lost tv series | midlands | soap | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official fan club

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 November 1964 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Midland Road

Company Credits

Production Co:

Associated Television (ATV), Central Independent Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (4510 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the late sixties "Lady Penelope" ("the comic for girls who love television") ran a strip based on the series, which appeared in issues 103-122. In 1973 Dutch artist Alfred Mazure contributed some strips for the "TV Times" listings magazine - the first they had run for any series.

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Connections

Referenced in TV Hell (1992)

User Reviews

Wonderfully awful

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.