Evening Mail Article - Three to leave in Crossroads switch

[Daniel Freeman]

I have to agree with Mike there (Sorry Paul). For me, the '82 - '85  'odeon era' was rather bland, and to be honest, a bit boring. The stories were stretched out too long. I think Phillip Bowman gave it a good shake-up with the Freeman era, new titles, and 'slightly' OTT stories again. Wish he could have stayed a bit longer....I believe he was forced out through "personal matters" (?)

[Mike of CAS]

Shafting his PA, I think he married her in the end though.

[Daniel Freeman]

Shafting his PA, I think he married her in the end though.

Lordy!  I always thought he was gay! Always seemed a bit camp on interviews. (he reminded me a bit of John Nathan -Turner, the last DR WHO producer of the Classic series)

[Maria No. 1.]

Shafting his PA, I think he married her in the end though.

Thats a way of putting it Mike, and yes, I think he did.

[Mike of CAS]

From a newspaper article or book, I should make notes where I find the info. He was 'moved onto other projects' after he was caught with the PA. He was still married to someone else at the time, but they'd separated so I don't know I think it was no doubt just an excuse to move him on as they couldn't sack him for making the show a success.

Ratings wise, and critically somewhat certainly. And of course he rightly knew the show needed a touch of the Nolly.

Of course there was the big hoo-har in the papers the year before of Carolyn Jones bonking her hubby in the dressing room.

[Maria No. 1.]

I had read it somewhere that he was married and was found out with his PA, but I too cannot remember where I found the info out, because it was years ago.  Most likely I found out from one of the papers.

[Mike of CAS]

Yes I think its an article or from an article quoted in a book. I did read it a year or two ago because before that I only knew he'd been doing someone at the studios, but didn't know he was married at the time.

I've also got an episode on tape somewhere of one of his episodes of The Young Doctors. So I guess he learned the Crossroads format from old Reg Watson. Strange Central picked him knowing that, I mean he restored it back to what it pretty much was before Nolly went. With the incidental music and all that.

[Maria No. 1.]

Mike, More I think about it I must have got it from one of the tabloids at the time, because if you only found out a year ago he was married, you must have seen that article quoted somewhere.

I didn't know that he worked on The Young Doctors, good that he learn't the Crossroads trade from Reg.  Couldn't go wrong really could he.  Who knows why Central picked him but good move, and he was definitely in tune with the public in wanting to bring Nolly back.

As for Carolyn Jones, I know for a fact that I did find that out from the tabloids at the time.  I didn't keep the article, but it was quite gossipy in typical tabloid fashion.

[Mike of CAS]

Yeah it was at that time Corrie was having stories about Granada planning to axe it and all that due to losing some of its big stars - Ena, Elsie, Annie ect.

[Aston Cross]

I've also got an episode on tape somewhere of one of his episodes of The Young Doctors. So I guess he learned the Crossroads format from old Reg Watson. Strange Central picked him knowing that, I mean he restored it back to what it pretty much was before Nolly went. With the incidental music and all that.

I didn't know that he worked on The Young Doctors, good that he learn't the Crossroads trade from Reg.  Couldn't go wrong really could he.  Who knows why Central picked him but good move, and he was definitely in tune with the public in wanting to bring Nolly back.

Didn't he work on Sons & Daughters as well?  Both TYD and S&D were made by Grundy's so it stands to reason he worked on both.

[Maria No. 1.]

I knew that The Yound Doctors and Sons & Daughters were both Grundy Productions, but I didn't make the connection with him.

[Steve F]

I can't say a bad word about Phillip Bowman.

Other than a small handful of actors who weren't too happy to find that he had decided not to renew their contracts, I've never heard a bad word said about him. Everyone who worked with him seems to have nothing but praise for him behind-the-scenes.

An excellent Producer who bought a fresh, glamorous, expensive approach to the Crossroads Motel and with Peter Ling, introduced a number to truly memorable characters (Daniel and Nicola Freeman particularly stand out) and oversaw many terrific storylines (The Motel Strike, Benny being done for assault when his dog MOSES was mistreated by local yobs, endless scandal and sectrets in the private lives of the staff, Nicola's affair with Sam Benson, the bombscare at Christmas '85, teh wages snatch where Paul Ross was attacked, Miranda Pollard's rape, the death of Mavis Hooper (featuring an incredibly moving last scene between the 2 of them) Joanna Freeman getting involved with a cult, Jill's miscarriage and her affair with Mickey Doyle and many, many more).

I just wish I owned more episodes. The Motel Strike is almost mythical now. It just sounds like such a lot of fun (Adam as Barman, Nicola in marigolds as the Motel cleaner! hilarious!) 

[Mike of CAS]

I can't say a bad word about Phillip Bowman.

Other than a small handful of actors who weren't too happy to find that he had decided not to renew their contracts, I've never heard a bad word said about him. Everyone who worked with him seems to have nothing but praise for him behind-the-scenes.

An excellent Producer who bought a fresh, glamorous, expensive approach to the Crossroads Motel and with Peter Ling, introduced a number to truly memorable characters (Daniel and Nicola Freeman particularly stand out) and oversaw many terrific storylines (The Motel Strike, Benny being done for assault when his dog MOSES was mistreated by local yobs, endless scandal and sectrets in the private lives of the staff, Nicola's affair with Sam Benson, the bombscare at Christmas '85, teh wages snatch where Paul Ross was attacked, Miranda Pollard's rape, the death of Mavis Hooper (featuring an incredibly moving last scene between the 2 of them) Joanna Freeman getting involved with a cult, Jill's miscarriage and her affair with Mickey Doyle and many, many more).

I just wish I owned more episodes. The Motel Strike is almost mythical now. It just sounds like such a lot of fun (Adam as Barman, Nicola in marigolds as the Motel cleaner! hilarious!) 

I dont' have much in the way of that era currently, the 'archive' in the East has had a disaster with the tapes so I only got a handful sent up before the flood. But I think one or two strike episodes are there, there are of course 2 episodes from TV One and a couple of others, there is one with David driving through the snow I think to the incidental music visiting Sarah in the flats opposite Nolly's place.

[Mike of CAS]

...so pop a message with an address to send to and I can send some DVDs is what I was going to say.

[oorshughie]

I came across a vhs tape from taping Crossroads on UK Gold,the strike is funny,Nicola in  marigolds,Lily Bonne in full flow.
The rapport between Jill and Adam is so good,makes me all the more cross they way,the characters were treated in Crossorads mark2.