Jack Barton Interview

Jack Barton has been associated with Crossroads for the past seventeen years as a producer and director.

Since he took over the responsibilities of producer he and his team have not only maintained the programme's popularity and high place in the ratings, but on the one occasion swept the board taking the top four places - an achievement he is constantly striving to repeat.

Dedication is the overriding quality Jack brings to the programme. Crossroads is what he lives and breathes. There is no limit to his working day. He exudes confidence and energy which inspires everyone around him.

In January 1985 Jack Barton takes over as the Series Consultant and makes way for 32-year-old Phillip Bowman, the new producer.

Phillip is Australian. He has worked for ABC in Sydney as a director on Sons And Daughters, and since coming to England has worked on Bergerac and Shoestring for the BBC and was Associate Producer on Thames TV's Minder series in 1984.

Jack Barton welcomes Phillip Bowman to the programme

Phillip will bring a fresh mind and new exciting ideas to the series and this will enable me to pursue new programme ideas in Britain and abroad, while still keeping in contact with Crossroads, which holds a special place in my affections.

ATV

The man who built Crossroads into TV's best-known motel admits it won't be easy to check out, when he leaves in January 1985

And it will be, like getting a divorce. For the last seventeen years I have only seen my wife at weekends. She'll tell you I'm not married to her - I'm married to Crossroads! The programme has taken over my life.

He confesses from an office lined with large framed photographs of the series' stars. Jack's role as producer goes far beyond planning the future of the series

I feel I am the father of a family and they feel the same way. They come to me if they have any personal or domestic problems and I try to sort them out. And like fathers with families, sometimes I have to chastise them.

Jack started in show business at the age of 14 when he joined Bertram Mills' Circus as a ring boy. But he was soon working on the other side of the footlights. He was offered the job of directing three-year-old Crossroads in 1967 and jumped at the chance

I thought it could be done better. At that time soap opera was a comparatively new thing and there was definitely room for improvement. But it was going out five nights a week and I thought it was a great challenge.

What does Jack think about people comparing Crossroads to other 'big budget' shows

The only difference between us and Dallas, Dynasty and Coronation Street is the time we go out. Because we air in the early evening slot, we have to be careful we don't embarrass anyone. We deal with romance rather than sex, we don't use any bad language, no one ever smokes on the programme and people only ever drink socially.

But the show has changed and tackled more serious issues too

The affair between David Hunter and Sarah Alexander, in which the smooth but now married motel boss made his one-time mistress pregnant was the sexiest Crossroads has ever been. So over the years Crossroads has grown up and become more adult. But what shocked viewers most about that wasn't the fact of the affair itself, but that David had betrayed his wife.

Unlike Brookside, that seems to be a 30-minute political soap-box for its creator, which often likes to offend and show sensational stories for the sake of it, Crossroads does care about the viewers and what innocent eyes might see

The viewers care. They get emotionally involved and are terribly loyal. In fact, my years at Crossroads have been worthwhile if only for the way we have been able to help people in return.

We helped establish the Crossroads Care Attendant Scheme for the disabled; we introduced a mentally-handicapped child into a TV drama for the first time and we also helped set up a hospital unit for children with kidney disease by featuring the subject on the programme.

ATV Jack Barton is unquestionably proud of his baby, currently bouncing towards it's 4000th episode on November 20th 1984, and thereby setting a new record, unequalled on British TV. The soap has more episodes than any other UK drama series

All of us, without exception, have been hurt by the criticism of Crossroads. But whatever anyone feels about the programme, each and every one of us work desperately hard to bring happiness and entertainment to our regular audience.

The trouble is that the sort of thing the audience love is exactly what the critics slam. I am very proud and happy to be handing over a top-rated programme to my successor.

What was Jack Barton's most fondest memory of working on Crossroads?

The most fun I had was while filming the leaving of Meg Mortimer. Under a shroud of secrecy, I tried to ensure that the media got no inkling of Meg's eventual means of dispatch." He even donned a fake moustache to throw reporters off the scent while filming aboard the QE2 in Southampton.

Finally what about that love-hate relationship with the newspapers?

I loved playing cat and mouse with the press. When I was spotted by a group of journalists and they asked me who I was, I said my name was Wolfenden and marched past. It was actually the stage manager's name and I just plucked it out of the air.