ATV TELEVISION LIMITED: SPECIAL PRESS RELEASE

'CROSSROADS'

You've never heard their names before, but soon you will come to know these people as friends. Meg Richardson, her daughter Jill and son Sandy live at the Crossroads Motel in the village of Kings Oak. Dick Jarvis and his wife Kitty and their son Brian live on the other side of the street, where they run the local store. The family tale of life that literally is at the cross roads.

These are the principal characters in the cast of the Midland ATV's new 25-minute daily serial 'Crossroads', which starts on November 2nd at 6:25pm.

The 13-week story is based on the lives of two sisters, living within a short distance of each other on the outskirts of a sprawling, still developing industrial city.

It is also the saga of the people who travel the Midland road, who stop over night or sometimes longer - when their lives get entangled with those of the main characters.

November 2nd 1964 and at 6:30pm the very first black and white edition of Crossroads is broadcast from ATV's Aston Studios in Birmingham.

The first six weeks were only shown on ATV, Border and UTV. Westward TV and Anglia Television were the next two stations to air the soap from December 1964 onwards. Most of the ITV Network started showing the series from January 1965.

Tyne Tees Television and Granada Television waited until much later; but by September 1972 all the local television regions were screening Crossroads. From then on, the show was networked and started to rise up the ratings.

But Crossroads as an idea started long before November 1964; in fact Reg Watson first mooted the daily serial suggestion to ATV's boss Sir Lew Grade in 1959, as Noele Gordon continues the story:

"In those days I used to be hostess on ITV's first Midlands chat show, Lunchbox. We had a resident team and I had celebrities to interview. The show was produced in ATV's old Aston Road Studios on the outskirts of Birmingham and it had a big following. As the show grew more popular we used to take it out on location. At our first outside broadcast Sir Lew Grade watched the programme in his London office beamed to him directly by landline from the Midlands.

All our shows were live, nothing was recorded, so the idea of taking a live TV programme on tour immediately appealed to Sir Lew's show-biz know-how. What really impressed him were the 27,000 fans who turned up at Nottingham Forest football ground to see the programme. We were expecting 3,000. When I walked out on the pitch they gave me the kind of cheer you usually only hear at Wembley..

..It was this quite unexpected reception that I had from those warm-hearted folk that made Crossroads possible later on and I will always be grateful to them."

It was these Lunchbox specials that had caught the attention of Sir Lew and he was soon asking the shows producer, Reg Watson if he could do a live outside broadcast once every week. It was then that Reg told him that ATV didn't have the staff or facilities to perform such a feat, but what he really would like to do is a daily serial. "You mean like those American soaps?" Lew enquired. "No" replied Reg, "I don't mean an American soap opera. They only go out twice a week. I mean a real daily serial. It must be daily."

Nothing more was said on the subject for another five years, but Lew Grade hadn't forgotten, as Noele Gordon continues:

"On an August bank-holiday, I had a phone call at my house at Ross-on-Wye from Philip Dorte who was then ATV's Midlands Controller. I was just leaving to go to Birmingham to appear on Lunchbox.

'Nolly,' he said, 'I want to see you. Can you drop in on your way back from the studios?' That evening I stopped off at Philip's home and the first thing he did was to give me a drink. 'I've got a shock for you,' he said. 'They're taking off Lunchbox.'

I felt myself go a little white. There was a sinking feeling in my tummy. Lunchbox had been my life for eight years. It was a terrible blow to suddenly hear it was all going to end. I was so stunned I scarcely heard Philip's next words, 'But don't worry, its going to be replaced with a new half-hour daily serial, and you're going to be the woman in it!'

I sat down. I couldn't believe what I had heard.. ..The idea of producing a TV drama serial every day had never been attempted."

And so Crossroads was born. Hazel Adair and Peter Ling were drafted in by Lew Grade to write the series, which was up until the very last minute called "The Midland Road". Lunchbox’s Reg Watson stayed in his role as producer for the new soap.

Crossroads was to revolve around two sisters, one rather well off, the other struggling in life. The sisters lived at opposite sides of a crossroads junction. One sister, who was widowed, ran a motel in the grounds of her Georgian mansion. The other sister ran a small newsagent store with her husband. The two sisters also had a brother, who was a sailor and would visit the village from time to time.

Each episode would switch to and forth from each family seeing how their respective lifestyles would affect their relationships. Noele Gordon played Meg Richardson, the motel owner; Beryl Johnstone played Kitty Jarvis, the newsagent.

The very first episode opens in the reception area of the motel with 18 year-old Jill Richardson, (Jane Rossington) answering the motel telephone. “Crossroads Motel, can I help?” Is the opening line. Jill is the daughter of Meg Richardson, the motel owner.

Meg has a son Sandy (Roger Tonge) who at the time is still at school being 15. The first episode is not the opening of the motel; we learn that Meg inherited the land from her late husband Charles, in 1960, and had the motel added onto her Georgian home when a motorway was built next to Kings Oak. The motel opened on April 17th 1963.

As time went on the motel side of the series became more dominant, although Kitty still appeared as a main character until 1969, and her family featured for some years after.

It was simply a case that Noele Gordon's popularity on Lunchbox had followed her to the new series, and people wanted to see her more than anyone else. The cast grew year on year, but Noele, as Meg, took the leading role; being involved in almost every storyline.

In September 1966 Crossroads made its first major television landmark by reaching 500 episodes. The Crossroads cast went on tour, at each location they stopped at Noele Gordon met a real-life Meg Richardson, all of whom later enjoyed a celebration dinner in Oxford.

It was also in this year that ATV's Head of Production, Bill Ward wanted to axe the series completely: "After two years I succumbed to the continual barrage of critical attacks. I wanted to take it off, but Lew wouldn't let me. Lew was right, of course." Bill was comparing the quality of Emergency Ward Ten with Crossroads. "I wanted the same standards set for Crossroads.. ..but it wasn't possible, not with five episodes a week." All the other soaps of the day went out twice a week, with more money for each episode: What money they were putting into two programmes, Crossroads had to spread across five. So Crossroads did seem of a lower budget, and of course more episodes meant less rehearsal time.

The fact the show was recorded 'as a live show' caused a lot of stress to the cast: if they made a mistake it meant the whole part of that episode had to be re-done. If an actor messed up their lines in the final scene of part one, it meant the whole of part one had to be recorded all over again. This never ending and stressful workload lead to Noele resigning from Crossroads in 1968, as she continues the story:

"The time-table which Reg had devised was ingenious and demanding. At the end of each day I was so tired I could hardly find the energy to talk and I'm sure it was the same for the rest of the cast.. ..We used to get every Sunday free, but that's all. And by free I just mean away from the studio. During this 'freedom' most of us were still learning our lines..

..When I walked out on Crossroads it made headline news, many people thought it was just a publicity stunt, but I assure you, it wasn't. I really did resign and as far as I was concerned, Meg Richardson was finished; she and I were through. I had been with the serial for more than three years. We were all working very hard and it seemed to me that I was working hardest of all.. ..The new contract I had been offered was no different to the last and as I hadn't had an increase in salary for seven years, I decided that if I was going to quit, this was the moment."

Noele sent her letters of resignation to Head of ATV Sir Lew Grade, Programme Controller Leonard Mathews and Crossroads Producer Reg Watson. The Sunday Telegraph found out what was going on and printed the news on their front page, other newspapers soon followed, this resulted in the ATV switchboard being jammed with unhappy fans and thousands of letters asking Noele to stay arrived at the studios. One woman wrote 'Don't let Meg die, if you do I'll kill myself.'

The Crossroads writers wrote Meg's final episode - to be aired in the second week of August 1968. ATV promised Meg's exit would be a dramatic departure. This news resulted in huge protests outside ATV - the company finally had to admit, Crossroads was one of the most popular programmes on television - and it was popular because of Noele Gordon.

Round the table talks took place and in the end Noele, Lew and Reg agreed to a more reasonable contract, which also, as well as a better pay deal, saw Noele only appear in three episodes a week out of the then four made. Meg was to stay.

"I went home to tell mother, hugged her, and we celebrated with a glass of champagne." Said Noele.

1968 had not been a very good year for the Crossroads series, for as well as Noele quitting, in the London region Associated-Rediffusion was replaced with a new 'trendy' station, Thames Television.

Thames decided to ditch the former Associated-Rediffusion schedule, and as well as many other changes to the output of the new station, one of their first decisions was to axe Crossroads. Former Prime Minister, Harold Wilson was in power at the time, and unfortunately for Thames Television, his wife Mary was a huge fan of Crossroads. Noele Gordon takes up the story:

"Scores of letters arrived at Number 10 asking her to intervene when Crossroads was dropped by Thames Television in the London area.. ..Mrs Wilson found herself attending a film premiere with Mr Harold Wilson, and among the other guests was Lord Aylestone, Chairman of the Independent Broadcasting Authority which controlled commercial television. Mrs Wilson mentioned to Lord Aylestone that she had received all these letters.. ..and asked him if he could bring back Crossroads."

Lord Aylestone pointed out that the IBA could not personally request the return of Crossroads but he did say that they could make Thames aware of the situation, and in actual fact the IBA had been receiving many letters and calls about the removal of the soap too. Thames Television themselves were also bombarded with calls from Crossroads fans, for seven days after the programme had been dropped their switchboard was jammed.

Brian Tesler, then Programme Controller at Thames, decided to bring the show back due to the public demand. Crossroads, however in London would now be six months behind the rest of the UK as they started showing the episodes they had missed rather than rejoin the soap where the rest of the regions were up to.

Although the fans clearly loved Crossroads, television critics were not so sure, Kenneth Eastaugh, who wrote for the Daily Mirror in 1966: 'Everybody and everything moves in agonizing slow motion, dragging every petty incident to the point where it snaps and vanishes. The dialogue is woolly, the acting stilted, the directing stale, the result absurd.'

Richard Afton in the Birmingham Evening Mail wrote a scathing article, credited to being one of the most insulting ever written: 'The intellectual level of TV would be raised if that deep depression over the centre of England called Crossroads was to be set adrift in the highways and byways of the Midlands with guide, map or compass. It might, with luck, get lost forever.

This dreary soap opera, churning out its miseries and woes four nights a week, must be responsible for as much gloom in the households who watch the show as a Harold Wilson speech. More so, because sometimes Mr Wilson is very funny; although he doesn't intend to be. The stories are trite and the situations contrived. Whenever they can they resort to the juvenile gimmick of terminating an episode with a cliff-hanger similar to the Saturday afternoon serials at the pictures fifty years ago. It would be difficult to find a worse acted show on TV than this one.

Tired Sandy, with the weight of the world on his shoulders, drones on in his monotonous whining way and never smiles. As for the scandal-mongering Amy, she should join the other two old ladies locked in the lavatory. It would stop her tongue wagging for a time and she might even learn her lines. Lording over it all is Saint Meg. I am sure she will be canonized some day.. she is just so good and saintly to be true.

In these troubled times, do viewers really want to be subjected, month after month, to the sordid misfortunes of fictitious people? Are we so sadistic?'

Of course all these TV critics were long forgotten while Crossroads continues to be popular, and those who knocked the show in most cases never watched it long enough to make a reasoned opinion.

Those who knocked the show insulted 20 million fans, which is a lot more viewers than many acclaimed shows have had watching. It seems Crossroads was too American for the TV critics, the idea of this ‘soap’ being popular just wasn’t on! Crossroads was set in an American devised location (motel), based on an American idea (soap) and it was seen as lowering the tone in British drama, so they decided to try and kill it off, looking for any excuse.

Also people like to compare; and they compared Crossroads to other dramas, when Crossroads was unique - now there are lots of soap operas in the UK, but back in the 1960s and 70s Crossroads was the only soap.

Crossroads was the Neighbours or Home and Away of the 1960s. Now compare them to Coronation Street or EastEnders and you will see they are very different beasts. Crossroads was the first in the UK in that Neighbours style format, and the show has paid for it ever since, with the scathing ridicule, which most of the time is totally unfounded.

The fact Coronation Street suffered the same problems only credited to Crossroads didn’t matter, Coronation Street was “very British” so it could get away with the mistakes. The Granada production was also called a 'drama serial' unlike Crossroads which called itself a soap first in the UK, again putting it in the firing line.

Noele Gordon comments on Afton's article:

"Afton's attack is quite the worst we've ever had. We're used to the occasional blast from the critics but this was something rather different. This was a calculated diatribe, that in its content, was both vicious and destructive."

Unfortunately for Crossroads the IBA by the late 1960s seemed to be taking on board the views of the critics rather than the fans and demanded for reasons of "quality" that Crossroads be dropped from five editions to four in 1967. The IBA suggested that the vacant Crossroads slot could be filled with something more informative - so the ATV Game show - The Golden Shot filled the space! The reduction in episodes a week didn't dent the popularity of the series; in fact the 1970s were to see the motel soap reach its peak.

Towards the end of 1969 the soap went into 'glorious colour' and the new, now famous 'golden era' began. It is this decade of Crossroads that many people think of as its best.

The change to colour was down to ATV relocating to its specially build television studios, that were one of the first all colour production centre’s in the UK. ATV Centre, Broad Street in Birmingham would be the home of Crossroads right up until 1988.

The former ATV Aston studios would continue to be used as a broadcasting centre; BRMB, a local Birmingham radio station, occupied the complex from 1974 right up until 1993. Strangely, BRMB also moved to Broad Street after vacating Aston.

The new ATV Centre location was cause for embarrassment to Noele Gordon, when Princess Alexandra came to open the complex, as Noele explains:

"The Princess asked me what scene we were shooting and I gave her a rough outline of the current plot.. ..'What are you going to do in this scene?' asked the Royal visitor. 'Nothing much' I said. 'Something awful has just happened to my son and I just have to faint.'

The Princess was most intrigued. 'You mean actually fall down in a heap?' 'Yes.' 'Show me,' said the Princess. So I did. I just fell. Just where I was - right at her feet. 'You make it look very easy,' said the Princess.

The studio hands gave me a polite round of applause, and as our local ATV news team were covering the Royal visit, the whole incident appeared in our Midland news bulletin that very evening.

But without the soundtrack or any real explanation of what it was all about.. ..a couple of days later I pulled up at my usual garage for some petrol. 'I saw you on the telly,' said the attendant. 'That really was a terrible thing to do. Fancy falling down drunk in front of Royalty.' I'm sure he really believed I was drunk."

1971 was Crossroads' next big moment - reaching 1500 episodes on May 25th - one of the biggest celebrations the series was ever to see was held for this landmark. The whole cast were took on tour, a special edition of the TV Times marked the occasion and it all culminated in a 24-hour stay in Jersey.

Even although Crossroads was still yet to be screened in the North West and Lancashire region (Granada) the series was already regularly hitting the top ten in the television ratings. Noele Gordon from 1969 onwards continued to feature in the top ten of the TV Times most popular person on television awards year after year (winning it eight times in all) and throughout the 1970s she went on to win many other TV Times awards (best dressed person on TV to name one) as well featuring regularly in The Sun newspapers own awards for television too. Even Crossroads itself won awards for best programme, from newspapers such as the Daily Telegraph!

In 1974 the first of many behind-the-scenes shake-ups was about to take place. Reg Watson decided to leave the UK and return to his native home of Australia where he had originally started his career as a radio actor. Noele Gordon tells us more about Reg and his leaving of Crossroads:

"Reg and myself worked together for eighteen years at ATV, and when he decided to leave us I was at first shocked and then sad that he had decided to go. He returned home to Australia to work as Head Of Drama at the production company, The Grundy Organization, and I know at the time it was just as big a wrench for him to leave us, as it was for us to see him go.

I first met Reg at the old Associated Television House in Kingsway, London, when I walked into his office. I knew from his reaction when I entered the room that he had absolutely no idea who I was, but we travelled up to Birmingham together with Ned Sherrin to help launch the Midlands ATV operation. Ned was in charge of all the news and current affairs output while Reg was responsible for the light entertainment. Reg joined us with a commercial background, having worked in radio since he was sixteen; he came to England in 1955 at the start of ITV. It was he who launched me in Lunchbox, an entertainment-magazine programme on which I was the hostess. It was really a chat show combined with light entertainment. Reg and I worked on 3,000 editions of Lunchbox and just over 2,000 episodes of Crossroads. I knew from that first meeting that we would be able to work well together. We understood each other and spoke the same language. Reg has always been able to give me the confidence and encouragement every performer needs.

Reg Watson’s departure effected us all in different ways. Jane Rossington went along with Roger Tonge to tape a little farewell message. This was the idea of one of our scriptwriters, Ian Scrivens. He had arranged for us all to record an individual message and the tape was given to Reg when he left for Australia. At the end of Roger and Jane's message Roger noticed that Jane's eyelashes were falling off, tears rolling down her cheeks. Roger didn't know what to say, to them, for the first ten years, Reg had been like an uncle."

At first it was unclear to the Crossroads team who would take over the role of producer. Would it be someone new? Or someone who would reinvent the show? For a few weeks the staff on the series were wondering what exactly would be happening to the Midland soap.

It came as quite a surprise to many of them when it was announced that someone already working on the soap would be taking control, director, Jack Barton. Noele Gordon continues the story:

"Jack also used to direct me during my Lunchbox days and it was during this period that he met the Duke of Bedford who made a guest appearance on the programme. They got on well together and when the Duke offered him an executive post at Woburn Abbey, Jack left us."

But after four years, Jack decided to return to television and returned to ATV Midlands. In 1970 he became a director on Crossroads, two years later he accepted the job as producer. Noele Gordon tells us more about Jack Barton: "He has spent all his working life in show business, after running away from school to join a circus. He has worked in the theatre as an actor, singer and dancer. He has produced all types of shows, from Shakespeare to revue."

The new look 'Jack Barton' version of Crossroads, actually, didn't look any different from the 'Reg Watson' version at all. Although the appearance of the show stayed unchanged, Jack did make some small cast changes and started to introduced more serious storylines: even more of the plots that were socially aware, something that the programme would become famous for, and indeed gain its ground breaking status. Although right from day one the serial had made many television firsts, it was during the 1970s that it would make many more.

As far as Crossroads viewers were concerned the show could do no wrong. By the middle of the decade the motel soap was out-doing Coronation Street in the ratings more often than not, and the programme reached it ratings peak of 20 million viewers in 1975.

With the exception of Sir Lew Grade, there were executives at ATV who simply couldn't understand why people watched Crossroads, and its growing popularity made the soap one of ATV's flag-ship programmes, much to the dislike of Head of Programmes Charles Denton, who found the whole show an embarrassment to the station.

1976 saw under the IBA guidelines, Lew Grade who had just turned 75, retire from ATV, and with Crossroads' only defender gone, it was only a matter of time before the knives came out to kill off the show. It was also reported that Noele Gordon - one of ATV Midland’s bosses since 1956 - was often known to upset other board members and staff if they were not (in her eyes) doing the best for ATV. Its reported she would often lay down the law, to make sure ATV was striving for the best. All this at a time when women were still not given a great deal of power. Noele was ahead of her time in the business world, and sadly, she paid for it.

For the first time since the company was founded in 1954, the everyday running of the ATV Company no longer included Sir Lew Grade. IBA rules declared anyone 75 or over could not run a television station, so Lew left in 1976 to make films. He sold the parent company (ACC) a few years later to Australian, Robert Holmes a-Court who Lew thought at the time was also looking at ATV the way he always did - to make programmes for the public, not for the critics or the finance department - it came as quite a shock to Lew when Robert sacked an abundance of ATV staff to cost cut. "He was only in it to make money, not make television" Lew commented later.

It wasn't just Sir Lew Grade's behind-the-scenes style that was phased out almost totally by 1978; all of his programmes were cancelled too. One of the most notable being, ‘The Return Of The Saint.’ It was huge in the ratings, not only here in the UK but also in America too. It stunned the crew on the programme who still had a number of years of contract to run.

Crossroads, however, wasn't so easily removed from the schedules. Unlike all of Lew's other programmes, Crossroads never took a break from the television screens, it wasn't done in seasons, it was a continuous series, which couldn't simply not return, as it was there week in, week out. There was also the problem that Crossroads was as popular as Coronation Street and an instant axing of the series would have caused a furious reaction from viewers, as ATV knew all too well. With the recent large amount of cancelled programmes by the station and the bad publicity that had caused, it seems Crossroads was to last, just a little while longer, until the 'new look ATV' had settled in.

Head of Programmes, Charles Denton was in charge of ATV Midlands’ output, and its quite clear he disliked Crossroads with a passion. In 1979 he pondered on ending the soap outright, however the ATV finance department were unhappy about this: the programme made the company huge amounts of money in advert revenue, foreign sales and spin-off merchandise. There was also the problem of those 'pesky fans.'

Noele Gordon tells us about just how loyal the Crossroads fans were, and why she thinks the show was so popular: "Every week we would get letters asking for details of the furniture and furnishings used in Meg's sitting-room. They also wanted the same wallpaper, as well as to know where they could get the various ornaments, pictures and light fittings. 'We want our sitting-room to be just like Meg's,' they'd tell me in the letters.

Crossroads was popular because viewers' tastes changed over the years, and we changed with them. There was quite an outcry when we first had a story about an unmarried mother, a girl who came to work for me as a waitress and had a child by a merchant seaman.

Crossroads after Reg Watson left became 'more adult.' In later years we had two other stories where illegitimate children were born, with no protests at all.

Viewers in later years expected more realistic plots and situations, so we started to deal with more contemporary life, however we were always aware that Crossroads was a family show, and the dialogue was adapted to those viewers."

The 1970s era of Crossroads was popular, as Noele says, because it was a family show, it appealed to everyone of every age who may be tuning in at tea-time. It had started out as a show for "housewives" in its early afternoon slot, moving to early evening took the show to a new wider audience and the feel of the programme changed, making it even more successful.

Unlike many soaps of later years, the Crossroads producers were always conscious of who might be watching at 6:30pm at night; Maybe this is why Crossroads was knocked by those who only saw small sections of episodes, because it didn't go into great graphic detail, it may, to the 'casual viewer' seem tame. It simply, more often than not, suggested what had happened: so that those old enough would understand, but the plot wouldn't affect youngsters.

During the 1970s Crossroads dealt with alcoholism, witchcraft, vandalism, drink driving, women in prison, reforming tarts, abortion and the physically handicapped to name only a few, all of these situations were handled and presented in a way that was acceptable to family viewing. Its also fair to note that in the 1970s the IBA ruled the airwaves with a rod of iron and Crossroads was often not allowed by the regulator to go as far as they might of liked. People who may tune in for only a few minutes might view this as ‘amateurish’ or not very realistic, but for those who watched the whole show, night after night they knew what Crossroads was about.

1978 also saw Crossroads reach another landmark, its 3000th episode. Throughout 1979 the serial continued with its successful formula, but the new decade was to bring many changes, and a few surprises for the cast and fans alike.

Early 1980 and Crossroads gets its second on-screen make-over. After nearly ten years the old style opening is up-dated, the end result gives the show a slightly more 'classy' feel. The production format of the show (recorded 'as a live show') however remained unchanged.

In the first year of the new decade Crossroads was also reduced to three episodes a week, and the idea was to 'improve the standard overall look of the programme.' At this time Crossroads was still the only soap to screen so many episodes in a week, the rest were all still only making two editions. However although only three episodes were screened, four were still produced, so it didn't really change the appearance of the output at all. It simply gave the crew extended summer and festive holidays.

The IBA - Independent Broadcasting Authority - who were there to put the viewers interests first, hated Crossroads. They twice had demanded episode reductions, in '68 and '79. Lew Grade's nephew - Michael Grade - was at the time of the 1979 demands - Head Of Programmes at London Weekend Television. He recalls on the IBA:

"Well it was a funny time, Crossroads was extraordinarily popular with ITV's audience in those days. Very successful, completely harmless - but the IBA.. ..were rather sniffy about it and in those days it was rather a predacean bunch of the great and the good. And they were rather embarrassed as they couldn't really be proud of Crossroads at dinner parties and so on.

And they didn't like the fact that ITV's top ten every week was dominated by episodes of Crossroads and they tried to either get its episodes reduced per week or get it canceled. This is the regulator, who are supposed to be looking after the interests of the public, and when they were pressed as to why they wanted it axed, the IBA Chairman said to a gathering of ITV Chiefs that 'the authority finds it distressingly popular.' What an age that was!"

Despite all these changes the show was starting to look slightly dated, a 1960s ‘recorded as live’ show still airing when the need to record as live was no longer needed. Jack Barton refused to change the way the show was produced, and it wasn’t long before the critics had a real reason to laugh at the show that was fast becoming out of style, and out of date. More drastic changes had to be made to save the show. ATV knew it, but Barton wouldn’t budge, Crossroads would stay firmly stuck in the 1960s.

© Crossroads Appreciation Society 1988-present
Written by Mike Garrett, Tom Dearnley-Davidson, Douglas Edward Lambert and Ian Armitage