Crossroads Crossroads: 1964-1988, 2001-2003

[Angela Channing]

Crossroads Care, also known as Crossroads, was a registered charity in England and Wales which provided support for carers. In 2012, it merged with The Princess Royal Trust for Carers to form Carers Trust.[1]

One of my various Crossroads annuals that I was gifted in the 1970s had an article about Crossroads Care.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

This is a lovely wee website, full of great and interesting information and has a section about Crossroads scheme

One of my various Crossroads annuals that I was gifted in the 1970s had an article about Crossroads Care.

These are incredible, and in a way I wish I'd been aware of the background before I watched the episodes in question since it makes what was on-screen so much more meaningful.

As said, I could sense there was something going on due to the amount of time given and the detail into which the story went. It's wonderful that something so empowering came out of a storyline in this little soap and goes to show the influence the series (and its cast) had at the time.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

20 August 1974 - 25 December 1975

2173-2174; 2247; 2262; 2293-2294; 2300-2302; 2379 [excerpt]; 2450-2451
​

With Reg Watson leaving the series (and the hemisphere) in 1973 I’m now well into the Jack Barton production era. This gives me mixed feelings. In many ways this could be viewed as peak Xrds - the batch of episodes I’ve just finished watching include one of its most famous spectacles. But watching this directly after Nolly, and having read articles and discussions about some of the happenings off-screen during this era mean I approach these episodes with a degree of wariness. I first noticed Barton’s name credited a number of times as director during the Reg Watson era, and I must confess my stomach lurched a little when I first noticed his name as producer.

With some episodes having gaps of months in between, I’m particularly noticing the comings and goings of late. The comings (or at least the returns) have actually proved helpful for these sporadic bursts of episodes, since a couple of batches of available episodes have begun with a long-term character returning after a gap away.

In one such return, Vera returned with a nice new haircut after some months away and so I was able to catch up on the changes through her eyes. She was furious to find out that Diane had moved out of the barge where she was meant to be keeping an eye on Vera’s wayward godson and mousy young Jane from reception. Diane had instead moved into a penthouse with a wealthy suitor, her envy and demands evidently having proved too much for her reconciliation with Vince.

Next time we have a little jump, it’s Diane who is returning with a new haircut. She’s been in America, we’re told (something to do with little Nicky, but I’ve no idea why he’s there), and so we meet the new woman on reception and catch up as she helpfully fills Diane in on who has come and gone.

Diane has returned for Meg’s wedding (yes… THE wedding). And she’s not the only one.

For this viewer, the wedding seems most notable for being an apparent last hoorah for a number of characters who seem to have been given the push in the short months between episodes. There’s Vince himself, looking rather dashing with his goatee. Then there’s Sheila Harvey, who has a brief scene complimenting the new haircut Vera has given her. And Miss Tatum was there, too, I think. Vince, Sheila and Miss Tatum are three of the characters I’ve previously commented are firm favourites of mine, all of whom seem to be gone. It’s a shocking waste.

From what I understand, Amy Turtle is also on her way out. Perhaps I’ve even watched all the episodes of hers available.

They’re missed all the more because of the new characters who haven’t made anything like the same impact. The girl on reception seems sweet enough but frankly looks rather too glam. She’d probably look more at home modelling the various prizes on The Generation Game. There’s nothing about her that says “character”.

Mind you, the new faces who are chosen to be “characters” fall down on the extremely broad side. There’s the simple assistant in Wilf’s electrical repair shop who is kind of a proto-Benny (dear God… how I’m dreading the arrival of Benny). Then there’s Shughie McFee in the kitchen. There’s nothing about him that’s unlikeable. It’s just that everything about him is either stereotypical (pretty much any reference to his Scottish heritage) or wildly over the top (his delivery and flapping about like a mother hen). It feels like both performance and writing tries too hard to deliver a “character” performance instead of casting a good character actor and writing them well. He may grow on me, but so far he the character just seems to embody Jack Barton’s attempt to put his stamp on the series by stamping all over all the good Reg Watson did.

Back to Meg and Hugh’s wedding, and it was indeed very impressive looking. It’s also given me far more sympathy for the first time viewer who wrote the article. The actual wedding blessing was filmed in pretty much real time, choir and all. And yes, it did wear a little thin. This actually recurred in the Christmas episode where we went to church with the characters and had a real-time service, including readings. It did capture that feeling of going to a service, but the hymns and choirs mark the first time I’ve actually fast forwarded Xrds. And I speak as someone who sat through episode #2300, taken directly from a home recording and most uncomfortable to watch due to its epilepsy-inducing flickering and lack of any kind of definition at all.

In addition to all the returnees and departing characters, the post-wedding episode with the breakfast and reception was interesting for its variety show moment when some random blonde girl who’d accompanied Sandy to the wedding descended the stairs and sang directly into an overhead camera with a lens smeared in Vaseline shooting her through an impressive chandelier (I forget the singer’s name, but she sounded like Cilla Black) As she sang, we not only had cuts to all the key characters looking loved-up or wistful, but it went on to music video shots of Meg and Hugh running though fields of corn like Theresa May and sharing one of the most awkward screen kisses I’ve ever seen. All of which put me in mind of a Seventies MOR version of Angry Anderson’s Suddenly.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I'm happy to report Disc 14 has now arrived. Just as well, given the pace at which I'm watching!!

 

[Angela Channing]

mousy young Jane from reception.

Was that Jane Smith? I don't remember much about the character other than she was in the Salvation Army and I liked her very much.

Back to Meg and Hugh’s wedding, and it was indeed very impressive looking.

When Crossroads was originally broadcast, Thames TV took it off air for a while because they thought London viewers didn't want to watch a Birmingham soap opera. There was uproar amongst fans and eventually it was brought back. It meant for a while London was some months behind the rest of the country on which episodes was being screened. For example, and Christmas at Crossroads was broadcast in the spring or summer.

Probably my earliest memory of Crossroads was a special episode which was made to bring London viewers up to date so they could watch Meg's wedding at the same time as the rest of the country. It was filmed in Meg's sitting room, and I definitely remember Sandy and Meg being there and possibly Jill and David might have been there too. They spoke directly into the camera and filled viewers in on how various ongoing storylines progressed and after the commercial break, it went back to the second half of an episode but with a time jump to put London in sync with everyone else.

the post-wedding episode with the breakfast and reception was interesting for its variety show moment when some random blonde girl who’d accompanied Sandy to the wedding descended the stairs and sang directly into an overhead camera with a lens smeared in Vaseline shooting her through an impressive chandelier (I forget the singer’s name, but she sounded like Cilla Black)

Was that Stephanie De Sykes? She sang a song called I Was Born With A Smile On My Face which through the power and popularity of Crossroads, made the top 10 of the UK singles charts.

 

[Barbara Fan]

came across this one online

Audrey pre Alfie - and Meg in Tunisia

natty line in fashions here and as for Sues hairstyle

 

[Barbara Fan]

One of my various Crossroads annuals that I was gifted in the 1970s had an article about Crossroads Care.

View attachment 43759

Thats really intersting - always remember (when i was young and not long qualified ) Crossroads care scheme was one of the first to think about Carers and their role

Fair play to them and full credit for being so very innovative and to highlight a service where there was a huge gap and for such a worthwhile cause

Thanks for posting that @Angela Channing x

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Was that Jane Smith?

That's the one.

I don't remember much about the character other than she was in the Salvation Army and I liked her very much.

I like her too. She's a nice addition.

To jog your memory a bit, she's had kind of an "odd couple" pairing going with Vera with them living on the barge together. And they seem to get on quite well overall.

She was also a bit of a hopeless romantic and became infatuated with each new man who came along. There was one really funny little moment where some new man walked in and she kind of sidled up to him and said hello. She was promptly informed by a colleague that he was spoken for and she kind of gave a disappointed little "Oh" and slid away. She was also quite taken in by Vera's dodgy Godson who had a lie for every question.

At one point she seemed to briefly get a reputation as a man-eater, which I think was down to a misunderstanding (possibly involving her mother who was a man-eater).

I hadn't really noticed the Sally Army thing, but funnily enough in an episode I've just watched this evening she was reading a copy of The War Cry.

Probably my earliest memory of Crossroads was a special episode which was made to bring London viewers up to date so they could watch Meg's wedding at the same time as the rest of the country. It was filmed in Meg's sitting room, and I definitely remember Sandy and Meg being there and possibly Jill and David might have been there too. They spoke directly into the camera and filled viewers in on how various ongoing storylines progressed and after the commercial break, it went back to the second half of an episode but with a time jump to put London in sync with everyone else.

Oh - that's great. What a special start to your Xrds memory bank!

Along similar lines, I've been watching some compilation episodes which appear amongst the regular ones in the DVD set. I'd assumed they would be newly thrown together from recovered material, but looking at the VTR boards they were actually created as compilations back around the time the episodes originally aired. They're from after Meg's wedding, so they definitely weren't for the same reasons you speak of, but I wonder if they were some kind of "omnibus" editions (before they were really a thing), perhaps created for certain other ITV regions to catch up.

Was that Stephanie De Sykes?

That's right.

She sang a song called I Was Born With A Smile On My Face which through the power and popularity of Crossroads, made the top 10 of the UK singles charts.

Oh, that's great. The track she sang at the wedding reception was called We'll Find Our Day, and I see both this and the one you mentioned were penned by Roger Holman and Simon "Doof Doof" May.

 

[Barbara Fan]

Recent Tony Adams interview talking about Crossroads and Nolly

Crossroads Special: Nolly's friend Tony Adams on his time at the Midlands' Motel - Distinct Nostalgia

As the TV drama Nolly goes live on ITVX find out the real story behind Crossroads and Noele Gordon here as we re-release our special interview with Nolly's friend Tony Adams who played Adam Chance in the hit ATV drama serial which began in 1964 an...

distinctnostalgia.buzzsprout.com

 

[James from London]

I’m now well into the Jack Barton production era. This gives me mixed feelings. In many ways this could be viewed as peak Xrds - the batch of episodes I’ve just finished watching include one of its most famous spectacles. But watching this directly after Nolly, and having read articles and discussions about some of the happenings off-screen during this era mean I approach these episodes with a degree of wariness. I first noticed Barton’s name credited a number of times as director during the Reg Watson era, and I must confess my stomach lurched a little when I first noticed his name as producer.

Funnily enough, Jack Barton has just kinda-sorta-not-really shown up in my Brookside re-watch five years after, but looking 35-ish years younger, than he did when he sacked Fictional Real-Life Meg in Nolly.

it’s Diane who is returning with a new haircut. She’s been in America, we’re told (something to do with little Nicky, but I’ve no idea why he’s there)

As I recall, Nicky's Hollywood movie star dad, Frank Adams, had custody of him which allows Diane six months off every year when she goes to visit him in America. (Xrds always seemed about 80% more interesting whenever she returned.) Despite these long absences, Diane had somehow managed to work her way up from waitress to Meg's or Sandy's or David's or someone's or everyone's personal secretary, but now she finds she's been replaced by the luxuriously-locked Faye Mansfield and is demoted back to waitress (cos it's not like she might able to find another secretarial job somewhere else in the Midlands). And the fact that Diane once took dictation rather than drinks orders is Never Mentioned Again (as far as I remember).

The girl on reception seems sweet enough but frankly looks rather too glam. She’d probably look more at home modelling the various prizes on The Generation Game. There’s nothing about her that says “character”.

Faye Mansfield is the name that springs to mind.

I’m dreading the arrival of Benny.

I can understand that, but the storyline leading up to his arrival, involving whippets, stolen wage-packets, nightwatchmen and a Diane/Faye sitting room face-off, is one of my more vivid Xrds memories.

Then there’s Shughie McFee in the kitchen. There’s nothing about him that’s unlikeable. It’s just that everything about him is either stereotypical (pretty much any reference to his Scottish heritage) or wildly over the top (his delivery and flapping about like a mother hen). It feels like both performance and writing tries too hard to deliver a “character” performance instead of casting a good character actor and writing them well. He may grow on me, but so far he the character just seems to embody Jack Barton’s attempt to put his stamp on the series by stamping all over all the good Reg Watson did.

I don't remember thinking much of Shughie at the time, but having seen him, or rather Angus Lennie who played him, in other things over the years -- Doctor Who, The Great Escape and Tunes of Glory ( a fantastic film with Alec Guinness) has given me a newfound respect for him.

Angus Lennie obituary

Actor best known for his roles as the Mole in The Great Escape and Shughie McFee, the irascible chef in Crossroads

www.theguardian.com

When it comes to impressive old character actors who ended up as motel staff, I've also got a particular soft spot for Jack Woolgar who played Carney (the aforementioned nightwatchman with the whippet).

some random blonde girl who’d accompanied Sandy to the wedding descended the stairs and sang directly into an overhead camera with a lens smeared in Vaseline shooting her through an impressive chandelier (I forget the singer’s name, but she sounded like Cilla Black)

Such a strange, strange moment. As Angela said, that was Stephanie de Sykes. Hers was another memorable storyline for me as it combined my two favourite things in the world: pop and soap. Suddenly everyone in the motel had a transistor radio and was bopping along to the number one hit 'Born with a Smile on My Face' and then they're all shocked to learn that its singer, Honey Brown, has gone missing. Next thing you know, a mysterious woman in a brown wig and sunglasses, Harriet Blair, has checked into the motel. Leave it to Sandy to connect the dots. Needless to say, I became mildly obsessed with Stephanie de Sykes as result and and I still say her debut LP totally rocks.

By chance, Chart Music (the podcast that, if you recall, totally annihilated Toyah Wilcox a few years back) recently covered 'Born with a Smile on my Face' and if you jump straight to part 3 and forward to 12 mins 30 secs, there's quite impressive account of most, if not all, the many Xrds/pop music crossovers that have occurred over the years:

Chart Music #69: December 27th 1974 – The Ramadan #1 Of 1974

The latest episode of the podcast which asks; have any of Team Chart Music done a streak? It’s late January, but the inflatable Jimmy Savile-as-Santa is still hanging off the roof of the Chart Musi…

chartmusiccouk.wordpress.com

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

All the same, there's an earthy reality to Edward Clayton's restrained, unfussy performance and dishevelled appearance (right down to the greasy hair) that wouldn't seem out of place on early Brookie.

Stan popped up in the run of 1985 episodes that I watched, appearing as a sort of confidant to Jill as she struggled with the idea of selling her shares in the motel. He was quite the calming influence amid the high drama of Nicola Freeman’s big hair and Adam’s scheming.

introduced by close up shots of her arse as she wiggled along the street accompanied by - I kid you not - a Salvation Army Marching Band

Meanwhile, Diane and Vince have split up, and both have separately gone through scenes of drunken disorder in the Crossroads foyer, with Diane adding debauchery with random male strangers into the mix.

As she sang, we not only had cuts to all the key characters looking loved-up or wistful, but it went on to music video shots of Meg and Hugh running though fields of corn like Theresa May and sharing one of the most awkward screen kisses I’ve ever seen

I’m howling at these descriptions

It's sentimental revisionism to suggest that Meg-era Xrds was some sort of sacred golden age

I'm hard pushed to remember of any major storylines in which Meg had a central role

Interesting to hear these different views on Meg’s standing in the show prior to her departure. I’d originally thought her leaving was on par with Bet’s 1995 departure from Corrie, when she was at the height of her powers but it would appear that this isn’t the case.

Was that Stephanie De Sykes? She sang a song called I Was Born With A Smile On My Face which through the power and popularity of Crossroads, made the top 10 of the UK singles charts.

Kate Robbins (mother of the ubiquitous Emily Atack) also had a spin-off single (More Than In Love). I may be wrong but I think it was a tie in to the recording studio in the basement arc as opposed to being the love theme for someone’s wedding. It went Top 10 in the UK charts.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

Chart Music (the podcast that, if you recall, totally annihilated Toyah Wilcox a few years back)

I forgot to ask, but what was this all about? I’ve an odd attitude towards Toyah where I mainly follow her on Instagram just to see what random merch/tat she’s gleefully peddling each week. She seems to be always on there, grinning like a Cheshire cat, as she tries to sell her latest vinyl release, artwork, Christmas bauble, video message or tea towels. It’s like Toyah QVC.

 

[James from London]

I forgot to ask, but what was this all about? I’ve an odd attitude towards Toyah where I mainly follow her on Instagram just to see what random merch/tat she’s gleefully peddling each week. She seems to be always on there, grinning like a Cheshire cat, as she tries to sell her latest vinyl release, artwork, Christmas bauble, video message or tea towels. It’s like Toyah QVC.

Hopefully this should explain everything:

Chart Music (a podcast)

I've been telling @Ome and @Mel O'Drama on another thread about my new favourite podcast, 'Chart Music', which dissects old episodes of Top of the Pops in the minutest detail. There's a critique of Toyah here which is quite breathtaking. If you're interested, it starts at 1 hour 39 minutes...

www.tellytalk.net

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Funnily enough, Jack Barton has just kinda-sorta-not-really shown up in my Brookside re-watch five years after, but looking 35-ish years younger, than he did when he sacked Fictional Real-Life Meg in Nolly.

Well-spotted James. I noticed from his IMDb he'd also done One Summer just before this.

As I recall, Nicky's Hollywood movie star dad, Frank Adams, had custody of him which allows Diane six months off every year when she goes to visit him in America.

Aha - that's cleared it up for me. Thanks.

I'd usually associate this kind of thing with the actress having a real-life reason for needing time off such as scheduling conflicts with another job. I wonder if this was the case with Susan Hanson or just a whim of the writers/producers?

Faye Mansfield is the name that springs to mind.

I think that's her, yes. And I think she's the same one who's just broken Sandy's heart at Christmas by deciding to fly to get married in Geneva (or was it China? It's certainly somewhere further afield than Malvern).

I can understand that, but the storyline leading up to his arrival, involving whippets, stolen wage-packets, nightwatchmen and a Diane/Faye sitting room face-off, is one of my more vivid Xrds memories.

Oh my. That sounds like something. Has a lot of this been wiped or did I blink and miss it? Benny's now appeared in the series, though has yet to arrive at the motel itself. His scenes have taken place in some kind of spinoff-within-the-series where he and Diane and her uncle and some manipulative-girl-after-Benny's-newfound-wealth (after he found his rich father who wanted nothing to do with him and paid him off) are living on a farm.

When it comes to impressive old character actors who ended up as motel staff, I've also got a particular soft spot for Jack Woolgar who played Carney (the aforementioned nightwatchman with the whippet).

He looks very familiar to me, but I'm not sure if that's because he's not unlike Seth from Emmerdale Farm in appearance.

they're all shocked to learn that its singer, Honey Brown, has gone missing. Next thing you know, a mysterious woman in a brown wig and sunglasses, Harriet Blair, has checked into the motel. Leave it to Sandy to connect the dots.

Ah. That explains a dialogue at Meg's wedding reception (which was the first time Stephanie appeared according to the remaining episodes) where Meg asked if she should call her Harriet, and she gave a reply that implied she was embarrassed about the whole Harriet business.

By chance, Chart Music (the podcast that, if you recall, totally annihilated Toyah Wilcox a few years back) recently covered 'Born with a Smile on my Face' and if you jump straight to part 3 and forward to 12 mins 30 secs, there's quite impressive account of most, if not all, the many Xrds/pop music crossovers that have occurred over the years

Wow - that was great. There's absolutely no ground CM hasn't covered, and I love that there's no end to their vintage pop culture knowledge (even if I respectfully disagree with them about homemade jam).

Now I feel a 2-on-1 CD featuring the Crossroads Wedding Party and Noele Gordon Sings is the one thing missing from the box set.

Stan popped up in the run of 1985 episodes that I watched, appearing as a sort of confidant to Jill as she struggled with the idea of selling her shares in the motel. He was quite the calming influence amid the high drama of Nicola Freeman’s big hair and Adam’s scheming.

That's good to know. His character's axing has been discussed a bit and based on the episodes I'm watching now where he's one of the most earthy and strong-minded characters in the series I feel quite sure I'll miss him as and when he exits as a series regular.

I’m howling at these descriptions

Oh thanks. I'm glad they've brightened your day.

 

[James from London]

I'd usually associate this kind of thing with the actress having a real-life reason for needing time off such as scheduling conflicts with another job. I wonder if this was the case with Susan Hanson or just a whim of the writers/producers?

I'm not at all sure, but I kind of got the impression it was kind of a nice arrangement for Sue Hanson: six months on, then six months off to be with the family.

Oh my. That sounds like something.

Oh yeah it was great. I think Carney got into debt with some bad men who threatened to kill his beloved whippet if he didn't cough up. Diane found out and pinched some money from one of the wage packets in the sitting room to give to him. Then I think Faye later caught her putting the money back. Diane refused to defend herself, partly cos she didn't want to get Carney in trouble and partly (as I remember it) cos she didn't want to be answerable to Faye who she still resented for nicking her secretarial job. So instead she quit in a huff, let them all think she was a thief and went to live with her Uncle Ed. That unresolved act of self-sacrifice-cum-self-destruction made a big impression on me. The injustice of it all! (It's possibly more dramatic in my head than it was in the series.)

Benny's now appeared in the series, though has yet to arrive at the motel itself. His scenes have taken place in some kind of spinoff-within-the-series where he and Diane and her uncle and some manipulative-girl-after-Benny's-newfound-wealth (after he found his rich father who wanted nothing to do with him and paid him off) are living on a farm.

Exactly, and it almost feels like that spinoff-within-the-series is set a hundred years earlier. You easily can imagine Benny and Miss Luke and Maureen the gypsy and the uber-religious Reg Cotterhill etc. all existing in the 18th or 19th century.

Wow - that was great. There's absolutely no ground CM hasn't covered, and I love that there's no end to their vintage pop culture knowledge (even if I respectfully disagree with them about homemade jam).

Now I feel a 2-on-1 CD featuring the Crossroads Wedding Party and Noele Gordon Sings is the one thing missing from the box set.

Ha! God help me, I couldn't resist making a homemade playlist out of it all:

That's good to know. His character's axing has been discussed a bit and based on the episodes I'm watching now where he's one of the most earthy and strong-minded characters in the series I feel quite sure I'll miss him as and when he exits as a series regular.

Stan was great. I remember an interview where he described his frustration at the fact that the only way you could stop a take on Crossroads would be to stand on a chair and shout "****!" in the middle of recording.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

Hopefully this should explain everything:

Chart Music (a podcast)

I've been telling @Ome and @Mel O'Drama on another thread about my new favourite podcast, 'Chart Music', which dissects old episodes of Top of the Pops in the minutest detail. There's a critique of Toyah here which is quite breathtaking. If you're interested, it starts at 1 hour 39 minutes...

www.tellytalk.net

Wow! They certainly don’t hold back!

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

I'd usually associate this kind of thing with the actress having a real-life reason for needing time off such as scheduling conflicts with another job. I wonder if this was the case with Susan Hanson or just a whim of the writers/producers?

I'm not at all sure, but I kind of got the impression it was kind of a nice arrangement for Sue Hanson: six months on, then six months off to be with the family.

I saw an interview with Lynette McMorrough (I think I’ve spelled that right) on This Morning when one of the previous DVD collections was released. She spoke about dropping in and out of the series and it appeared to be at the whim of the writers. She said she was on weekly contracts for quite a while whereas Sue Lloyd mentioned that she had a guaranteed number of episodes per year.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I'm not at all sure, but I kind of got the impression it was kind of a nice arrangement for Sue Hanson: six months on, then six months off to be with the family.

Absolutely. And it possibly meant we hade twenty five (or however many) years of Diane instead of eight or ten.

It feels to me as though Home And Away is the spiritual successor of this way of cast rotating. There was Cornelia Francis doing several lengthy "stints" as Morag on H&A because she didn't want a long-running contract. I remember Fiona Spence vanishing for months at a time as well to do other stuff (some related to PCBH). And I think Ray Meagher has some kind of deal where Alf frequently disappears so that he can do a panto season or just catch his breath. I think it keeps things fresh and it's a good way to have some familiar faces returning over a long period of time.

(It's possibly more dramatic in my head than it was in the series.)

Well, it certainly sounded very dramatic in your write-up, and it's great to have some gaps filled in, especially since it explains how Diane came to be where she is currently in my viewing.

Exactly, and it almost feels like that spinoff-within-the-series is set a hundred years earlier. You easily can imagine Benny and Miss Luke and Maureen the gypsy and the uber-religious Reg Cotterhill etc. all existing in the 18th or 19th century.

Oh yes! I don't think I'd ever have thought of that, but that's so very true and it will add a new layer as I watch.

God help me, I couldn't resist making a homemade playlist out of it all:

Bravo. That is amazing.

I've realised I have Summer Of My Life in my iTunes library. As I've now reached 1976 it's exciting to think I might soon experience it in context.

I remember an interview where he described his frustration at the fact that the only way you could stop a take on Crossroads would be to stand on a chair and shout "****!" in the middle of recording.

Ha ha.

Since he's clearly found a loophole he's just become my #1 suspect for the infamous Take Four of one of the late-1973 episodes I watched earlier in the week.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I saw an interview with Lynette McMorrough (I think I’ve spelled that right) on This Morning when one of the previous DVD collections was released. She spoke about dropping in and out of the series and it appeared to be at the whim of the writers. She said she was on weekly contracts for quite a while whereas Sue Lloyd mentioned that she had a guaranteed number of episodes per year.

Oh - that does put a new spin on things. A writer (or group of writers) holding that much power is the kind of high drama I'd expect to see in a glossy film. And it does add some weight to the scenes in Nolly where one character was simply told her character didn't appear in the next scripts and others were rifling through looking for clues for things that could impact on their own future.

 

[James from London]

it explains how Diane came to be where she is currently in my viewing.

I vaguely remember that she's a bit freaked by Benny when she initially encounters him. Then he's quite ashamed about not being able to read so when she first tries to teach him using little kids' books, he feels patronised and reacts quite aggressively. So it takes them a while to become all buddy-buddy.

I've realised I have Summer Of My Life in my iTunes library. As I've now reached 1976 it's exciting to think I might soon experience it in context.

If I recall, unlike 'Born with a Smile on My Face' and 'More Than in Love', 'Summer of My Life' is only used extra-diagetically, i.e. the audience hear it but the characters don't. Interesting that Chart Music says it was used for a storyline about someone going blind; I associate it with sun-dappled montages involving a vintage car for some reason.