Crossroads ventured overseas four times during its run. Here we look at those times the action moved away from Kings Oak in 1965, 1966, 1967 and 1983.
Crossroads in France, 1965
NEWS REPORT
The first adventure away saw Sandy Richardson (Roger Tonge) head to Paris in August ’65, as this vintage report by James Gallagher In the Sunday Mercury notes:
The scope of Associated TeleVision’s daily serial, ‘Crossroads‘, widens considerably this week when we shall see film shot in Paris. This is the Midland-produced programme’s first foreign venture – but won’t be the last if young Roger Tonge (he plays Sandy Richardson) has anything to do with it.
Roger was the only member of the regular cast who made the location trip – and he has hardly stopped talking about it since. For not only was it young Roger’s first location work abroad, but it was his first visit to Paris – and a very exciting occasion for a teenager.
“It was great fun” he told me, “and I can’t wait until we do something like that again. The only trouble is that it spoils you for the studio work.”
Roger and a six-man production team spent three days – and hectic nights, according to Roger – in Paris filming sequences for several episodes. With them was Hazel Adair, one of the serial’s originators who will actually appear on screen for the first time as a member of the cast.
She plays the part of a Frenchwoman who shows Sandy the sights of Paris. Although there was little time for sightseeing, Roger told me he enjoyed every minute of the trip.
“The channel crossing was a bit rough, but it wasn’t too bad. When we arrived at Le Havre I had my first experience of French driving you only read about.
“We were met by a Frenchman who drove us in a minibus all the way to Paris. It was terrifying, he kept missing other cars by inches.”
Filming wasn’t overly good to start with as the newspaper item continues:
“The first day in Paris it poured with rain and we couldn’t do any filming at all. The next day it was raining and we couldn’t do the shots at the top of the Eiffel Tower that we wanted.
“We did go up part of the way and it was a fabulous experience watching the lightning explode around us like balls”
On the return Channel crossing, the weather was still rough and the passage was far from smooth.
“We managed to film on board the ship, but it was very difficult. A lot of people were seasick and I had to keep telling myself: ‘it’s all in the mind, it’s all in the mind’ otherwise I would probably have been sick as well.
“Now I’m looking forward to seeing how the film looks on screen.”.
STORYLINE DETAILS
Sandy’s trip is first seen in episode 219 (30th Aug) when Sandy travels by Channel Ferry to France. Paris is seen for the first time in the next edition, where he is met at the bus station by Madame Caumartin (Hazel Adair) a friend of Hugh Mortimer who lives in Versailles. He takes in a sightseeing tour including all the major Paris landmarks including a trip up the Eiffel Tower, where he lost his money.
The visit also saw him ‘go missing’ with Madame Caumartin making a telephone call to Meg to suggest they get the police involved. He was due home at 6pm, but by midnight he was still missing.
Sandy however was living it up when he visited the Moulin Rouge, where he ended up backstage with the dancing girls. The lead performer, Mavis, (in a nod to Noele Gordon’s early theatre career is from Penge, South London and was a star – as Noele was – of their Empire Theatre) remembers Birmingham having played ‘The Hippodrome’ many years earlier.
Back in the UK, from his Birmingham Penthouse, Hugh Mortimer tries to find out what has happened to Sandy, but is told unless he’s had an accident or crime, the police can’t provide any information.
Meg gets a call from Sandy, saying he’s having a fabulous time. He explains where he is. Meg describes it as ‘French undressing’, adding, ‘He seemed very pleased with himself, he saw the whole show for free, and by the sounds of it – it was quite a show’.
In 1973 Sandy reflected upon his time in Paris with Meg (Noele Gordon) and Jane Smith (Sally Adcock), recalling:
Sandy: “I did very well over there, back in my hay day.”
Meg: “Yes, he got his pocket picked on the Eiffel Tower, and ended up backstage with a bunch of strippers!”
Sandy: “Showgirls!”
Jane: “Oooh, did all that happen to you Sandy?”
Sandy: “That was only the first two days… Oh, yes, I have some happy memories of Paris I must say”
The visit had been arranged by Hugh for Sandy to visit for a week during the school holidays to help ‘improve his French’ following it being his ‘lowest marked’ subject in education. He wasn’t keen to go at first, but warmed to the idea when he saw a magazine featuring the showgirl clubs therefore it wouldn’t all be educational, well not of a academic kind.
EPISODE INFORMATION
Unfortunately, most of the film footage recorded in Paris remains missing (and also the departure from New Street Train Station in episode 218), but a number of brief sequences survive including one with Roger and Hazel Adair. For example the ferry journey in episode 216 is noted as being nearly 3 minutes in length, but only 10 seconds of ferry footage survives. No full episode exists with any Paris scenes.
Crossroads in Spain, 1966
Motel chef Carlos (Tony Morton) takes some of his friends to his home country of Spain.
NEWS REPORTS
The Stage took a look at the recording by the serial in Spain in 1966:
SOME scenes from ATV’s daily serial Crossroads are to be filmed in Spain at Torremolinos and other locations later this month and in early March.
Many of the regular members of the cast will be in Spain for six days. Episodes showing these sunny locations will be transmitted in April. They will involve Meg Richardson (Noele Gordon), Carlos (Anthony Morton), Marilyn (Sue Nicholls), Sandy (Roger Tonge) and others.
The arrangements for ATV to film in Spain have been made in conjunction with the Spanish Tourist Board. This will be the second time that the Crossroads team have been abroad; last year the unit went on location to Paris.
The Mirror reported: If it hadn’t been for Carlos, the Spanish chef, none of us would be here – wrote Clifford Davis. For Carlos—as everyone of the 8,000,000 fans who watch A T V’s daily Crossroads serial will tell you —is one of the lynch pins in this saga of the happenings in that Midlands motel run by Meg Richardson.
And when producer Reg Watson had the bright idea of moving the story out of its usual environment for a while by sending hostess Meg (Noele Gordon), her staff and family away on holiday, sunny Spain was the natural choice.
Actor Anthony Morton, who plays Carlos, is delighted. For Morton – plump and jolly – is only a make-believe Spaniard. He can’t speak a word of the language. Till now he has never seen Spain. When we got here Malaga’s Mayor welcomed us officially… in his best English…
The Spanish have entered into the spirit of things too, even though they think Crossroads is a British road sign and have a vague idea that we’re here to study traffic problems.
One sequence supposed to show the return of Carlos to his native village was filmed in the square outside the white-walled seventeenth-century Church of the Conception in the mimosa-hung village of Mijas. Carlos was supposed to walk up and greet local children with ‘Chicos estoy de vuelta” which is Spanish for “Children I am back”… But when the TV Spaniard greeted everyone on his historic return they looked dumbfounded.
Noele Gordon in her role of Meg Richardson is supposed to be staying in the Villa of Hugh Mortimer (John Bentley). “The idea is that I meet a new man here who thinks I’m wealthy – which Meg is not.” The role of the admirer has gone to Vincent Ball…
The Evening Telegraph noted: The growing importance of ATV’s daily serial Crossroads is amply demonstrated by the announcement that certain scenes are to be filmed in Spain later this month.
This must, of course, involve an increase in the financial budget of the programme – a clear indication that the planners consider that Crossroads is a show with a future and well worth spending money on.
STORYLINE DETAILS
The storyline in Spain starts on April 4th ’66 with episode 371 when the characters fly out. Meg flies out thinking she’ll be able to pop over and see her brother Andy in Gibraltar, but he arrives at the motel as a surprise to find she’s gone on this holiday. He is leaving the Navy after 22-years. He meets Ruth Bailey, who is looking after the closed motel in Meg’s absence – the start of a romance.
The motel is closed due to major roadworks which limit access to the site, leaving Meg able to holiday for the two weeks of disruption. ‘H.M.S Crossroads is in dry dock’ Andy notes.
When they land, Carlos goes to find bus times into the town, while Meg, Marilyn, Sandy and Stevie go to a café but struggle with the language. Marilyn notes the only Spanish she can remember from school is “My friend’s trousers are too tight” and “My aunt has left her umbrella in the bathroom” while Sandy says he can say “He who wears borrowed plumes risks exposure”.
Later they arrive by hire car at Hugh’s villa and all are delighted by how lavish it is.. Marilyn gives everyone an eye-full with her low on fabric bikini, Meg warns her the Spanish police frown upon ‘too much flesh’ on show, so she best be cautious if she’s going beyond the villa.
At a visit to the terrace of the ‘Fiesta Del Mar Club’ Meg meets a gent called Kevin McArthur, dashingly dressed in a blazer and yachting cap. Meg is impressed by him, and he by her. (Both think each other are millionaires)
Later in the holiday, Marilyn goes to get some sunbeams on the beach only to be met with a disapproving look from a Civil Guard, she explains her bikini isn’t obscene she has an attachable midriff.
She later when shopping for gifts gets into a muddle in a leather shop (the shopkeeper thinks she’s being smutty when looking for a dog collar for her aunt’s poodle), and is once more greeted by the Civil Guard.
Meg has ‘a date’ with Kevin in Hugh’s villa, he’s very impressed she has ‘her own staff’ when meeting Marilyn. Meg is impressed to hear about his yacht.
Carlos takes the motel regulars by bus to Seville to see a traditional procession, during the Spanish adventure Meg and Arthur have an away-day to Gibraltar, where Meg discovers Andy has departed the Navy and is in Kings Oak.
Stevie and Sandy encounter a Mr Cullen holidaying from Sheffield (Ricky Hibbs) – described as ‘a seedy man in his 50s with a sweaty brow’ – they get involved unwittingly in the smuggling of drugs from Gibraltar to Torremolinos, via a gift doll they’re asked to give to one of his nieces. Stevie likes the doll’s costume, so switches it with one she’d bought herself in a different outfit. During the Seville Parade Stevie is kidnapped. The next morning back at the Villa Kevin starts to put things together and asks for Stevie’s doll. He rips it open and packets of Heroin fall onto the table. He comes up with a plan, which involves the police, and Stevie is rescued, while the drug dealers are captured. Meg is impressed.
As the holiday goes on Carlos takes Sandy, Marilyn and Stevie to his home village of Mijas – a glimpse of his life before he came to England. They also take in the sights of Malaga. By episode 379 Meg has been invited to spend an evening on Kevin’s luxury yacht. But she doesn’t have a ballgown. Marilyn has an idea, they use the fabulous fabric of Hugh’s bedspread to create a frock (with the help of a willing lady neighbour and her sewing machine)
Kevin discovers Meg isn’t a wealthy tycoon when she in passing mentions her gown was a bedspread only a few hours ago and Mr Mortimer, who owns the villa, may not be too happy it’s now a frock. Seeing his disappointment she questions his motives, and he admits he thought she might be a good ‘customer’ for his charter services, the yacht is the only thing he owns, he’s not a millionaire either!
EPISODE INFORMATION
A large number of sequences from this storyline survive on film, including arrival/departure scenes at the airport, Marilyn shopping and getting in trouble in her bikini, villa and pool scenes.
No full episodes have been retained with this storyline.
Crossroads in Tunisia, 1967
NEWS REPORT
A feature from The Stage reported: EVERY three days film is being flown back from North Africa to ATV’s offices in Birmingham, where it is being processed and edited for inserts into ATV’s Crossroads serial.
Enough material is being filmed during 12 days on location to provide inserts for Crossroads for three months after the scene of the programme switches to Tunisia following the blowing up of the Crossroads Motel.
Meanwhile at the Alpha Television Studios in Aston, where the five-days-a-week programme is produced, sets depicting a replica of a Tunisian hotel are being created, based on pilot photographs of the area taken by Peter Harrison, ATV’s Deputy Midland Controller and Crossroads producer Reg Watson.
A newcomer to the Crossroads team Richard Irving has just flown out to Tunisia to join Noele Gordon, Anthony Morton, Sue Nicholls and Lew Luton in filmed inserts. He appears in the programme from May 5.
Two cameramen and two sound engineers from ATV are working under Reg Watson and director Alan Coleman, who has taken over directing duties from Tim Jones (who has now returned to the UK following the completion of his sequences.)
The idea of moving Crossroads to Tunisia arose from the three-day pilot survey Peter and Reg conducted in January. They then undertook a more detailed four-day survey of the area, accompanied by the Director of the Tunisian Tourist Board.
“It was essential to carry out very thorough research so that we could not only be factually correct but avoid wasting time while the unit was on location,” says Peter Harrison.
“While we were conducting our research, we had conferences with the Minister of Tourism, the Governor of Djerba and the Director General of Tour Afrique, who shared our desire to see that everything should be presented in a factually correct manner.
“For instance, customs vary from one end of the country to the other. In Tunis, it is usual for women to be seen shopping, but if you went to Djerba, it is something you would never see.”
None of the Crossroads team has visited Tunisia before, although Peter Harrison lived in Egypt for a year. They have not encountered any language difficulties because they have had the services of an interpreter from the Tunisian Tourist Board.
“We have not had to call on the local television service for any help,” commented Peter Harrison, “It only broadcasts for two hours a day – one hour in Arabic the other in French”
“All our cameramen are very highly trained technicians, so the operation has not presented any real technical problems. And we have been able to also benefit from the experience of doing previously filmed inserts for Crossroads at Torremolinos and Paris.”
Places, where location filming is being carried out for Crossroads in Tunisia, are Tunis, Monastir, Skanes, Gabes, Hammermet and the Isle of Djerba.
One site of considerable historical interest that is being used as a setting for scenes in the programme is the Roman Amphitheatre at El Djem. Situated in the desert it is 1,700 years old. It holds 35,000 people and is connected to the sea by a 28-mile underground tunnel.
The exact location of the Desert Croal Hotel, the Tunisian counterpart of the Crossroads Motel, is not being revealed by ATV. [Note: It was Hotel-Aljazira, Djerba]
It is felt [if the real hotel’s name was revealed] it could lead to the hotel being inundated with applications from viewers wishing to spend a holiday there.
It will be on May 16 that the Crossroads staff, led by Noele Gordon (Meg Richardson) are seen in the story flying out to Tunisia. A sequence is being filmed at London Airport, using a BAC 111 of British Eagle, who are also supplying as an advisor for the sequence Miss Janet Banks, one of their senior Stewardesses.
Naturally, a lot of the research for the Crossroads move to Tunisia has involved wardrobe. Some costumes have been obtained locally but most of the wardrobe has been flown out to Tunisia by ATV.
Why has ATV decided to up-root the Crossroads Motel from its imaginary Midland setting and transplant it to such a contrasting hotspot as Tunisia?
Peter Harrison’s answer is “Because it will broaden the scope and vision of Crossroads and open up new horizons. It sounds terribly pompous, I know, but it happens to be true
“This is a programme with which the viewer can identify himself easily. We wanted a place that most viewers could afford to visit yet probably hadn’t done so. Tunisia seemed to be the answer.”
Another article, from the internal ATV Magazine of the time, can be read on Noele Gordon’s Website here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
STORYLINE DETAILS
Following the Crossroads Motel being damaged by a bomb, the rebuilding work is overseen by Jill (Jane Rossington) while Meg (Noele Gordon), Carlos (Tony Morton), Marilyn (Sue Nicholls) and Geoff Steele (Lew Luton) all head off to Tunisia for a working holiday.
Hugh Mortimer (John Bentley) Meg’s husband-to-be is opening The Desert Coral Hotel and Meg is to oversee its grand opening. She, along with the other staff, also gets to sample the culture of North Africa.
Towards the end of their stay, Meg is left devastated when Hugh fails to arrive at the hotel – he’s dumped her for another woman.
EPISODE INFORMATION
A large number of sequences from this storyline survive on film, although no entire episode from that period has been retained.
Crossroads in Italy
Jill (Jane Rossington) and Adam Chance (Tony Adams) take their honeymoon in Venice where they’re greeted by a surprise guest.
NEWS REPORTS
The first report from August 1983 reveals Meg is to return. The Western Daily Press noted:
Sacked Crossroads star Noele Gordon will return to the TV serial for two guest appearances in October.
Miss Gordon will resume her role of Meg Mortimer, the former owner of the Midlands motel at the centre of the three-times-a-week serial, in which she was a regular feature until two years ago. The two special episodes will start filming in Venice tonight.
It is understood that Meg’s return centres on a tearful reunion with her daughter Jill. Meg was last seen waving goodbye from the QE2 on her way to Australia to start a new life after a fire nearly destroyed the motel.
She had been with the programme for 17 years and the decision to take her out of Crossroads in 1981 caused a storm of protest. Central Television flew Miss Gordon to Venice where she will film honeymoon scenes with Jill and her Crossroads husband Adam.
On his return from Italy, Tony Adams spoke to the Nottingham Recorder in September of 1983:
“[The honeymoon] was filmed on location in Venice which is a beautiful place. It should be screened next month.”
Despite the grumblings of its critics, Crossroads still attracts millions of viewers and Tony felt its popularity was justified.
“A lot of people get a great deal of pleasure out of watching Crossroads and a lot get a great deal of pleasure out of knocking it!”
Noele Gordon told the newspaper in a separate feature that while she was enjoying her newfound success in the theatre she would be happy to ‘pop back to Crossroads for guest appearances’ from time to time.
On October 19th the Daily Mirror declared that it was ‘Great to have you back, Meg!’:
Meg Mortimer toasts the bride and groom in a TV scene that Crossroads fans thought might never happen.
Meg, boss of the Crossroads Motel for 18 years, was written out of the soap opera two years ago. Now in a new episode, she is reunited with her TV daughter Jill, who is honeymooning in Venice with her husband Adam Chance.
The reunion comes as a complete surprise to Jill, played by Jane Rossington, and her husband Adam, played by Tony Adams. Meg, played by Noele Gordon, is making two guest appearances in Crossroads.
STORYLINE DETAILS
Having had an on-off relationship since 1981 Jill Harvey, now divorced from Stan, and accountant Adam Chance, a bachelor who had wooed several women over his time in Kings Oak, finally were married in October 1983, however, there was one face missing from the gathered friends and family – Jill’s mother Meg.
Meg had become a hotel trouble-shooter in America working for friends of Lloyd Munro. It seemed she was unable to get out of commitments to attend, instead sending a best-of-luck telegram.
Off to their honeymoon in Venice Adam had a few surprises in store for his new wife, the biggest was towards the end of their holiday waiting in the hotel restaurant. When the best table in the house was taken ‘by some Italian woman’ Jill wasn’t best pleased, until the lady in question turned around and Meg Mortimer was waiting. Jill, Meg and Adam after a catch up took a tour of the Venice canals on a speedboat. Meg was seen for her last-ever appearance waving from the Ponte Della Paglia bridge.
EPISODE INFORMATION
The film sequences and episodes featuring Venice survive in their entirety.
With thanks to James Feltham at the ITV Picture Archive for assistance with some of the images on this feature.