Our Crossroads Favourites: Vera Downend

Vera faces another problem on her boat. Actress Zeph Gladstone had the freedom to buy the clothes for her character - but they had to be in bad taste.

Dear old Vera Downend! Played by Zeph Gladstone, Vera is one of my absolute-ultimate-favourite Crossroads characters. I love her.

Ex-tart Vera started out in Crossroads living next door to single mother Diane Lawton, who had a grotty bedsit, in 1971. She was originally quite a slovenly character, but good-hearted and quickly became a hit with us viewers.

So Vera smartened up (in her own way) and came to the motel to open a hairdressing salon and live on the Harvey family's barge on the canal.

Wilf Harvey advanced Vera £3,000 to start the salon so, although we remember him mainly for being a grouse, he certainly wasn't all bad.

Vera was another of those magical Crossroads characters you felt you could confide in and, during my often troubled youth, I could have done with a chat with her on many occasions. In fact sometimes, in my imagination, I did visit her boat to confide in her - and, occasionally, when troubled, still do!

But she worried us. The section of the King's Oak canal (near Wilf Harvey's) where Vera lived looked downright seedy and her attention to security on the boat was, to put it mildly, rather lax. She was often seen wandering off to bed with no effort to 'batten down the hatches' (or whatever one does on barges), with just a flimsy interior door separating her from the despicable characters no doubt lurking on the canal banks.

We were genuinely worried about this.

There were no mobile phones in those days.

And she suffered. Weird and menacing goings on sometimes came Vera's way - and once she was even mugged. Though not on her boat.

Bless her.

The boat once suddenly sprang a leak. Cue dramatic ending of episode! 

In 1976, the salon ran into financial difficulties. The motel took over, but kept Vera on as manageress.

Vera sprouted a long-lost son, Clive Merrow, late in her reign and experienced motherhood problems - and coming to terms with Clive's adopted mother. She came through it all brilliantly.

Romance was never smooth or easy - and all the nice girls love a sailor, including Vera. She dated Doug Randall (Richard Thorp - Alan Turner in Emmerdale Farm from 1982 onwards) for a time, but it came to naught. Doug was eager to escape his unhappy marriage, but his wife had other ideas and the situation was impossible.

And then, in 1977, Vera fell for creepy restaurant manager Max Lorimer, who bought her boat from Sheila Mollison and Stan Harvey, and basically set his cap at her in a most unhealthy way. 

Vera found herself back on dry land, sharing Max's old flat with Diane, but not long afterwards finally departed from King's Oak.

I missed her dreadfully. My memories of her departure are that it was to be temporary and she would be returning. She was apparently working on a cruise ship for a time. I must have dreamt it, but I could swear there was an episode a few years later in which Diane said, 'I've just seen Vera in the village, and she says...' (referring to some ongoing storyline)

And I suddenly had the notion that she would be reappearing. The hope flickered for a few weeks.

It was wishful thinking. A year long 'sabbatical' for actress Zeph Gladstone turned into a permanent departure as she was not asked back.

It was never the same. Pure magic, our Vera. A cherished memory.