Our Crossroads Favourites: David Hunter

David Hunter had a very contrasting 1980: the horror of being shot in the motel office by his deranged ex-wife, Rosemary, and marriage to the lovely Barbara Brady.

David Hunter, played by Ronald Allen, was Meg's partner in the motel through most of the 1970s. He was a close friend and confidante of hers for years but, in the early 1980s, suddenly began to resent her sentimental regard for the motel as a 'family business' (which, in reality, it hadn't been since she first sold shares to Mr Lovejoy and Mrs Hope in the late 1960s), and became determined to get more profit out of the place.

David was an absolute boon both to Meg and the motel for a decade.

But he wouldn't have featured that highly in my personal Crossroads greats list if it hadn't been for his final three years in the show. I always liked David, but I always saw him as a bit of a background character - the main emphasis being on the Richardsons. If David had a romance, it always felt a bit like filler to me - simply to give the character something to do.

In the main, I saw him as Meg's friend, business partner and supporter.

Let's canter through David's Crossroads era...

David arrived at the motel circa 1970 as a director and quickly became Meg's closest ally outside of her family - despite her initial suspicions about him. She feared he was pals with her murderous ex-hubby Macolm Ryder. 

But David was not, and quickly proved his worth to Meg. Whenever a crisis threatened he was there for her, and vice-versa.

David's family life was a disaster - his wife, Rosemary, was a drunk and a neurotic. Son Chris seemed a nice enough lad, although not unaffected by his mother's influence, but a change of actor and direction saw him becoming a pain in the neck and, inadvertently, positively dangerous. And then there was David's rascally Uncle Timothy.

David was hugely popular - when he struck Rosemary in one storyline, viewers' opinion backed him, which is pretty unheard of.

David searched for love. Was Laura Marshall the one? Or Kate Hamilton, mother of truculent Lucy? Or what about journalist Kelly ….? No. None of them were.

Having divorced Rosemary, David seemed destined never to find true love again.

Rosemary still lent on him. Whenever she had a crisis, David flew to her aid.

And on at least one occasion she tried to interfere in the running of the motel, even suggesting she bought some shares.

David had no luck in love and found plenty of other angst in the 1970s - including awful Jim Baines and his wife, Muriel, squatting in his cottage. He also had a brush with a gambling addiction.

And then Hugh Mortimer died in 1978 - while being held captive by a terrorist group with links to David's son, Chris.

In 1979, Meg ceased to be an equal or majority shareholder in the motel (I can't remember which), with Adam Chance holding the balance of power.

The 1980s began hopefully for David as he became engaged to Barbara Brady. However, the very night of their engagement party, he was shot in the motel office by the deranged Rosemary.

Adam sold David some of his motel shares, making David the majority shareholder - and this led to a clash with Meg.

1981 saw David facing a huge crisis. He learned that Rosemary had married him bigamously and that Chris was not his biological son.

David colluded with millionaire J Henry Pollard to sell the motel to him, but when that failed, didn't mend his bridges with Meg.

And finally, in November 1981, Meg departed on the QE2.

David's marriage to Barbara nearly collapsed, but the two were reconciled and faced the future together.

For me, now, David entered his greatest era.

I loved his relationship with Barbara; his prickly (but rather droll) relationship with J Henry Pollard; the way he saw through Valerie's accusation of sexual assault against Mr Paul (David described the Pollards as 'deadly Daddy and murderous Mummy' in 1982); his chivalry when Kate Hamilton turned to him in a crisis; his distrust of, and occasional alliances with, Adam; and his fatherly attitude towards Jill. I once had a fascinating conversation with Peter Ling, co-creator and storyliner for Crossroads, on that last subject and will talk about that in a future post.

And then, in 1984, the serpent entered paradise and swept David straight into a passionate kiss.

This particular serpent was one Sarah Alexander - an old love of David's - and very soon she was pregnant.

Sarah made it clear - she wanted both David and the baby - or just the baby. She'd make access rights for the child's father extremely difficult if David did not join her.

But David didn't love Sarah and did love Barbara.

In 1985, the couple left to start life afresh elsewhere.

Poor David. Finding out that his son was not his biological son, that his first wife was a bigamist, and being denied access to a child that was biologically his.

We wished the Hunters well - and those final three years of David's reign at Crossroads will always be remembered as a golden era for us here at the blog.

And a golden era (one of many) for the show.

Our Crossroads Favourites: Valerie Pollard

Valerie in 1982: 'Birmingham? Darling, where on earth's that?'

Valerie Pollard, played by Heather Chasen, only appeared intermittently in Crossroads from 1982 to 1985, but she certainly left her mark on the motel - and our affections.

We adored Valerie.

Naughty but capable of being very nice, Valerie popped a button off Adam Chance's shirt upon her arrival in April 1982 - and bore him away to his boat for a night of 'lurve'.

This resulted in the breaking of Adam's engagement to Jill Chance - and the departure of Adam on the midnight plane to Paris - to avoid the wrath of Val's husband, J Henry Pollard.

Val had only done it to get up her hubby's nose.

Valerie, of course, was a millionaire's wife, leading an elegant beach bum life abroad with a host of 'pneumatic young men' - as her husband put it.

And when J Henry imprisoned her in a grotty motel in the English Midlands, well, darling, you surely couldn't expect her to take that lying down, could you?

The motel bored Valerie so much she once ordered a Pussyfoot Special in the bar.

While Valerie and J Henry were at loggerheads, they actually DID care about each other. J Henry even told her how to spell 'grotesque' - 'q-u-e, not k'.

Poor Miranda, the couple's daughter, dodged the bullets flying between her parents.

Valerie once told Miranda she thought J Henry was the only member of the family who really knew how to love - and she didn't mean sleeping around.

What was so wonderful about Valerie was that you didn't know what to expect from her. Here was a rich super bitch who was also kind and considerate enough to give pregnant motel waitress Glenda Banks a lift home to save her catching the bus, and hand-hold distressed Kate Hamilton as she awaited a court appearance.

But she was also willing to falsely accuse motel restaurant manager (and her husband's spy) Paul Ross of sexual assault. Fortunately, David Hunter saw right through that - and Valerie just reacted as though she had been caught out in a piece of trivial mischief.

She also sent her own daughter an anonymous letter in an attempt to stop Miranda's romantic pursuit of Mr Paul - which caused much angst and resulted in police bribery.

Valerie lit up the screen. Her bitchery, her languidness, her kindness - she was fascinating and very witty to boot.

A Crossroads legend to us at the blog, she made Joan Collins of Dynasty look like Hilda Ogden after a bout of flu and sixty fags.

Fabulous.

Now, we're off to the bar to toy with the peanuts - and perhaps even order a Pussyfoot Special. Unless, of course, you'd like to show us your boat...

Our Crossroads Favourites: Nicola Freeman

Power dressing Nicola Freeman wasn't just a shrewd businesswoman...

Was it Nicola Freeman or Suzie Doyle? Actually, it was both, and she had also once been Nicola Delaney too!

Born to poor parents in a narrow, terraced street, young Suzie Doyle loved her father. But he was a drinker and spendthrift and Suzie's mother finally ordered him out, and remarried. Suzie and her stepfather did not get on, and when she became pregnant at the age of seventeen, she ran away from home rather than confide in her parents.

She had her daughter adopted, and went on through a series of jobs to work at the Playboy Club, where, as there were two other Suzies working there, she changed her name to Nicola Delaney. A complete break with her past.

Nicola's life was colourful, but she finally met and married Herbie Freeman, big wheel of the Major International Hotels group. She didn't love him at first - but learned to - a great deal. She didn't find his two children, Daniel and Joanna, so easy. In fact, Daniel greatly resented her.

After Herbie's death, Nicola became a big wheel in Major International Hotels herself, and in 1985 the group bought the Crossroads Motel in King's Oak. And Nicola came in to manage it.

She was an interesting character - at first appearing cool and clipped, but a sympathetic side to her nature quickly emerged. She was charmed by Benny (who solemnly called her 'Mrs Foreman') and sorry for Jill when her marriage disintegrated - after amorous Adam made a pass at her.

Also, during her time at the motel, Nicola endured her problem step-children, an affair with a married man, a fraught reconciliation with her mother - and her adopted daughter turned up.

When MIH sold the motel, she left - but may have been on the point on returning when the series ended.

Nicola was a great Crossroads character. She added much intrigue, glamour and sparkle to the years 1985-1987 at the motel.

And no effort was made by the production team to turn her into another Meg. Not that there could ever have been another!

Nicola was very much a character in her own right. The motel wasn't a family business, started in her own home. It was, first and foremost, a business.

But she definitely had heart.

My Vera Downend Fantasy...

As regular readers know, one of my absolute top-favourite Crossroads characters EVER is Vera Downend,  played by Zeph Gladstone.

Vera was the motel's hairdresser for much of the 1970s.

Vera was a confidante to many, and gave good advice, but was not so good at running her own life.

Well, many of us have a similar problem.

When Vera was at the motel, I was having a very unhappy, dog rough, 1970s childhood. I won't go into details, but sometimes, in my mind, I used to visit her on the boat, and talk over my problems with her.

And, occasionally, I still do.

Yep, give me a pressing problem or a crisis, and I sometimes still find myself clambering aboard the boat, where I find Vera and tell her what's up. I find her, usually, listening to a transistor radio. The 1980s and 1990s haven't happened, of course, and there are no mobile phones or computers or whatever.

My wife thinks it's very funny, as I usually 'visit Vera' when there is trouble in my life and I can't sleep.

'Why don't you confide in the other woman?' she laughs. 'That usually helps!'

And I do.

And usually, very soon, before I even get through telling Vera what's keeping me awake, I'm asleep.

It's amazing the impact soap characters can have on our lives...

Vera: 'Yes, luv, it is amazing. Do you fancy a cuppa and a chat about it? I was just going to put the kettle on.'