Sandy Richardson, son of Meg, brother of Jill, is my wife's favourite Crossroads character of all time, and he ranks very highly with me.
Roger Tonge played Sandy, and made him one of the gentlest, most stoic and kind-hearted characters ever.
Sandy also had a lovely dry sense of humour.
He was very special indeed, whether annoying Carlos the chef, bantering with the waitresses or battling grave misfortune, Sandy was super.
When the show started in 1964, he was a schoolboy, then went on to try his hand at a career in journalism.
He left for a time.
On returning, Sandy gave farming a go, until his life suddenly changed, forever.
A car crash made him English soaps' first paraplegic.
Crossroads served the character and the realities of the physical condition most excellently.
Sandy went into a period of depression, and, after coming through that, landed a job as assistant manager at the motel.
He was concerned that nepotism might have won him the job, but Meg made sure he achieved it on his own merits.
Meanwhile, off-screen, the Crossroads Care Attendant Scheme came into existence.
I have so many fond memories of Sandy - who was as happy nattering with waitress Jane Smith as he was hobnobbing with Hugh Mortimer. Well, actually, he wasn't terribly convinced that Hugh was a suitable suitor for Meg.
He had his doubts about our Mr M.
But never mind.
And, of course, he worried about his sister, Jill.
His relationship with Meg could be great fun - with Meg insisting that he shouldn't do too much, lest he make himself ill, and Sandy resisting.
He'd certainly inherited his mother's determination!
Romance was ill starred for Sandy.
I hoped he would marry receptionist Fay Mansfield - feeling that the character was a lovely onscreen presence and would be good for him.
But it was not to be.
There was something of a list of failed romances for Sandy, but he endured his traumas quietly.
Roger Tonge died in 1981 and we heard of Sandy's death months later, which was the Crossroads method of dealing with the deaths of major cast members at the time.
Noele Gordon, as Meg, paid tribute to the character's 'optimism and love of life'.
Sandy was wonderful, and so much more than just a peg for a fascinating storyline about paraplegia, although the character served as an inspiration for many others in the same situation.
Sandy, like many others in the longterm cast, became a dear friend who visited us three or four nights a week via our TV screens, year after year.
We loved him.
