What Would We Have Done About Nolly? The Noele Gordon and Meg Dilemma - Part 3

Back in 1981, we sent a suggestion to ATV about the future of the Meg Mortimer character in Crossroads. We felt that dropping her was a mistake and that the character had massive potential. We must make it plain, once more, that we don't agree with the Woke, misandrist burblings of Russell T Davies on the issue. Things were sometimes not easy behind the scenes at the motel, but it had nothing to do with a woman being oppressed by men. That's simply Feminist, Marxist model nonsense.

Whatever the difficulties, we felt they could be surmounted - the decision would have been Noele Gordon's - and Meg, the character, could have sparkled her way out of what we regarded as a miserable last few years.

Here, we've polished up and elaborated on our 1981 alternative Crossroads idea. This is Part Three of our little series of articles on the subject.

Part 2 is here.

Our version would have progressed pretty much as it did during the winter of 1981-1982, but with occasional added Meg content.

We would have condensed some of the Mavis's boarding house/motel garage scenes to accommodate some 'Meg Abroad' material. The boarding house and garage were a little too much in evidence during the motel's rebuilding we felt, and although we enjoyed both scenarios, it would have been worth condensing a few scenes for Meg.

So, on with the saga...

Jill returns from the QE2 and tells David what has transpired. David is very relieved that Meg is alright, and pleased that she wants to resume their friendship, but cautious about the notion of a new project. 'Does it involve the motel?'

'I'm not sure,' says Jill. 'I think it might, but I really don't know...'

'Well,' says David, 'I shall look forward to hearing about it when your mother returns.'

Meg visits Matthew in New York and spends some time with Anthony.

At this point we'd hopefully be able to secure a few appearances from Jeremy Sinden.

'It's amazing,' Meg says, looking at her blond haired grandson. 'He's your child and Jill's child, and also Hugh's grandson, my grandson and Charles' grandson. Life is a miracle, isn't it?'

Anthony tells Meg that Matthew has changed him. 'I always baulked at the idea of fatherhood. But I love it. Just watching him... even watching him sleep... I'd never have believed it, but there it is.

'I hope he'll be able to meet Sarah Jane one day,' says Meg. 'She is his half-sister after all.'

'I'm sure he will,' says Anthony.

'Family and friends are the two most important things in the world,' says Meg. 'Good family and good friends are such riches.'

Anthony tells Meg that he has discovered the truth about his father's finances: 'The dear old buzzard was at a pretty complex stage of the deal he was working on when the kidnapping happened. It left him pretty broke at that point, but he would have made a tremendous profit had he lived. As it is, it left a terrible mess for you.'

'I knew it must have been something like that,' says Meg. 'Hugh was far too good a businessman not to have planned everything meticulously for a successful outcome.'

At this point, our memories of Hugh are set free from the terrible cloud created by the writers when Meg was left in the financial lurch after the character died in 1978. We wanted less Meg-martyrdom, and we liked the character of Hugh. An astute and highly experienced businessman, who actually wrote a book on the subject, the scenario of Hugh actually being a financial twit never sat easily with us.

Jill breaks the news of the motel fire to Meg during a phone call in early 1982.

'But, darling, why didn't you tell me? I would never have gone away!' says Meg.

'Because you badly needed the rest and, unless you fancied taking up bricklaying, there was nothing you could have done here,' says Jill firmly.

'You treated me like a child,' says Meg.

'No, Mum, I treated you like someone who loves you and wants the best for you,' says Jill.

Meg accepts that and is touched. She is saddened by the news of Sam's death.

The continuing story of Meg is slotted into the established storylines about the motel, the Brownlows, etc. We loved a lot of the post-Meg storylines and want nothing else changed.

On returning to England, Meg visits Ruth and Andy. She and Andy talk about Granny Frazer - who is sadly no more. Re-establishing Meg's family - Matthew, Andy, etc, would have been important to us. She seemed to be operating in something of a vacuum - with Jill and the motel as her only life concerns - after Sandy's death.

Meg's return to the motel is set for the day of the grand re-opening. She arrives and gives an interview to the Castlewich Clarion about how she began the business in 1963, and how delighted she is at its continued success.

Jill is thrilled to see her mother and, after some initial reserve, it is clear David is also delighted to see her. Glenda, Kath, Doris and other staff greet her and Meg is pleased to be back.

'You know, darling, the place looks completely different, but it really is like coming home!' she tells Jill.

David and Meg discuss her living arrangements. David tells her there will soon be a new suite for a live-in director or manager. Meg says she'd just like to make use of two rooms - her sitting room and the room next door, previously Sandy's bedroom, as her bedroom. David agrees.

Meg and David go to the sitting room. 'I'm looking to the future with great enthusiasm,' says Meg. 'But it's lovely to have this room - a thread of continuity. Lots of wonderful memories!' 

She and David have a drink.

'I must say I'm intrigued by your planned project,' says David. 'Do you feel ready to discuss it?

'Yes, I do,' says Meg. 'I've been thinking everything through, and I want to continue my involvement on the board of directors and in the motel's day to day running, David. Reception stints, paperwork - even kitchen duties if absolutely necessary!' They laugh. 'I'd also like to involve Jill a little more in the running of the place. I think it would be good for her - and the motel.'

David agrees.

'I accept that you are the majority shareholder and in the driving seat, as it were,' says Meg. 'We may not always agree, but we will be able to disagree without rancour, I'm sure of that.'

'I'm very glad,' says David.

'But my idea also involves the motel site and would be an entirely new venture...'

'Do go on,' says David.

And Meg tells him her idea...

Part 4 coming soon...

Our Crossroads Favourites: Sandy Richardson

Sandy enjoys a cuppa in the sitting room.

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.

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: Meg Richardson/Mortimer

My favourite photograph of Noele 'Nolly' Gordon, Meg of the motel - an autograph for a young fan in the 1970s.

Meg! Margaret Fraser/Richardson/Ryder/Mortimer! It was around the character played by actress Noele Gordon that the Crossroads format was built and Meg was the staunch leader of the motel pack from the very first episode in November 1964 until she lost her majority or equal shareholder role in 1979 - and finally took off for pastures new in November 1981.

Meg's husband, Charles Richardson, had died in the early 1960s and Meg had converted the land around their home into the Crossroads Motel, complete with chalets, residents' garden, cafeteria, reception, restaurant, bar, garage and swimming pool. The motel had opened in 1963 and was well up and running by the time of the first episode in November '64.

Meg's family consisted of her teenage children, Jill and Sandy (he was still at school), sister Kitty Jarvis, brother-in-law Dick, and nephew Brian. Meg also had a brother, Andy, who was in the Navy. He married widow Ruth Bailey and became a travel agent. A young man called Bruce Sorbell later became her ward, and she fostered a black girl called Melanie Harper in 1970.

Like all soap heroines, Meg was born to suffer - and boy did she!

In 1965 she met rich, suave businessman Hugh Mortimer. At first she wasn't sure if she could trust him, and became convinced she couldn't when he married somebody else a couple of years later. But all was later explained: Hugh had married Jane Templeton because she was terminally ill and he wanted to make her last days as happy as possible.

Meg survived the explosion of a wartime bomb, which destroyed the motel kitchen in 1967, and, in 1968, married smoothy Malcolm Ryder - who took out life insurance for Meg - and then tried to poison her to get at the money.

She went to prison briefly for swerving to avoid a cat while driving and hitting postman Vince Parker.

Her nephew Brian was accused of murder and her sister Kitty died in the late 1960s. Meg sold shares in the motel to Tish Hope and Mr Lovejoy - but retained a controlling interest.

Meg's children brought her much anxiety - Jill married a bigamist and had a miscarriage in 1970.

In 1971, Jill married working class Stan Harvey - but Meg could never really share his father Wilf's fascination with pigeon keeping.

Sandy was involved in a terrible car crash in 1972 and lost the use of his legs.

A happy arrival as a motel shareholder and director was David Hunter - who worked closely with Meg and became her good friend and confidante.

It wasn't all tragedy and high drama for Meg. She had some happy and funny scenes with Carlos Rafael, the motel's first temperamental chef in the 1960s, and some hilarious scenes with comedian Larry Grayson in the first half of the 1970s when he booked in as a difficult guest at the motel. There were other light hearted moments too, but these were outweighed by troubled times.

Meg developed amnesia after learning that her husband Malcolm, who she thought had died in a car crash, was still alive. He later turned up to menace her at the motel, but all ended happily when Hugh and the police finally intervened.

And then she married Hugh in 1975, which meant gaining a stepson - Anthony Mortimer.

Anthony had an affair with Meg's daughter Jill in 1977, and she became pregnant. This broke her marriage to Stan Harvey. Jill's son, Matthew, was brought up by the Mortimers.

Hugh wrote a book called Businessmanship, which was published in 1977, but then tragedy struck. Hugh had been working on a big business deal in Australia for some time and, in 1978, was kidnapped by terrorists - who had links to David Hunter's son Chris.

Hugh died of a heart attack while in captivity and Meg went into mourning.

In early 1979, Meg was forced to cease being an equal or the majority shareholder (I can't remember which) in the motel when it was revealed that Hugh wasn't so good at 'businessmanship' after all. He had debts - and Meg had to pay them. 

This storyline made me uneasy for Meg - and for Noele Gordon.

Accountant Adam Chance bought some of her shares to help her out, but, in 1981, sold 5% of them to Meg's old friend David Hunter - thus making him the majority shareholder. Meg's relationship with David had grown fraught as the 1980s began. And it grew even more so when he attempted to sell the motel to J Henry Pollard.

Finally, in November 1981, Meg gave up the struggle with David. After a conversation with Sam Hurst, or Sam Norton, the artist, who was staying at the motel and had a tragic background involving losing his family in a fire, Meg was left to contemplate her future.

She was on tranquillisers at the time, and considered an overdose. But then she thought of Jill and her recently deceased son Sandy and his love of life, and decided to start afresh.

She left the motel - and not a moment too soon because it burned down minutes later.

Ironically, Sam, the artist, who had blamed his own cowardice for the death of his family in a previous fire, declared to Benny that he wasn't afraid of fire any more, and died trying to recue a woman who wasn't even there.

Anxiety ran high - what had happened to Meg? Had she died in the inferno? But the truth was soon revealed: Meg had left a note for Jill which had been destroyed in the fire. She phoned her daughter and bade her a tearful farewell on the QE2. Jill didn't tell her about the fire - although Meg had an uncanny feeling that something was wrong.

Meg briefly reappeared in October 1983 - joining her daughter Jill and her husband Adam on their honeymoon in Venice. There were well-advanced plans to bring her back to the motel as a permanent occasional character in 1985. But Noele Gordon died before they could reach the screen.

What can you say about Meg? To many, she was the heart of Crossroads. It wasn't that way for me, but nobody could help admiring Noele Gordon's tireless devotion to the show - she was its official spokesperson. For me, some more light hearted storylines and a bit less of the soap character martyrdom - particularly in the last five years - would have helped to raise Meg higher in my own personal run-down of motel greats. Noele Gordon could portray a lighter, happier Meg with great ease. A shame the scripts didn't require it much.

But Meg's prime importance to the show - and to a huge number of its fans - is in no doubt at all. She was, quite simply, a soap legend - never to be forgotten.

Cast Axings In The 1960s And 1970s...

Much has been written about the axing of cast members and popular characters from Crossroads in the 1980s.

It's not surprising.

But what does surprise me is the fact that so little is written about the axings of cast members and popular characters in the 1960s and 1970s.

Of course, there were not nearly so many, but still it is odd that Crossroads was chopping popular characters well before the 1980s began.

Sometimes there seemed to be reasons. Sometimes not.

Noele Gordon took the view that in a real motel staff and guests were always changing, and I suppose she was right, but with some of the characters it didn't quite wash. One, for instance, was the motel's chef, happy in a sought-after senior position. Another ran the motel's hairdressing salon.

And anyway Crossroads was not a real motel. I have heard of no other soap with the tendency to write out the viewers' favourite characters in this way.

The first popular character to be axed was Anthony Morton, who played the motel's original temperamental chef Carlos Rafael in the 1960s.

Carlos was killed off, and Anthony Morton sent Crossroads producer Reg Watson a mourning card, with "Wish you were here" written on it.

Other less high profile Crossroads folk got the chop before and after Carlos, but the next biggie to go was Amy Turtle, motel cleaner, kitchen hand and gossip, played by Ann George.

I have to say that Amy, on-screen from 1965 to early 1976, was more popular with my mother and aunts, and many other women in my neighbourhood, than Meg Richardson!

Her axing came after reported difficulties between herself and leading lady Noele Gordon.

Ann was invited back to make a few guest appearances as Amy in 1987.

In 1977, "tart with a heart" Vera Downend, played by Zeph Gladstone, was chopped.

Introduced by the (then) producer Reg Watson in the early 1970s, Vera was a charming character and a great favourite of mine. Her love-life was a disaster, but she was always around to provide sympathy and a listening ear to those in trouble. At the time, her leaving was a puzzle - did she decide to go, or was she dropped? In her 1988 book, Soap Box, TV journalist Hilary Kingsley revealed that Zeph had been dropped.

A year long 'sabbatical' resulted in Zeph not being asked back.

In 1975, Meg married her long-term suitor Hugh Mortimer (John Bentley). After a short period of married bliss, the character was dispatched to Australia on a "big business deal" and then, in 1978, killed off - dying of a heart attack whilst in the custody of international terrorists.

Hugh was very popular with viewers, and his wedding to Meg had been a tremendous spectacle, greatly enjoyed.

As if his departure wasn't enough, we suddenly learned that Hugh was not such a great businessman. He was in serious debt at the time of his death. Meg had to sell off motel shares, thus ceasing to be a majority shareholder, to pay off those debts.

Edward Clayton as Stan Harvey was part of the family at the Motel - he'd married Meg's daughter, Jill, and was one of the show's dependable and likeable characters - part of its stability. He was dispatched around the same time as Hugh Mortimer.

And like Hugh, the character was presented in rather an unsympathetic light upon his departure.

It was all a great shame.

And I still find it a puzzle.

As for me personally, I particularly missed Zeph Gladstone as Vera Downend.

Vera had become like an old pal through many evenings of me munching my dinner, whilst watching her endure the ups and downs of life on her boat and at the motel salon.

To end on, we'll look at the strange case of Miss Tatum of the King's Oak Post Office. A highly popular character and setting, both Miss T and the Post Office were chopped in the mid-1970s. Elisabeth Croft, who played Miss Tatum, asked new producer Jack Barton, who made the decision, if Miss Tatum could have a retirement storyline, but Mr Barton said that was the last thing he wanted. Miss Tatum would still be at the Post Office in the storyline, but unseen onscreen the vast majority of the time. Elisabeth Croft was from then on only asked back to make occasional appearances, the last in 1983.

A vast diminishing of the input of a highly popular character and the disappearance of a popular setting.

I'm sure Mr Barton had his reasons and a 'new broom' producer will always have new ideas and want to make changes, but, and no disrespect to Mr B, this is one I simply could not understand.

So, when next you are reading about the Crossroads cast axings of the 1980s, spare a little thought for those who were given the chop years before.

The axings I've outlined here did absolutely nothing for the show, and were as puzzling and downright distressing as any made later.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JUNE 2010 - UPDATED JULY 2014