Crossroads - A Family Affair - Spin-Off?

The happy couple - David and Barbara Hunter at their wedding in 1980.

We've had a couple of enquiries about an apparent proposed spin-off series from Crossroads to be called 'A Family Affair' in 1980, and apparently focusing on David Hunter and his family.

Sorry we've never heard of it. Lady Plowden's 1979 announcement that Crossroads was to be reduced to three episodes a week from 1980 was definite. There was no suggestion that the team and certain actors should stretch things by producing a 'spin-off' - easing the load and 'improving quality' was apparently the reason, not creating a spin-off. 

We still feel annoyed, thinking about that announcement! It seems amazingly snobbish as so many people, and we're thinking particularly about lonely, elderly or ill people, relied on the show as a link to life - viewing the characters as friends. We had busy, full lives at the time and still viewed the characters as friends, and loved our four nights a week check-in at the motel.

There is nothing recorded in the press of the time about a 'spin-off' replacement on the vacant evening, and I never heard anything about it at the time.

There was a novel called Crossroads - A Family Affair in 1980, by Keith Miles, but contemporary reviews of the book do not present it as any preparation for a spin-off. Soap opera based novels were common by 1980, and all had titles: Emmerdale Farm - Lovers' Meeting, Whispers of Scandal, A Sad and Happy Summer, etc; Coronation Street: Early Days, Trouble at the Rovers, etc; and Crossroads itself: A New Beginning, A Warm Breeze, etc. None were geared towards launching 'spin-off' TV series.

In fact, if the 'spin-off' was to be focused on David, it's hard to see how it would crossover with his role in the main serial.

We've also had enquiries about a 1980 series called For Maddie With Love, starring Nyree Dawn Porter, becoming a replacement for Crossroads. As this was the story of a terminally ill character, it hardly had long running serial potential.

There are many things said online, and we prefer to rely on contemporary reporting and absolutely solid, absolutely verifiable evidence. Also our memories.

So, sorry, we can't help in this instance!

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.

What Did Charlie's "Growler" Look Like?

So, here we are at the reception desk with a hugely shoulder-padded Jill and a "Growler" loving Charlie, and it's time to catch up on a few e-mails...

Tim writes:

I loved your post on Charlie Mycroft. I was brought up on the Archers in the 1980's and was a great fan of Graham Seed. My mother never watched Crossroads and as it was pre-web days, I never knew Mr Seed featured in that programme. What did his toy dog "Growler" look like?

What a question, Tim! I have some episodes featuring said "Growler" somewhere. He was a small, black toy dog if I remember rightly. I'll try and get some screen caps up at some point - but there might be some footage on YouTube - do check. I was very happy to include Mr Mycroft in my Top 50 Favourite Crossroads Characters listings. If only the show had continued!

Monica writes:

I'm puzzled about Chris Hunter. David Hunter wasn't his biological father, was he?

No, Tina, he wasn't. This all came out in the early '80s when Iris Scott took some cassettes from Lloyd Munroe's cottage, thinking they contained music, then discovered they were tapes of Rosemary Hunter's therapy sessions with Lloyd. In 1984, Iris used the information to try and blackmail Jill and Adam Chance into keeping her boyfriend Gary in employment at Chimneys. This led Jill to say: "You really are a bitch, Iris!" Although aware of the facts regarding Chris's true parentage, David always regarded him as his son anyway.

Chris Hunter, played by Stephen Hoye.

And finally, from "Tish" (?!).

Loving the blog. Any chance of a mention of a certain Mrs Hope in your Top 50?

Ah, keep viewing, Tish!

Our Crossroads Favourites: Rosemary Hunter

1980 took a sudden turn for the worst for David Hunter as Rosemary confronted him in the motel office.  And she was armed. "David... say it... tell me you love me... SAY IT!" 

Rosemary, played by Janet Hargreaves, was the neurotic first wife of David Hunter. She was a one-time heavy drinker and all-time pain in the neck. The highly civilised David actually struck her once. The programme's audience took his side.

Even after she and David were divorced, Rosemary still turned to him whenever she had a problem, and sometimes turned up at the motel to interfere with his business affairs. David and Rosemary had a son, Chris, but it was later revealed that David was not actually Chris's biological father - and that his marriage to Rosemary had never been legal. She was already married when she 'married' him.

Rosemary is a Crossroads legend largely because of the (in)famous episode from 1980 when she shot David in the motel office. This occurred on the evening of David's engagement to novelist Barbara Brady. Rosemary had become more and more unhinged in the run-up to the engagement party, and afterwards confronted David, whining, "Tell me you love me... say it..." 

When David refused, she shot him.

The glorious scene - complete with Janet Hargreaves's inspired playing of a woman deranged - has gone down in soap history, and Rosemary's place amongst the Crossroads greats is absolutely assured - forever.

Our Crossroads Favourites: Lloyd Munroe

 1980: Tish,  Meg,  Lloyd and Diane are worried about Rosemary.

Lloyd Munroe, played by Alan Gifford, was a cheery American psychiatrist who graced King's Oak with his presence from 1978 to 1980. Lloyd was a great friend to bereaved Meg Mortimer, mourning the sudden tragic passing of her husband Hugh, and gave therapy to David Hunter's deranged wife, Rosemary. 

In 1980, Lloyd told Rosemary that she didn't love David as she claimed, she hated him, which seemed to push Rosemary right over the edge into confronting David with a gun and then shooting him. But what the heck, the human mind is a tricky beast to deal with, and there's no doubt Lloyd meant well.

Lloyd had a difficult relationship with his daughter, Kathryn Fischer, and her dalliance with serial philanderer Ted Hope, husband of poor old Tish, didn't help matters.

Lloyd was responsible for bringing novelist Barbara Brady to the village when, engaged in some research for her latest work, she became his housekeeper in 1979. She married David Hunter in 1980.

In an era when the majority of new characters were grim (remember how Doris Luke was originally? Clover Hawkins? The set-up at Haywood Farm? Reg and Alison Cotterill?) Lloyd seemed like a breath of fresh air.

Fondly remembered.

1980: Rosemary: "David... Say You Love Meee... SAY IT!!"

We all remember the shooting of JR Ewing in 1980 - it shook soap fans across the world. But, at the Crossroads Motel, David Hunter's ex-wife, Rosemary (played by Janet Hargreaves), was the first soap character of 1980 to pull a trigger. It shook millions of soap fans across England.

Motel owner Meg Mortimer (Noele Gordon) was about to announce the engagement of her business partner David Hunter to novelist Barbara Brady at a party to celebrate the occasion. Rosemary, in the past known for her neurotic tendencies, had begun to behave strangely.

American psychiatrist, Lloyd Munroe (Alan Gifford), an old friend of Meg's, told Rosemary off, pointing out to her that she'd been: "...threatening me - and David and Barbara - with threats of suicide."

Lloyd was doing his best to help, but was trying to convince Rosemary that she didn't love David, she actually hated him, really the right thing to do?

Particularly as it seemed that Rosemary may have stolen a gun, and Lloyd was fully aware of that fact?

Everybody, including Rosemary's daughter-in-law Diane Hunter (Sue Hanson), was in a state of high tension and the night of David and Barbara's engagement party saw an anxious discussion in the reception area at the motel.

Old favourite Tish Hope (Joy Andrews) was larding it up behind the reception desk, and tried to speak sense to Rosemary, but Rosemary hung up on her.

Something horrible was about to happen.

Rosemary left the engagement party before Meg made the happy announcement. David (Ronald Allen) and Barbara (Sue Lloyd) were overjoyed, but there was an underlying anxiety about Rosemary.

Rosemary gave waitress Glenda Brownlow (Lynette McMorrough) a note for David - requesting his presence in the motel office...

When he arrived she asked him to say that he loved her, and turned quite sarky when he refused...

Suddenly, Rosemary pulled out A GUN!!

"David... say it... tell me you love me... SAY IT!" she whined menacingly. When he refused, she shot him.

Of course, all was well. David was discovered by Meg and made a full recovery, Rosemary underwent psychiatric treatment and was never seen again, and that was that.

According to legend, the reason for David's somewhat informal attire at his engagement party had its roots in a behind-the-scenes mishap. When Janet Hargreaves first pulled the trigger of the gun, it didn't go off. But Ronald Allen had already broken the bag of stage blood, ruining the suit he was wearing.

It seems that the Crossroads wardrobe allowance could not run to another suit!