Our Crossroads Favourites: Mavis Hooper

Mrs Mavis Ada Hooper - King's Oak semi-regular, 1981-1985.

Miserable Mavis Hooper, played by Charmian Eyre, was in the Crossroads saga from 1981 to 1985. And when Mrs Overall, played by Julie Walters in the hilarious Victoria Wood As Seen On TV series made her debut in '85, the resemblance between the two was obvious and brilliant.

This has served to underline Mavis in my memory, but there's no doubt she's worth remembering anyway - for forging a friendship with shifty young Iris Scott, putting up with shifty husband Sid, and generally being a rather grim good egg.

Mavis ran a boarding house in King's Oak, and her biggest treat in life seemed to be popping in next door to watch the neighbour's colour telly.

On New Year's Day 1982, she drank a toast to a "happy and prosperous new year". But, of course, she didn't have one.

Whilst Mavis advised Iris "If you've got a man, you be with him," her own husband, Sid, left a lot to be desired, turning up after a long period of estrangement in 1982 and bringing poor old Mave more heart ache with his betting and attraction to Iris's mother, Rose. He soon flitted again, but turned up when Mavis was ill in hospital and  then turned out to be not such a bad old stick after all.

In 1984, Mavis turned sixty and reviewed her life. She decided to divorce Sid and fell for the charms of elderly conman Cecil Beecher-Blount.

Cecil was revealed to be a rotter (although the news was kept from Mavis) and Mavis stayed with Sid.

Mavis was very kind to Benny (when his ESP wasn't freaking her out - "Don't catch that bus!!") and Uncle Wally Soper. She died in 1986. Sid had suspected that her heart lay elsewhere - with Cecil Beecher-Blount to be precise, but on her deathbed she told him she loved him.

Poor old Mave.

Our Crossroads Favourites: Sheila Harvey

Sheila with the other Harveys back in the day.

Sheila, played by Sonia Fox back in the early-to-mid 1970s, is a fondly remembered King's Oak resident here at the blog. There was something about the character we particularly liked, something indefinable which placed her above many other King's Oak residents in our affections. Some performers simply have the ability to make their characters believable and invest them with a likeable warmth, and Sonia Fox certainly did that with Sheila.

Sheila was the daughter of pigeon fancier Wilf Harvey, the unlikely father-in-law of Jill Richardson. She was once an elocutionist, and later worked as a hairdresser. Her romance with married man Harry Wade caused Crossroads fans much angst back in the early 1970s.

The character then caused Crossroads followers further angst by getting pregnant out of wedlock after a dalliance with Roy Mollison, and having her baby delivered at the motel by Meg Richardson.

Sheila gave her baby to sister-in-law Jill to bring up. Later, she married Roy and they took the baby back.

After this, I recall Sheila working at Vera Downend's hairdressing salon. The two had a humdinger of a row  - and Sheila got the sack - when it was discovered she'd been moonlighting at home.

The Mollisons soon faded from the King's Oak scene. Where did they go? I can't remember, but Sheila remains in our affections as a gem of a character from Crossroads way back then.

Our Crossroads Favourites: Arthur Brownlow

"I think I'll just dead-head me roses and then pop down the bowls club to see old Jenks..."

So, who were our favourite Crossroads characters? Which did we love to love or love to hate? Which made the most impression on us and became true Crossroads Greats? 

We'll begin with Mr Arthur Brownlow, played by Peter Hill, from late 1979 until late 1982.

Arthur was the grumpy husband of lovely, motherly Kath and the father of motel waitress Glenda and oil rig worker Ron. He certainly was grumpy, and an early story-line featured him being diagnosed with a terminal illness. The diagnosis turned out to be mistaken, and Arthur survived to gripe at Kath when she got the housekeeper's job at the motel (he had a very real and genuine high regard for traditional family roles), be falsely accused of improper behaviour with his niece-in-law, Iris "I ain't dun nuthink, Auntie Kath" Scott, and join a highly dubious 'residents' protection group' when young black couple Joe and Trina MacDonald moved in next door with their infant son, Ben.

On the plus side, Arthur was no stick-in-the-mud when his daughter, Glenda, provoked horrified reactions from Kath and her husband, Kevin, by suggesting she had a test tube baby. Arthur backed her but didn't live to see the birth of his granddaughter, Katie Louise, as he was run down by a car the year before.

Arthur drove me potty at times, but I loved the Brownlows set-up and he was an integral part of that for almost three years. I often wondered what Kath saw in him, but the devastating effect of his death was testament to the fact that theirs was a marriage built on love.

And, yes, I kind of missed him when the character died.

Thank You, Crossroads!

Valerie: "Well, hello, darlings. Welcome to the Crossroads Motel 1983 'Coping With Life In The 21st Century' Stress Management Course..."

Life has not been particularly good for me lately. Everything from a sudden severe cold to family problems to ludicrously inaccurate "statements of fact" on Wikipedia have conspired to get me down. I've been feeling worn out. Every inch a couple of years off fifty. And thoroughly cheesed off with the 21st Century...

Youngsters texting away whilst I am trying to have a conversation with them; their complete indifference to political issues; griping and moaning from older folk (like me!); a highly prevalent "I'm all right, Jack, pull the ladder up" attitude all round; stress, stress and more stress; lack of money to do any thing relaxing with; a lack of warmth and caring which distresses me greatly...

OK, I was born in 1965 and the world has never been marvellous in my lifetime, but surely it wasn't always THIS bad? Or am I just getting old?

Anyway, I was at the local newspaper archive on Wednesday, doing a spot of research. The newspapers I had to study were from 1921 and 1983. The TV listings in the 1983 newspapers caught my eye and one title in particular - CROSSROADS! The local newspaper pundit "wittily" described it as "down the kitchen sink drama" in one episode synopsis!

Of course, Crossroads was extensively panned by TV critics for many years, but I always watched it and, a quick skim through other 1983 editions of the "local rag" whetted my appetite for a visit to the motel in that year. Those tantalising synopsis...

What was that about a poison pen letter? What crisis were the Pollards facing? And why was Sharon being questioned by the police?

On returning home, I suddenly remembered that my wife was away overnight. So, I scoffed some dinner, brewed a huge pot of tea and revisited Crossroads in 1983 via my DVD collection of episodes originally taped on VHS from the UK Gold repeats. Once safely back in King's Oak, I rediscovered characters that talk to each other about everyday things, a little bit of (slightly camp!) melodrama, and a great deal of warmth.

I'm now feeling rather better than I did.

And it's not the first time this often ridiculed old soap has come to my rescue.

So much more realistic than the modern soaps' obsessions with serial killers and explosions...

AND so much better written! Yep, soap that was produced for people who have an attention span that is longer than that of a retarded goldfish!

BRILLIANT!

So, I say ( and not for the first time)....

 THANK YOU, CROSSROADS! 

I'll be booking in again very soon.

The Brownlows: The Mystery Of The Disappearing Dinner...

"It's all very well you saying 'use that tin of spam - give Dad sandwiches for dinner,' Glenda, but that tin's been in the cupboard since 1980 and you can't give a man spam when he's been out working all day."

Stumbled upon an intriguing Crossroads culinary mystery in a a copy of the Sun newspaper, dated February 19, 1982 today: 

Tucking into a hot meal

A real life whodunnit has developed behind the scenes of telly's Crossroads.

It started when a meal was specially cooked and laid on the table of the studio home of the Brownlows.

The cast left for a short break and when they returned someone had scoffed the lot.

Now Central TV has really made a meal of it by issuing a memo laying down strict rules on who eats what and when.

Staff of the hit telly series are hardly on breadline wages, yet this is the second time since January that food has been swiped.

One of the official cakes for the channel's launch also went missing.

Remembering Margaret John As Marian Owen...

Margaret John as Marian Owen in Crossroads, a part she played from 1978 to 1985. ATV photograph courtesy of the Crossroads Appreciation Society.

Tim has written:

I remember very fondly the character of Marion Owen, the receptionist at the group practice in King's Oak, and Kevin's aunty in the Crossroads saga in the 1980's. I was saddened to hear of actress Margaret John's death a while ago, as I think she was one of the best Welsh TV actresses around. What do you remember about the Marion Owen character? I'd love it if you could write a blog post about her.

Well, like you, Tim, I remember Marian Owen as played by Margaret John, very fondly. Marian was actually not much of a character - she was sensible and understanding, but not particularly interesting. Highly skilled actress Margaret John invested the character with a tremendous warmth, and so she became not only Kevin Banks's auntie, but probably the auntie we all would like to have, and a character who added tremendous "watchability" to every episode she appeared in.

She first appeared in 1978 and was a recurring character until 1985. 

In 1980, Marian moved beyond the group practice in the village to develop a home of her own, and a family - with the arrival of her nephew, Kevin Banks, soon to be followed by her dreadfully snobbish sister, Sally, and brother-in-law, Oliver.

A childless widow, Marian spent no time moping about. She gave a caring ear to friends and family, and spoke commonsense at times of crisis. It was in her house, around November 1980, that the devious Iris Scott seduced Kevin whilst Marian was out. Oh dear! What a hoo-hah that caused! Poor Glenda was devastated. Of course, Marian was around to help calm the ensuing shock waves.

Popping in and out of the serial, Marian had no real story-lines of her own. She always took part in other characters' stories. 

By early 1982, Marian had moved out of her large house near the golf course into smaller accommodation, and the house had been sold to Reg and Jennifer Lamont.

1983 was a big year for Marian as her sister Sally discovered that her marriage had squalled on to the rocks - hubby Oliver had fallen for Sharon Metcalfe of the motel garage, and Glenda and Kevin went in for a test tube baby. Although kind and caring, Marian could speak out when needed. It was in 1983 that she took Kevin to task for bossing Kath around. In the wake of Arthur's death in 1982, it must be said that Glenda and Kevin had both got a bit domineering when it came to the home front at the Brownlows', and Kevin certainly needed telling. And who better to do so than Auntie Marian? I remember cheering at the time!

Marian was a good friend and understanding confidante to Kath Brownlow, as she faced up to widowhood.  She last appeared in 1985, as a guest at the wedding of Kath to Stephen Fellowes. 

Marian was a very positive character. As a widow with no children, she could have been pathetic and whingeing, but she was always positive. An aunt of mine, in similar circumstances herself, said she found Marian a great comfort. That was in the days when soap operas did positive characters. Far too many nowadays are just the opposite (in my humble opinion!).

It was Margaret John who turned Marian from what could have been a make-weight short stayer into a cherished Crossroads memory. I have read elsewhere that the actress was a "national treasure". Well, I've never seen her more noted role in Gavin And Stacey, but for her Crossroads character alone I'd have to agree.

Christmas 1980, and Margaret John, dressed in character as Marian Owen (back row, far right), lines up in reception with other members of the Crossroads cast, including Roger Tonge as Sandy Richardson, Noele Gordon as Meg Mortimer, Jane Rossington as Jill Harvey, Tony Adams as Adam Chance and Kathy Staff as Doris Luke. Thanks are due again to the Crossroads Appreciation Society for supplying this ATV photograph.

2003: When Crossroads Became A Spoof Of 1980s American Soaps...

Did you like 1980s American soaps? There was Dallas, originally quite a hard-edged saga of Texan oil millionaires on a ranch, initially viewers almost felt they could get dung on their cowboy boots if they stepped into the scenario. Then came Dynasty - with improbable clothes and far more romantic/melodramatic story-lines. Dynasty followed on from Dallas, but had its own influence on the slightly older series, which also became camper, dressier, etc.

So, what has all this to do with Crossroads? Well, watching episodes from the 2003 version, as produced by Yvon Grace, I can't help wondering why she bothered? This wasn't King's Oak. it wasn't Crossroads. No number of Meg Mortimer Suites could make it so. Here we had what largely appeared to be a spoof on 1980s American soaps - Dallas and Dynasty, specifically, circa 1983-1987.

We had the bitch (very Alexis!), the bad guy (very JR!), power struggles, intrigue, a very 1980s neon sign. But even more we had obvious nods towards 1980s land with two of the main female characters having a fight in a fountain (very Krystle and Alexis in Dynasty!) and then the whole series was a dream (very Bobby Ewing in 1986).

I'd love to see a revival of Crossroads. But I found the 2001 version too youth orientated and the follow-up too '80s spoof.

Perhaps one day the seemingly impossible might happen. But until then, as far as I'm concerned, the last time I visited King's Oak was in 1988.

Everything that followed, I've discounted.

And, as it was all a dream, that's just as well really...