45 Years of Crossroads
Can you Adam and Jill it?, Crossroads is 45 years old.
Crossroads’ 45th was recently celebrated at an event in Birmingham.
It was November 2nd 1964 at 6.30pm when ATV Midlands, Border Television and Ulster TV aired the first edition of the motel-based soap opera. The series was soon seen across most of the ITV network, with only Granada holding out until 1972 to broadcast the ‘rival’ to Coronation Street.
The Crossroads Motel, in the village of Kings Oak, was overseen by former West End theatre actress Noele Gordon as Meg Richardson and the storylines centred around her family – son Sandy (Roger Tonge) and daughter Jill (Jane Rossington) as well as her sister Kitty (Beryl Johnstone).
The plots also involved the ever changing guests of the Crossroads Motel and the drama they brought with them. Famous faces to pop into King Oak included Bob Monkhouse, David Jason, Elaine Paige, Ken Dodd, Miriam Margoyles, Larry Grayson, Malcolm McDowell and Duncan Goodhew.
Other soap stars also appeared in the saga include Emmerdale’s Richard Thorp and Sherrie Hewson, EastEnders’ Gretchen Franklin and Sandy Radcliffe and Corrie’s Johnny Briggs and Sue Nicholls.
A Crossroads trailer promotion from the sixties.
The cast celebrate the 25st anniversary in 1989.
