Nolly

I used to watch it when it was on. I knew nothing about Noelle Gordon as a person but she certainly carried that show. It was really popular teatime viewing. My mum loved it.

Did she star in musicals as well, I'm sure I remember that

We used to watch it. I loved it. We used to see Noele Gordon regularly swanning around Birmingham in her Rolls Royce with her mink coat draped over the passenger seat. We used to see a lot of the actors regularly. I wasn't keen on the drama.

I thought it was very good. I loved Crossroads because it was a bit of ‘down time’ when our first two were babies. IIRC it used to be on at 4.30pm so I could relax with a quick cuppa before all the evening/bedtime stuff.

Everywhere I went people used to say I looked like Miss Diane!

I remember Noele Gordon doing Lunchbox with the Jerry Allen Trio, pre-Crossroads. Was that early 60s?

I do think it is "history" being reinvented to make a credible bio-pic. Crossroads was always considered by people I knew and in the media as a very poor programme and only watched as a second rate series. I rarely watched it and I remember Victoria Wood's Acorn Antiques that was based on it. Mrs Overall was based on NG and the sketch in her programme where Mrs Overall is shown to be a rather posh well spoken woman was hilarious and obviously based on Noelle Gordon leaving Crossroads. Noelle Gordon may have been a "star" before she appeared in it but that was before my time and most people alive now. She apparently had an affair for many years with a married impresario, I think, Lew Grade, which in the "Me Too" times of now possibly explains how she got leading roles in the West End. He never married her but as he couldn't leave his wife but consequently dumped both and married another woman. The documentary of her was quite interesting but to make out that she was a huge star is a bit misleading, I think.

Yes I watched Crossroads. It was very amateurish but enjoyable.
I like Helena Bonham Carter so shal watch the programme.

My mother loved Noelle, she watched a programme called lunchbox where she sang sometimes, not a good voice to be honest, I never watched it, too young but mom loved her, she used to say, she’s wonderful to her mother which earned most people who were, 10/10. in her eyes. She also liked to watch Liberace though despite everyone’s protests.bHexwascprobably good to his mother too.

notgran I thought of exactly the same Julie Walters sketch when I read OP.

I believe it was Val Parnell Noele had a long affair with notgran.

I have watched it.. I remember Crossroads as a kid but knew nothing about her or the other cast.
With interest I venture onto this.
Well I thought it was rather dull and I didn't really warm to her.
Think you needed to be a fan to love this.

Kate1949 oooops, thanks for the correction and huge apologies to the Grade family.

Hope you didn't think I was being know-it-all! It's just that I had been reading about it recently.

Sorry notgran, but Mrs Overall was not based on the character of Meg Mortimer.
Mrs Overall was a doddering, scatty, well meaning waitress.
Here is Miss Bertha (Victoria Wood), Mrs Overall (Julie Walters) and Miss Babs (Celia Imrie).
It’s more likely that Miss Bertha was inspired by Noelle Gordon’s character

We had a tiny health spa near my secondary school which was used as the health spa in Crossroads

My mom watched it as did me and my sister.
It was entertaining but very card boardy.
I used to work in a green grocers and some of the cast came in for fruit etc.
They were all very nice.
I was wondering around a grave yard in Monmoth or Ross -on -Wye can`t remember which one,when i saw Noel Gordons grave stone.

Kate1949

Hope you didn't think I was being know-it-all! It's just that I had been reading about it recently.

Sorry - another know it all here! (Huge JW fan!)

FannyCornforth

Sorry notgran, but Mrs Overall was not based on the character of Meg Mortimer.
Mrs Overall was a doddering, scatty, well meaning waitress.
Here is Miss Bertha (Victoria Wood), Mrs Overall (Julie Walters) and Miss Babs (Celia Imrie).
It’s more likely that Miss Bertha was inspired by Noelle Gordon’s character

We had a tiny health spa near my secondary school which was used as the health spa in Crossroads

It was the Julie Walters' sketch when Mrs Overall was sacked that was reminiscent of NG.
I so miss Victoria Wood's writing.

Ah, okay! Thanks Chardy, apologies

Yes I watched it, I like Helena Bonham-Carter. I remember when Crossroads started up, I was still at school, I think it was on early evening, because I could only watch it when my father was working late as he didn't like us watching "rubbish" and rubbish I've been drawn to on and off ever since! Neighbours , being one such example, I loved that too when it was launched. Crossroads was a big talking point at school the next day, we lapped it up shaky scenery and all, the biggest draw was the concept of "a motel" that was beyond desirable a bit like an air hostesses hat! It was many years later when I first went to the States I was to discover that motels per se aren't the most salubrious of places to stay. I thought Noelle Gordon was glamorous in an older, business woman type of way, but not trendy enough to my juvenile eyes. I thought Helena was good in the role, the hair wasn't quite right imo.

I definitely thought Acorn Antiques was a pastiche of Crossroads and Mrs Overall lives on in my memory as one of the truly great comic creations from the Wood and Walters ensemble casts. Many years ago, in a quaint tea room we did meet such a waitress, needless to say we didn't order the soup

I always watched crossroads, after school. When they were replacing some of the scenery from the set, it ended up at my school, having been donated from the t.v. company. I remember the huge reception desk, when it arrived, only it wasn't huge and was quite tatty.
I remember my mother in law was shopping in Rackhams in brum city centre, and Noelle Gordon was browsing the shoes, mother in law made a friendly comment to her, and was frostily ignored!!

I'm another who lapped up Crossroads after school. The motel and front desk people seemed so glamorous. It was always exciting when new guests arrived, what stories would unfold? I was never very keen on Meg, she seemed bossy to me. I loved Jill and Miss Diane (both of whom I related to, so they were my role models).

Crossroads never had a big budget like Corrie so it's unfair to criticise wobbly sets. Also, you have to remember at least in the early days the programmes were LIVE which is very hard and they had no chance to rehearse. The cast did incredibly well under those conditions.

I watched it and also watched Crossroads when my daughter was little. I like HBC and she was good in it. I didnt know the boy who played Sandy died while Crossroads was still running. I also liked the actor who played David I thought it was him at first but it was the boss from Silent witness. It was well made.