[1] Early life Crossroads: Benny helps Nicola Freeman change her tire Since then he has run his own business and recently played Tony Hancock on stage. The claim was not challenged on air.[2]. He was usually cast as a villain in his career. She led her soap life to the full for 24 years during which scripts saw her married five times once bigamously become a drug addict, an alcoholic and have a baby with her stepbrother. While in Crossroads he became a well-known face among the soaps army of loyal fans with his comic turn as the irascible Shughie McFee. David Moran - IMDb Roger Tonge (30 January 1946 26 February 1981) was a British actor. The actor was previously married to Margery Field and he died on July 2, 1985 in London. He did however, reveal that his nasty Crossroads character came back to haunt him as a viewer tried to kill him. In 1954, Gordon spent a year in New York City learning American television production at New York University. She was previously married to Brian Kent and she died in 1975 in Bromley, Kent, at the age of 62. A daughter, Justine, died in 1989. He is currently recovering from prostate cancer treatment, and he praised the NHS staff as "angels" for their care in a 2019 news report. Throughout her life, she had relationships with both men and women sometimes at the same time. It became known in 1982 that Gordon was suffering from cancer, for which she underwent two major operations. She played Antonia in A Severed Head, JB Priestleys adaptation of the Iris Murdoch novel (Criterion, 1963-64), a production that transferred to Broadway (Royale, 1964). (modern). Gordon stayed with the programme until she was sacked in 1981, when ATV was in the process of being re-constituted into a new company, Central Independent Television. READ MORE:Helena Bonham Carter believes Noele Gordon was axed by 'ageist bosses'. Who is Mrs Hall's husband in All Creatures Great and Small? Duration: 0:02:21. He was an actor, known for Yes Minister (1980), Mind Your Language (1977) and Crossroads (1964). His father was a master carpenter. [16] Written by Russell T Davies, and directed by Peter Hoar, the production is titled Nolly and depicts her time in, and sacking from, Crossroads. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Comedian Ronnie Barker later in his life revealed that he had suggested Henry should be cast as the character Lennie Godber opposite him in the sitcom Porridge, but the actor Richard Beckinsale was chosen instead by the television producer. In a tragic scene, his character is shot by German guards as he makes a run for the prison camps fence. [1] She played the role of Meg Mortimer (originally Richardson, later Ryder) in the long-running British soap opera Crossroads from 1964 to 1981, with a brief return in 1983. She died in April 1985, aged 65, after a battle with stomach cancer. Benny wasnt the brightest character to emerge from planet soap. Paul Henry (born 1947) is an English actor, best known for his role as Benny Hawkins in the soap opera Crossroads, on which he appeared on 354 episodes over 11 years. He died at the age of 84 in September 2014. On television, she had runs as Helen Baker in the Francis Durbridge thriller The World of Tim Frazer (1960), Caroline Kerr (1968-69) in the BBC soap The Newcomers, Isabel Neal in the afternoon serial Marked Personal (1973-74), Mary Queen of Scots in the childrens adventure A Traveller in Time (1978) and Aunt Rachel in Young Sherlock: The Mystery of the Manor House (1982), as well as playing Margaret Thatcher in the drama-documentary Who Bombed Birmingham? Now 70, he lives in Shropshire. Heather was born in Singapore to British parents, Agnes (nee McCullock) and Mickey (Frederick Nutter) Chasen, an authority on south-east Asian birds and mammals who was assistant curator, later director, of the Raffles Museum (now the National Museum of Singapore). Although he was a regular in the soap opera, Tonge found time to appear on other television programmes, including Z-Cars, Nearest and Dearest and Detective. Heather Chasen, most famed for her role as Valerie Pollard in Crossroads, has died at the age of 92.. During her career Chasen appeared in multiple British soaps, spending four years playing Pollard in the now-defunct Crossroads in the 1980s.. More recently she appeared in EastEnders as Janine's grandmother Lydia in 2011 for a brief stint.. Sue, now 76, played Marilyn Gates on Crossroads from 1964-1968, and she sang a song called Where Will You Be on the show which later reached number 17 in the UK Singles Chart. 39 in the UK Singles Chart in January 1978. Little remains nowadays of Mr Heinemans motel dream, apart from a bell tower and a sign. [1] Career Updated 19:09, 23 OCT 2012. [7], In 2003, he returned to acting on TV in an episode of the British medical soap opera Doctors. Born in 1930, Angus spent his early years in Glasgow, attending Eastbank Academy in the city. A former chat show host she was the first woman ever to interview a serving Prime Minister she had been presenter of ATVs Lunchbox. Crossroads was routinely assailed by TV critics for what they saw as its low quality, and Tonge was one of the members of the cast who was regularly criticised. Tonge won the role by accident. She is buried in the churchyard of St Mary's Parish Church in Ross-on-Wye. It took him nine years to escape from the Midland soap. He was writing a storyline for a new character called Benny Hawkins in Crossroads and he felt Id be perfect. Having dropped in at ATV during his lunch break to enquire about acting parts, a cleaner directed him to a meeting where production manager Margaret French handed him a script and invited him to return for an audition. Al Hunter Ashton (26 June 1957 27 April 2007), born Alan Hunter , was an English actor and script writer. Sun 3 Apr 2011 13.16 EDT An actor with a military bearing, Charles Stapley, who has died aged 85, was best known to television viewers as Ted Hope in the soap opera Crossroads. [4] He was in character as Benny in the song, but spoke rather than sang. Annette Andre (born 24 June 1939 in Sydney, Australia) is an actress best known for her work on British television throughout the 1960s and 1970s. With adept changes of voice, Chasens roles included Ramona Povey, the wife of Richard Caldicots commander; Miss Simpkins, assistant to the Sea Lord; and Wren Chasen, alongside Leslie Phillips and Jon Pertwee as, respectively, the sub-lieutenant and chief petty officer perpetually trying to get the vessel out of the trouble they had personally created. [8] She then moved on to present a daily live entertainment show, Lunchbox, an early daytime programme. I took the flack as that was part of my job to protect my staff. A veteran of everything from Spaghetti westerns and films in Hong Kong to Shakespeare and plays at the Birmingham Rep, Morton launched . 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He sneaked into the studios and charged at me with a knife, he said. Crossroads (TV Series 1964-1988) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. The original soap ran from 1964 to 1988 and was followed by a short revival in 2001. He also appeared as a bagpipe-playing innkeeper during several appearances in Dr Who and also featured in Keeping Up Appearances and Monarch of the Glen. (April 2016) Paul Henry (born 1947) is an English actor, best known for his role as Benny Hawkins in the soap opera Crossroads, on which he appeared on 354 episodes over 11 years. All rights reserved. She sought revenge by having an affair with Adam Chance (Tony Adams) who was previously in a relationship with her daughter Miranda (Claire Faulconbridge) after he became engaged to Jill Harvey (Jane Rossington). Cast of Crossroads L-R Meg Mortimer (Noele Gordon) David Hunter (Ronald Allen) Jill (Jane Rossington) Sandy (Roger Tonge) and Benny (Paul Henry). In April 1949, she took the role of Meg Brockie in the original London production of Brigadoon for 685 performances at Her Majesty's Theatre. Star also had role alongside Steve McQueen in The Great Escape and had parts in host of films, TV shows and theatre shows, Never miss breaking news by signing up to our free email updates. The actor Janet Hargreaves, who has died aged 81, played Rosemary Hunter in Crossroads during the 1970s heyday of the TV serial. The planned chain never worked out as other businessmen jumped on the bandwagon, offering cheaper rates. Jo Richardson - IMDb Crossroads was a much-loved soap which spanned decades and underwent a revival until its end in 2003, but what did the cast members do next? His absence and death were mentioned in an episode of Crossroads between his character's mother Meg and sister Jill and again in the episode featuring Meg leaving for a new life on the QE2. She sang at a strip club in Vienna and toured America and Cananda with the Royal Shakespeare Company. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. Where are the original Crossroads cast now? Royal Shakespeare Company-trained Elisabeth Croft had been a withdrawn child, so acting was perhaps an odd choice of career. Doctors, The Sandbaggers, Crossroads Diane Keen (born 29 July 1946) is an English actress, who starred in the British TV drama Doctors in which she played Julia Parsons from 2003 to 2012. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. As Valerie Pollard, she played a cheating wife whose conquests in the. It then moved to the Victoria Palace Theatre in the West End, where it ran for only 88 performances. Anthony works in sales, while Jake, our grandson, has finished his A levels and Jade, our granddaughter, has just left university with an English degree. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. In 2011, Chasen returned to soap to take over the role of Lydia Simmonds, Janine Butchers grandmother, in EastEnders for a short stint when Margaret Tyzack had to pull out. When the soap's first stint finished, Jane shied away from TV work in favour of stage performances, before returning to her role in 2000. 1945-1984. His last known role was in the short film The Gigolo in 2017. Sue Lloyd - Wikipedia And little remains of the Crossroads Motel, where Noele Gordons character Meg Richardson ruled the roost in ITVs cheap television soap which attracted huge audiences as high as 15 million viewers in the 1970s and early 1980s. [9], Returning to the stage in 2009, he appeared in a touring version of Run for Your Wife and in the following year portrayed Tony Hancock in the play Hancock's Finest Hour. Gordon was credited as the first woman to be seen on colour television sets,[3][4] as she took part, as a teenager, in John Logie Baird's world's first colour transmission on 3 July 1938. Chasen spent a year (1958-59) in the role of Mollie Ralston in the Agatha Christie whodunnit The Mousetrap (Ambassadors theatre, London) and many West End roles followed. Ted was the. [1], Born in Aston, Birmingham, Henry attended the city's Alderlea Boys School in Shard End with Jeff Lynne. Her father died the following day on a steamer that was sunk, and her stepfather, Ginger (GCR) Franks, died in the fighting that followed the invasion. Mike Garrett, of the Crossroads fan club, said: Angus became one of the most popular and loved characters in Crossroads thanks to his perfectly timed comedy performances. Lovable Crossroads legend Angus Lennie, who played cheeky chef, Shughie McFee. He was reported as having laughed off the jibes of journalists, by saying: "I'm allergic to criticism". [14], For many years in the 1960s and early 1970s, Gordon lived in a large white-washed country house in Weir End, near Ross-on-Wye, beside the A40 road to Monmouth. Johnny Briggs (actor) - Wikipedia (Image: Central Television) David Hunter A. Playing Megs daughter, Jane Rossingtons claim to fame is that she was the only the only Crossroads original cast member to be in the first and last episode of the series. Not much else is known about the soap actor and what became of him. Alfred and Arthur Heineman proposed a chain of motor hotels, with the first on the side of the highway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Early life [ edit] Briggs was born in Battersea, south-west London, on 5 September 1935. Ive got a full head of hair, I recently gave up smoking and hardly drink now. Crossroads matriarch Meg later Meg Mortimer was memorably played by Brummie actress Noele Gordon. The programme's new look was designed to bring back Gordon on an 'as and when' basis, starting with a three-month stint from April 1985. Created by Hazel Adair and Peter Ling, and originally produced by ATV, Crossroads Motel which was later upgraded to a hotel was to be found in the fictional village of Kings Oak, on the outskirts of Birmingham. He was only 35. She appeared in two British films, 29 Acacia Avenue (1945) and Lisbon Story (1946) in minor parts. Cook Shughie blagged his way into a job at the motel, boasting he once worked on a luxury cruise ship which turned out to be a workers ferry on the Clyde. Actress. He was an English playwright and actor who went on to star in The Flaxton Boys, Thriller and Hogg's Back. The father-of-one died in March 1984, aged 88, after a fall at a home for retired actors. In a 1981 interview with Angela Rippon, Tonge claimed that viewers were often astonished to encounter him off-screen and discover he did not use a wheelchair or crutches, despite him having been a wheelchair user for many years. The popular actor starred for nine years in the Midland soap and also took on a memorable role opposite Hollywood legend Steve McQueen in iconic war movie, The Great Escape. Actress, Joan Collins took to her. Jane starred in Crossroads for 24 years while her character married five times, battled drug and alcohol addiction, and had a baby with her stepbrother. Rossington now lives in Staffordshire with her second husband, chartered surveyor David Dunger. Where are they now? Benny from Crossroads - Express Where are the original Crossroads cast now? | TV & Radio - Express She has two grown children, Sorrel and Harry. The popular actor starred for nine years in the Midland soap and also took on a memorable role . The plan was for Amy to be arrested for being a Soviet double agent, Amelia Turtleovski, but sadly it never appeared on screen. While he had much success in films and other television series, he never forgot Crossroads and was always keen to be involved with reunion events. Janet Hargreaves obituary | Television | The Guardian To accommodate his disability and not lose an original character, a story was developed in which Sandy became paralysed and a wheelchair user through an accident. "[13] She returned to Crossroads in August 1983 for two episodes. Arguably the most successful actress to have starred in Crossroads, both old and new, the sky seems to be the limit for Freema Agyeman! Crossroads, EastEnders actress Heather Chasen dies, aged 92 In The Great Escape, the Glasgow-born actor played Scottish prisoner of war Archibald The Mole Ives. The actor was previously married to Margery Field and he died on July 2, 1985 in London.