1981: NOELE GORDON on her CAREER CROSSROADS | Harty | Classic Celebrity Interview

1981: NOELE GORDON on her CAREER CROSSROADS | Harty | Classic Celebrity Interview | BBC Archive

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7 ай бұрын

Noele Gordon was a mainstay of the British soap opera Crossroads from its very first episode in 1964, portraying motel owner Meg Richardson, who later remarried and became Meg Mortimer.
She chatted with Russell Harty about her less than amicable departure from the Midlands based soap in 1981 and got an emotional standing ovation from the Manchester studio audience following her performance of the aptly named song 'Goodbye'.
In more recent times, Noele's story has been dramatised by Russell T Davies, with Helena Bonham Carter in the starring role of the ITV drama Nolly.
Clip taken from Russell Harty, originally broadcast 17 November 1981.
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Пікірлер: 34

@standenberg 7 ай бұрын

Sadly, a year later in 1982 It became known that Noele was suffering from cancer, for which she underwent two major operations. She retired to her home in Birmingham, where she died in 1985. However, during this period of the early 80’s, I’m not sure if it’s widely known outside the West Midlands but she worked in youth theatre with kids in Birmingham…many of those children were inner-city kids who had no experience of the theatre etc, & I know this as I was one of them. Noele was lovely & popular with us all, always larger-than-life, chain-smoking & teaching us a thing or ten about performing-arts 😁…a genuine & generous beautiful soul, who I’ll never forget 💙 Thanks.

@SimonandJojo 6 ай бұрын

It is nice and refreshing to read such lovely things about Noele Gordon, as sometimes people have commented on her saying the opposite, I can imagine the chain smoking, I have a signed photo which is usually published even now only in black & white, but mine is in colour of her arriving at work in a scarf, her glasses, and a cigarette hanging from the corner of her mouth, my signed photo is A4. I wrote to another chain smoking actress back in 1985, that letter I wrote turned into a friendship that lasted until her death, that was June Brown, (known to many as Dot Cotton), she was my dearest, best and oldest friend and our friendship was 4 years short of 40 years! June was very wise, and gave wonderful, sound advice, she had no side to her, what you saw is what you got, I was very blessed to have such a wonderful best friend.

@SimonandJojo 6 ай бұрын

I loved 'Crossroads', 'Coronation Street' and 'Emmerdale Farm', but 'Crossroads' was my favourite of the three, I loved Noele Gordon's portrayal of Meg Richardson, and I loved both the Tony Hatch & Paul McCartney versions of the closing theme, and the cliff hanger after the closing credits, and I loved the horizontal & vertical closing credits, especially the white lettering on an orange background, I believe the closing credits were achieved by 4 people, (two props men & two ATV camera's), I can also remember on some occasions the closing credits sometimes collided as the timing of horizontal and vertical was slightly out. Back then these 3 soaps were true family shows, if anyone is interested a re-release of volumes 1 and 2 of the 'Crossroads' DVD's was released in Feb. 2023, as a 4 Dvd set, and titled 'Crossroads Classics', it is a lovely re - release, with new sleeve and disc artwork. I still have an A4 signed photo of Noele Gordon, which is a colour photo of her arriving at work in her white scarf, glasses and cigarette in her mouth, (this same photo seems to be both on Internet and in the papers at the time only black & white).

@hilaryepstein6013 7 ай бұрын

I'm sure she really was bitter and angry about being dumped by ATV but was an old trooper and hid it well. Always good to see Russell Harty, very underrated I think.

@OlafProt 7 ай бұрын

Harty wasn’t underrated. He was one of the top interviewers of his day. He interviewed Bowie and many other greats. Forgotten, but not underrated.

@hilaryepstein6013 7 ай бұрын

@@OlafProt Yes he did interview some good people but from what I remember I don't think he was taken as seriously as Michael Parkinson.

@OlafProt 7 ай бұрын

@@hilaryepstein6013 that’s a good point he was def seen as more lightweight wasn’t he.

@GeorgeHarrisonDarkHorse 7 ай бұрын

Russell Harty was definitely a more light-hearted alternative to Parky. He had guests like Kevin Turvey (Rik Mayall’s character), that clip is on KZbin. RH paved the way for the 7pm slot chat-shows like Wogan, where Michael Parkinson was always on after the 9 O’clock news when most kids of a certain age were off to bed.

@OlafProt 7 ай бұрын

@@GeorgeHarrisonDarkHorse that’s very true. A similar rather laid back and sort of bewildered style as Wogan. I liked Hartywe always watched him, Wogan and Parkinson. But then of course we did lol there were only 3 channels

@2bunphettered788 2 ай бұрын

I watched this after seeing the mini-series "Nolly" on PBS here in the States. 🙂

@OlafProt 7 ай бұрын

I hated Crossroads but my granny loved it. And I remember the furore when she was sacked.

@juliepownall1063 6 ай бұрын

Nolly made crossroads huge star was shocked she was sacked at the time my mum loved watching crossroads esp and coronation street

6 ай бұрын

It's a huge shame that there's no full Harty episodes out there, and that this is the only Harty clip uploaded by yourselves. I wish these older broadcasts were fully available to the public and not closed away in your archives. A large chunk of the current generation are really missing out on the history of television and it sure is a pity that the only available thing to us is this channel and the Programme Index (which doesn't show much). Come on BBC, do the right thing.

@PK-yf3hd 7 ай бұрын

One of my earliest TV memories ,in 1957 when we first got it,was lunchbox(I think it was called thus) featuring Noel Gordon ..I recall around ,12 30 watching this early entertainment which featured the resident comic character ,Lionel .one of a musical trio or band singing 'oh in 11more months and 12 more days we'll be out of the Kalamazoo..in..etc etc. There going to turn me loose ..being behind bars in jail...

@JohnHonda101 7 ай бұрын

I remember Noele and Crossroads very well, I didn't like it but my Grandmother did.

@smadaf 7 ай бұрын

"Alright-when we put this on KZbin, let's make a thumbnail picture of three faces cackling maniacally."

@derekhorne8076 27 күн бұрын

I'm surprised no one has mentioned that the credits roll in the Crossroads style! Lol

@kevanhubbard9673 6 ай бұрын

Coronation Street was much more tongue in cheek and working class than Crossroads so hard to confuse.

@stephenguppy7882 7 ай бұрын

Good old Nolly. A trouper to the last, but she was dumped by Central, who took over the Midlands franchise early, though not in name. She was not dumped by ATV. Central didn't like the power Noele wielded at ATV. They also wanted rid of Crossroads and they knew it would perish without her.

@chinnyvision 7 ай бұрын

I don't know what you are on about. It was the same management, same staff. They just changed the structure of the ownership and the sign over the door. It was Charles Denton who agreed she should go. Didn't you even watch the recent drama?

@stephenguppy7882 7 ай бұрын

@@chinnyvision That was a drama, with scenes created and dialogue imagined, as in all dramas. Don't try to teach your granny to suck eggs, Sunbeam.

@chinnyvision 7 ай бұрын

@@stephenguppy7882 Needlessly aggressive for someone on such shaky ground. Try the documentary, 'From ATV Land In Colour' where Denton and Jane Rossington give their recollections.

@AssociatedTVNetwork 6 ай бұрын

@@chinnyvision The drama is pretty accurate, I have a memo from the ATV archive which Charles sends a note to Jack Barton saying he has sacked Noele as per his request. It had nothing to do with Central or ATV management, it was to do with the fact Reg Watson and Noele worked as a team - and had done since 1955. Jack coming in didn't want it that way - it was his show, as he saw it, and he got sick of Noele questioning his decisions - as correctly seen in the drama. The only thing the drama got wrong really was Denton - he didn't care less if she stayed or went he just liked the money it made. And he had tried to get it back on 5 nights in 1980 - to which for his nerve the IBA cut it to three. And the 1975 wedding - ATV invited the viewers it was no surprise. The programme had done similar in Nottingham with Noele and the vintage car the year before but as that is wiped its generally forgotten about.

@AssociatedTVNetwork 6 ай бұрын

...The politics came into it in 1984 when Denton and head of drama Margaret Matheson left for Zenith Productions and Ted Childs and Andy Allen came in. Allen was embarrassed by 'soap' he wanted the Morse, the Boon etc type shows.