Noele Gordon on TVAM in 1983 - on Meg's Come back to Crossroads

Noele Gordon on TVAM in 1983 - on Meg's Come back to Crossroads
with Ann Dimond and Nick Owen
one of my favourite lines for Miss Gordon Ann asks "Where you ever bitter"
She replies " I was never bitter dear"
Anne: "Can I call you Nolly" Noele "Ann you always used too in the old days"

[@agnesbutterbun]

I was Nolly's make-up artiste and hair stylist for many years for the show. She was a great friend and also Larry Grayson who called me "Slack Alice". I miss her so much she was a lovely person. But the sacking did affect her and I believe killed her, it was so cruel because she was Crossroads. Thanks for all the lovely memories Nolly.

[@MarcZERO1980]

Why did Larry Grayson call you Slack Alice?

[@orchidcarpetcleaningrp6061]

Amazing Agnes

[@paulsimpson1697]

What a privilege for you I hope you are still with us as comment was 10yrs ago

[@RogueWJL]

@@paulsimpson1697 thinking and hoping the same 🙏 In complete awe of Ms Gordon after Nolly-what an amazing person she was.

[@williamf4544]

I was just thinking the same - the person who sacked her they way they did played a hand in her death - its well known a massive shock as something like that was at the time can trigger cancer - my mother died of cancer at 56 and im quite sure it was triggered when she found out i wasnt interested in girls - ive known many instances like these

[@glenlay]

Dear old Nolly as she liked to be called, she was treated disgracefully when they sacked her, in my eyes she will always be remembered fondly as our Meg who ran Crossroads, God bless her and may she forever rest in peace. 25/10/2019 🇬🇧

[@gf1001]

I meet Noele in the late 70s, a lovely lady who did a lot of work for charity much missed. Thanks for posting.

[@Fedderchini]

This is now 40 years old ❤️

[@jsidwell05]

ATV treated her terribly. She was the most popular star they ever had. Noele deserved better

[@LiteratureTodayUK]

I was never bitter, DARLING, lol! What a character, a real lovee

[@discogareth]

I was too young to remember her in Crossroads, I didnt start watching it until 1986, but what a true star! A very gracious lady!

[@mikehudson8884]

I've never come across a bad word said about Nolly all over the internet. Crossroads was part of my childhood, love this lady.

[@zeddeka]

You haven't been looking! She was a notorious diva.

[@CC-uc4gq]

@@zeddeka So what, every show has a Diva, and she kept that show on air for years.

[@jamescoupland3137]

Amazing lady happy times

[@asa1973100]

Nolly was a true true old school actress and yes she was a diva she was in that old school category of soap starts being akin to Hollywood actors in the fame stakes but she wasn’t spiteful or nasty. My Aunty lived in Murray ct next door to her from 73 until her death and they knew her well even before from the Grosvenor club AKA underground gay club .

[@Kevin-1969]

They never should have asked her to leave that show, no need for it, it was a terrible shame.

[@radiance65]

There was always something magnetic about Noele Gordon. Stunning lady!

[@jamescoupland3137]

Yes amazing women

[@kimthom5793]

I love that we still have memories of Crossroads. Late 60s/early 70s as schoolgirls in London, we used to race to catch the bus home so that we could watch it. Jo Good as the car mechanic in it and now I follow her vlog on KZbin. Apparently there is something on TV soon about Noele Gordon played by Helena Bonham Carter. Will have to watch that.

[@sophiesteele5682]

It’s already on ITVX now - called “Nolly”. Russell T Davies wrote it and Helena Bonham Carter portrays her. Highly recommend.

[@williamf4544]

People are saying its dreadful so be prepared to be disappointed

[@nickburmanmusic]

Nolly is definitely worth a watch. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Helena Bonham Carter did a brilliant job, and there are even two cameos at the very end, so i think the cast (her friends) approved. I'm not much of a Crossroads fan, although I remember my parents watching it religiously.

[@nickburmanmusic]

@@williamf4544 Some really enjoyed it - me included.

[@williamf4544]

@@nickburmanmusic Thanks thats good to know i will be sure to watch it

[@dramaticguy]

Thanks so much for posting this,great quality,Noele bless her!

[@phildurrant2422]

what I love is the connection between Anne and Noelle as she was called at ATV. good memories

[@garrysimpson1395]

The wonderful thing about Television and film. We can hear voices from people long gone. A.T.V. treated her very badly indeed!

[@Voxac100b]

The fans loved her, as can be seen at her funeral service on the ITN archive. Larry Grayson spoke very highly of her.

[@boondoggle6]

a genuine star and a woman who will live forever in our hearts.

[@annodam]

One of the ultimate iconic women of British soaps. I'm sure had she lived she'd have become Dame Nolly.

[@Tiggzg]

I still can't believe how beautiful she is when she turns round to look at her daughter, gawd she was amazing!!!!!!!11

[@jamescoupland3137]

a wonderful lady nobody like noel gordon was crossroads

[@jamescoupland3137]

that scene when turns round oh my god the memories

[@campgalore]

Fabulous!! Thank you so much for posting that interview!!!

[@Tiggzg]

I was just reading about you earlier tonight. How wonderful for you to have known Noele she was so fond of you, you obviously had a wonderful friendship. I'm very jealous :)

[@dametrot]

wonderful!!! thank you for posting this! great fun

[@winstonbrown1516]

Why was this wonderful Woman forgotten?

[@salfordiandy4987]

It’s amazing how television series and their stars find a way in to people’s hearts forever.

[@nwlman]

Shame they sacked her, even now she is the first person you think of when they mention Crossroads

[@robjack2804]

Ah fabulous Crossroads; always a fountain for glamour and romance! Simpler time.

[@Cire6609]

What a legend What a woman Absolute Class

[@matthewdavies4323]

It killed off dear old Nolly being sacked from Crossroads. Was dead two years after this in 1985 aged just 65 no age at all. She buried in a lovely little churchyard in Ross-on-Wye if you want to leave some flowers

[@elisabethj.v.beardsell9853]

In my youth, I used to be hooked on X roads the scenery was shaky making the programme so good!! David hunter was my idol, now I have grown up 😂

[@radiance65]

I had such a crush on David Hunter 🤣🤣🤣

[@elisabethj.v.beardsell9853]

@@radiance65 me also.i always hoped he would court Diane!!!

[@alwaysright429]

So hooked, you didn't even know how to spell it 🙄

[@elisabethj.v.beardsell9853]

@@alwaysright429 very funny😀

[@rockineddie100]

great lady i stll have her autograph ,got it in the 70`s were my wife use to work at Gino`s Resturant and the cast use to the place after filming

[@thecomputingchronicles]

Noel Gordon seems to be defined by those years on Crossroads yet she was one of a handful of people along with Ned Sherrin and Reg Watson (Neighbours) who set up the Midlands ATV franchise from 1956, broadcasting from the Alpha TV studios here in Birmingham, in Aston. Noel and the others set up this franchise from scratch and Noel was creating shows like "Lunchbox" and presenting them. My mom worked with Noel, Ned and Reg from 1956 up the point she switched to Crossroads and they were good friends. We had a few gifts around the house that Nolly gave to her over the years.

[@williamf4544]

I seem to remember that she could fly a plane

[@thecomputingchronicles]

@@williamf4544 Yeah mom worked with Noel and Reg Watson on that ATV series where she learned to fly. I think she did it over Warwick way.

[@mikehudson8884]

Noele Gordon forever. Crossroads truly ended in 1981 when they sacked Noele Gorden, everything after that was rubbish.

[@jazmorrison9030]

Did you see reboot years and years ago when reboot series end with a dream of the staff working in a supermarket

[@soapstacey]

Gald you liked found it when I was going through my old VHS's

[@CC-uc4gq]

Thank you so much. Brings back my childhood. We weren't allowed to speak when Crossroads was on !

[@asa1973100]

Sacking Meg was DEATH For Crossroads. ATV lost its advertising clients due to this and the viewing to the show more then halved. Meg was crossroads and it was nothing without her , unfortunately all the cast learned the hard way that they would get the chop too

[@zeddeka]

It was already in terminal decline. It had become a real joke, and sacking her was an attempt to give it a fresh start. Nothing could save the show though - the whole premise of the show was very dated

[@asa1973100]

But the views still came in by the millions for Meg

[@rtc9063]

@@zeddeka I don’t think it was to give it a fresh start but the hope was to kill it off after they sacked her.

[@jamescoupland3137]

yes total madness never be forgotten noel gordon amazing lady

[@1968KWT]

RIP Noele Gordon (died #otd in 1985) 🌹🌹🌹

[@gardenroom65]

Great show in my childhood.

[@paulbuxton1326]

Wonderful 🇬🇧🙏

[@busty6984]

crossroads went downhill after Noelle was fired they shouldn't have sacked her in the first place.

[@DeepScreenAnalysis]

It was such a shock. Imagine if Corrie had sacked Julie Goodyear? These people WERE their shows.

[@jazmorrison9030]

@@DeepScreenAnalysis Julie was sacked

[@Yournicked]

@@jazmorrison9030 pmsl

[@I7275-p2d]

If further downhill was possible. Perhaps it went down a coal mine.

[@mickgordon5151]

2 years after the interview she died. R.I.P

[@CC-uc4gq]

I think the sacking basically killed her. That show was her life.

[@iliketowatchvideos47]

​@@CC-uc4gq think it was more to do with chain smoking and alcohol

[@Burnardcheasesaw]

Old school playing her part right to the end

[@IntimateCabaret]

Loved Crossroads in the 70s. Saw Nolly's grave recently while on holiday in Ross On Wye. It's in the churchyard there, always well tended.

[@WallyPyneoil]

Darling Meg! Mind you, I still loved it after she left. Got hooked on Valerie Pollard, Mr Paul, and Nicola Freeman. Very cheesed off when they axed it in '88.

[@markdavies5933]

Yes I agree loved 82 to early 85 before Philip Bowman took over 1983 has some my favourite episodes with Kaths Depression featuring after Arthur had died also Sharon's affair with Oliver Banks The Pollards storylines Jill and Adams Wedding in Autumn 83

[@zizinia11]

FAB!

[@davidsimons5944]

Despite some negative comments I've heard before about wobbly sets & forgotten lines this was the only soap I ever liked enough so that I bought a couple of the series on dvd.

[@paulsimpson1697]

Memories

[@robertcomer2767]

It was a disgrace that ATV did this to her as did Thames to Benny Hill. You'd never have seen Granada do this to Doris Speed or Julie Goodyear. I guess deep down the plan was the viewers would desert it and they could finally dump it. Although it did take then a further 7 years to achieve that.

[@princelee7884]

Crossroads ❤wasn’t the same when she left XX 💋

[@tsg50647]

Love Nolly ❤️

[@SparkyStevens1967]

The nemories of Crossroads, wonderful Meg, Mac the mechanic, Jane, Miss Luke, Shughie, Victor Lee, gormless but loveable Benny Hawkins, Jack Woolgar as Carney, Miss Diane, suavey pants David Hunter, the Brownlows, Jim Baines and his nervous wife Mavis.😀

[@radiance65]

Jim Baines 🤣🤣🤣 I'd forgotten about him

[@Doritbardola]

Oh my goodness I can’t believe this is so old, Anne Diamond so young, Nolly reminds me of Elizabeth Taylor…I was hear 9/10/2024 ❤ enjoy!

[@petejones879]

I so used to fancy jill.. Jane Rossington when I was a kid

[@carolineg1872]

Always remember Victoria Wood taking this off slightly with the Acorn Antiques and Mrs Overall. Julie Walters basing her characters sacking....

[@TomRipley7350]

“Does a faithful dog expect to be kicked? That show was my life.”

[@roddersfiftynine]

Ann was phoaaar for sure !

[@agnesbutterbun]

Thank you tiggzg, I believe the sacking caused her stomach cancer. When I visited England I always saw her at her house in Birmingham. She was quite lonely after "Jockey" her mother died, that was he nickname for her. I styled her hair and make-up and we were close confidants. She told me I was like a mother to her and vica versa, we were both Capricorns so understood each other very well.

[@tr71970]

where she live in ? birmingham but where?

[@zeddeka]

I think her chain smoking was more likely to be the cause of her cancer.

[@agnesbutterbun]

@@zeddeka Noelle was not a chain smoker.

[@williamf4544]

Yes i think that too - its well known that a tramatic event can trigger cancer

[@eightiesmusic1984]

vice versa.

[@seventiesmusicisbest]

ATV lost their franchise in 1981 but its lovely how Noele clearly knew Anne from their ATV days almost like they were old friends.reunited.

[@StephenLyons-tl8ie]

That clip was hilarious!!

[@iliketowatchvideos47]

Whos watching after seeing nolly on itv x ,March 2023

[@colinwhitehouse7547]

How beautiful was Anne Diamond

[@jacksugden8190]

From researching on Wikipedia; she was the only member of the cast who had a permanent contract of employment, she had no contract with Central who took over the show, making her arrangement with Lew Grade of ATV void, so ATV didn’t sack Gordon - Central did. I understand that Central were obliged to carry on the series; wanting to end it, so sacking Gordon was taken in the hope that viewers would ditch it. Wikipedia also pointed out that: Head of Programmes Charles Denton and Head Of Drama Margaret Matheson wanted to end the soap opera in favour of more expensive and lavish drama production WHAT WERE THE OTHER PRODUCTIONS?.

[@robertcomer2767]

They'd have been better ending it completely when ATV ended on 31 December 1981. It was never the same, the sets, the new people they brought in never came close

[@stickytapenrust6869]

Technically it was the ACC that sacked her, as they owned both ATV and Central.

[@52hermitage]

Good stuff

[@soapstacey]

Its Fab isnt it The Ture Queen of TV and ITV

[@Skidoo22]

wow tvam with that little clock at the bottom right.

[@Mackeson3]

Yes indeed some sad people thought it was real. Noelle said in another interview that she used to get letters from people saying that they were thinking of running a motel/hotel/restaurant/cafe and could she give them some advice ? (She said by her own admission she knew nothing about the subject and why would she?) Yeah right, don't even think running a business it if you can't distinguish between fact and fiction . It's rather like "One Foot in The Grave, " when the Victor Meldrew character got killed of people actually sent flowers and sympathy to the BBC. The daftest one l heard though was from Christopher Timothy, the star of "All Creatures Great and Small" his agent on more than one occasion slammed the phone on people with the words "He's not a vet he's a bloody actor!" (Could Mr. Herriot come and see their sick dog?Did they expect him to turn up in an Austin 7 too? ) 🤦

[@lotuspoint]

Great to see this clip,, thank you for uploading it,, is it me but is Noele starting to look unwell in this clip?

[@petejones879]

Meg Mortimer nah she will always be Meg Richardson to me lol.. I remember when on crossroads she married Hugh Mortimer but nah she's Meg Richardson

[@lillianflorence6056]

She was crossroads

[@martindoyle2150]

Good old East Ham girl.

[@alansimpson7886]

For a mo,l thought Adam Chance wuz having a slash 😂😂

[@56postoffice]

The way the TV execs treated Nolly was disgusting. It's how they got rid of Benny Hill, hastening his death.

[@iliketowatchvideos47]

Benny Hill was revolting and not funny though

[@SpeccyMan]

@@iliketowatchvideos47 Don't allow your opinion to be confused with fact. You clearly know nothing about the man.

[@bucksby]

Great clip! Anne Diamond's jumper is definately a contender for fashion disaster of 1983.

[@SpeccyMan]

No less a disaster than your misspelling of definitely.

[@bucksby]

@@SpeccyMan DEFIN DEFINITELY a bit cheeky there!

[@jazmorrison9030]

Cross rds went down Hill when Meg was sacked

[@LordMazzello]

The curse of Crossroads - it subsequently ruined the career of every actor who starred in it.

[@annoldham3018]

Oh do call me Nolly!☺️ and who was the tic tac man?🤔

[@Tiggzg]

Does anyone know when this was taped I know it's 1983 but what month?

[@PaulKinnear]

Sept or october i think

[@Tiggzg]

@@PaulKinnear Thanks Paul.

[@creolelady182]

I was viewing the PBS Special starring Helena Bonham Carter and if she depicted the way the real Nollie is, on can understand why no man wanted to marry her because she bucks up to men

[@interested-q4d]

Francesca Gonshaw played a role in Crossroads.Her boyfriend in the drama was south african and wouldn't marry her because she was mixed race.Unusual for a programme to be politically correct.

[@10beanz]

Little known facts about Noddy: She told Larry once, to 'shut that door' after he left it a bit open, and that's how the catchphrase came about. She also said, after leaving C'Rds 'now... I'm free' again creating a new catchphrase. Then, to Bruce Fordyke she said, hey Brucie, 'come on down' and guess the cost of this ironing board (Bruce was upstairs using the loo at the time) - creating not just a catchphrase but also a game show. He left a floater, and she said to Brucie 'Didn't he do well' again a new catchphrase. She doesn't get the right credit for all these things, she should do.

[@euronick61]

October

[@Tiggzg]

Do we know the date of this show?

[@PaulKinnear]

Tiggzg october 83

[@pmcg97]

No wonder they laughing 😂😂

[@jazmorrison9030]

Sad because it was cross rds that sacked her was there fault her death in real life

[@brain8484]

crossroads was a working class eastenders

[@patrickhicks9880]

she is buried in ross on wye with her mother

[@katherine500]

Was this before Anne Diamond jumped into her bosses bed?

[@glamdolly30]

How do you think Miss Piggy got the job? Face for radio and the journalistic savvy of a lobotomised slug!

[@davidlewis1787]

glamdolly20 I am sure you are beautiful and talented

[@thunderc45]

Adam Chance, David Hunter, Shughie McFee. God they came up with some absurd names. I wonder if any of them identified Crossroads on their cv's

[@kevinlongman007]

I bet they did considering the fact 'Crossroads' was one of the most popular shows on ITV in its heyday.

[@PaulKinnear]

What is absurd about David Hunter - i have a distant relative with that name. And Shughie is Scottish for Hugh

[@dennisrackett3139]

@@PaulKinnear David Hunter is a powerful name, Adam Chance sounds like a lounge lizard out to shag everything and Shughie McFee couldn't be more jock if you tried. .... Why not Norman Wince, Maurice Snettletwaite and Cedric Smallpiece? Far more credible!

[@GarethColquhoun]

Quite normal examples that shot your premise full of holes.

[@lillianflorence6056]

Remakes were rubbish, and last one on over a year, ,then they said it was all a dream,

[@Привет-и4о2й]

Она похожа на Аннет Бенинг

[@peterhagan8454]

i always thought nick was a creepy man, when i was a kid

[@williamf4544]

Who knows maybe he was - nothing would suprise me

[@marclaw4511]

Noels ego had its own wardrobe.

[@annmacleod1099]

Not if you don't know why you get sacked Crap

[@rayhope8900]

Used to see her swan round the Grovesnor hotel in the 70s with her royal party…Sally Cotton etc. what a dreary lot of supercilious drama queens they all were. crossroads really was hammy to say the least. Nolly was wooden and only had 3 expressions. We used to sit and watch it with a crate of strong lager… it became funnier after 5 pints. Ridiculous story lines with all the panache of a provincial pantomime. It’s only real claim to fame was it inspired the wonderful Acorn Antiques.

[@SpeccyMan]

I hear Andrews liver salts are good for bile. You should try some.

[@jennifercurtis6071]

What a cardboard show. Stiff and old fashioned ' luvies'

[@robertjarman4261]

A lesbian.