एपिसोड #1.1

Noel Gordon, aka Nolly was adored by millions, The Queen of Crossroads, until it was decided that she'd served her purpose.

I really enjoyed it, it's been sat in my recordings for a long old time, I just didn't fancy it, as I'm far from a Crossroads fan. One thing I am a fan of however, Acorn Antiques, and wow, you can truly see where that came from, from the wobbly sets, to the improvisation, to the leading lady demanding at every opportunity.

Loved Molly's apartment, the kingfisher, the opera wine glasses, very much of that time.

It's a very brief rise to fame, we see virtually nothing or how Noele rose to fame, it's straight into the role that made her.

Helena Bonham Carter is just a joy as Nolly, she's so good, it's got me desperate to check out some early episodes of Crossroads.

I can't help it, but I'm seeing Miss Bertha, Miss Babs and Mrs Overall.

8/10.

Well ITV just look chuffed they've got Russell T Davies writing for them and Helena Bonham-Carter acting for them, don't they? Add into the fact this is debuting on their newly beloved ITVX and they're all giddy before it becomes clear whether people think this is actually any good or not.

And it turns out this is actually fine. It's good, well-written (mostly) and performed (mostly) drama, though whether a modern audience gives a flying fig about Noele Gordon or indeed 'Crossroads' is another matter.

Bonham-Carter carries things from start to finish, none of the other performances really stood out, and it'll be interesting to see how they milk this for two more episodes/hours.

It was though a good piece of drama, and certainly interesting.

Nolly promises to lift the real reasons why actress Noele Gordon (Helena Bonham-Carter) was sacked from Crossroads in the early 1980s.

The modern audience shrugs and wonders what is Crossroads and who is Noele Gordon?

Known as Nolly to her friends, who drove around in a willow gold Rolls Royce. (That fact would not be gleaned from this drama, I remember it from a newspaper interview that Noele Gordon gave.) She was a formidable television personality in the midlands region in the 1960s.

She was to star in the soap opera Crossroads which although popular, became a byword for being amateurish. The recreation of Crossroads in this drama was more Acorn Antiques.

Written by Russell T Davies, who had a big critical hit in 2021 with his Channel 4 drama, It's A Sin. I was left underwhelmed by the first episode. It was too all over the place.

It seemed uncertain as to what it wanted to be. ATV, the makers of Crossroads were going to lose their ITV franchise. The soap had its episode count reduced.

Noele Gordon was getting and looking older. New television executives wanted to pump new blood. To them Nolly was a primadonna. Too much trouble.