ATV's budget for the show was so slender that some castmembers were seen on-screen in their own clothes that they'd worn to attend the studio recordings.
A consequence of the ongoing storyline of Sandy Richardson - who became a paraplegic after a car crash in August 1972 (a plot developed with input from Stoke Mandeville's spinal injuries unit) - and one the following June exploring the daily practicalities of helping the disabled, in May 1974 the series helped form the genuine Crossroads charity. Echoing a fictional idea of Meg Richardson's, ATV donated £10,000 to fund the pilot scheme in Rugby, and the organisation, providing support for carers, remains an active UK service today under the name Crossroads Together.
Jill Harvey had an eleven-month pregnancy: Jane Rossington became pregnant in real-life, which was quickly written in to the show. Sadly she miscarried, but consented to be "padded up" so that her character's pregnancy could continue, as viewer feedback to Jill's news had been so positive. She then became pregnant again, and finally gave birth nearly a year after her character announced on-screen that she was expecting a baby.
Crossroads returned to the London area on January 3, 1969, after being off the air since summer 1968. Thames TV, who were the new London contractors, initially refused to purchase the program, but gave in under viewer's protest and pressure. On its return, Noele Gordon explained the storylines to Thames' viewers, but the region still remained several months behind most parts of the UK. Only North West's Granada region were further behind (by around twelve to eighteen months), having taken up the series in 1972 alongside Tyne Tees, who went with ATV's current editions. The regional variations were brought into line, barring time-slot differences, in time for for the wedding of Meg Richardson and Hugh Mortimer on on Thursday April 3, 1975 . Thames TV in London jumped forward 6 months on 1st April 1975 as Gordon and other major characters spoke directly to the camera from Meg's sitting room to provide a special plot round-up for those who would be skipping half a year of episodes to catch up. Six months of storylines were summarised in under 10 minutes, with London viewers catapulted to part 2 of the episode then being transmitted in the rest of the UK.
The show had no film unit for location shooting, because the budget didn't allow for it, so everything was in the studio full of interlocking sets. None of them were very lavish, and the budget didn't run to edits, so it was recorded on tape, and scenes were shot in extended takes, meaning gaffes wound up on the air. The worst that could happen is drying up in a scene and a continuity girl with the script fed an actor or actress the lines, because it showed in the finished episode (something that would never be tolerated now). On the show, cast, crew, and writers were locked into it because of time constraints, and a delay could ruin everything. Staff directors would come on in rotation, but didn't allow for creativity, and plotlines became increasingly madder.