Noele Gordon - Meg Mortimer in Crossroads

Few, if any, soaps have been so heavily identified with just one actor as Crossroads was with Noele Gordon. There are many who say the show never recovered after her outrageous sacking from the programme that she had championed for 17 years. But just who was the woman behind the character of Meg Mortimer?

Who was she?

Noele Gordon was born on Christmas Day (hence her first name!) in 1923, in East Ham in London.

What did she do before Crossroads?

Noele was a remarkable woman, who led a remarkable life. At 15, she went to RADA and then onto roles on the West End stage in London. In 1938, she was the first woman in the world to be seen on colour television. Nine years later she got the role of Meg in Brigadoon and went on to do nearly 1000 performances of the theatre musical.

Her agent was the legendary Lew Grade, who suggested she went to the US to study commercial television, which had yet to be launched in the UK. Noele studied at New York University and on her return to England was a founding member of ATV in the Midlands.

She had her own television chat shows, Tea with Noele Gordon and Lunch Box and during this time she got a pilot's licence and was the first woman to interview a British Prime Minister (Harold Macmillan).

How did she get involved in Crossroads?

In 1964, Noele was persuaded to dye her naturally black hair its trademark red and start work on Britain's first daily soap opera, also produced by ATV, as the widow Meg Richardson in Crossroads.

Was she popular?

It's hard to imagine there will ever be another soap actor as consistently popular as Noele Gordon was in her heyday, nor a character as loved as Meg Mortimer. She won "Most Popular Female" in the TV Times Awards eight times, as well as winning other "Best Dressed" and "Best Actress" awards. She also had a rose named after her.

Why did she leave?

In 1981 Noele's agent learned from ATV's Controller of Programming that "All good things come to an end" and that Noele's contract for the following year would not be renewed. This came as a great shock to the actress, and subsequently to her cast mates and viewing public. It is said that her sacking from the show was part of a deliberate attempt to undermine the programme and hasten its removal from the TV schedules. As it was, the Crossroads Motel continued to stay in business, under various other owners, until 1988.

What did she do after Crossroads?

After Crossroads Noele starred in the musical Gypsy at the Haymarket Theatre in Leceister, and recorded an album of songs. She returned to the soap a few year later for some specially filmed scenes in Venice, where the characters of Adam and Jill were taking their honeymoon. New producer Philip Bowman had recognised how essential Meg, and Noele Gordon, were to Crossroads and he asked her to come back to the show. Noele agreed but sadly died of cancer shortly afterwards, so after Venice viewers were never to see Meg again.