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Article from November 1984
- The sole survivor from the first episode of Crossroads is Jill Chance (nee Richardson) played by Jane Rossington who,
on November 2, 1964 spoke the opening words: "Good afternoon, Crossroads Motel. Can I help you?"
- Work had started on excavating the foundations for a new wing of the motel in 1967 when a dumper truck went over a wartime
bomb. Nobody was injured, but the kitchen was wrecked and other areas badly damaged, and were rebuilt with major improvements.
- Meg Richardson (Noele Gordon) fell for the smooth charm of Malcolm Ryder after being jilted by Hugh Mortimer (John Bentley),
and married him in 1968. Ryder, a compulsive gambler and heavily in debt, insured Meg's life and tried to poison her.
On being discovered he fled to South America, and was reported to have died in an accident.
- Meg was jailed in 1969 following a road accident one foggy night. She swerved to avoid a cat and knocked a man off
his motorbike. Police discovered she'd had one drink before setting out, and that her car had a defective tyre,
and it was suggested in court that she was driving too fast. She was given a one-month sentence, and released after
three weeks with remission.
- When Meg's daughter Jill fell for former motel manager John Crane she didn't know he had a wife. He married her
bigamously in 1970, and she was expecting his child when he disappeared. The shock brought on a miscarriage, and she
contemplated suicide. But her family and friends rallied round and saved her.
- After a three year on-off romance, Diane Hunter (Susan Hanson) - then Diane Lawton - and cheerful village postman Vince
Parker married in 1971. Vince genuinely cared for Diane's illegitimate son by pop star Frank Adam, and the couple were
happy until Frank turned up and claimed custody of the baby. The battle soured the marriage. Vince walked out
and Frank kidnapped Nicholas and took him to America.
- Jill seemed to have found lasting happiness when in 1971 she married down-to-earth Stan Harvey, who ran an electrical
shop in King's Oak. They moved into a cottage by the canal and had a daughter, Sarah-Jane. But things began to
go wrong when Stan linked up with a man who had business connections in Germany and the couple rowed over the amount of time
he was spending there. While he was away Jill had an affair with Hugh Mortimer's son Anthony, and became pregnant.
She and Stan tried to save their marriage, and Jill joined him in Germany. But things didn't work out and they broke
up. Stan won a bitter battle for custody of Sarah-Jane, and Jill's heartbreak was doubled when Anthony took their son
to New York. She sought an escape in a one-night stand with a television engineer, and came close to suicide.
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