If Meg Richardson is the undisputed Queen of Crossroads, then her partner, debonair David Hunter, must be her faithful
Prime Minister. Ever efficient, the eternally elegant Mr. Hunter makes sure that come what may, the Motel is kept running
smoothly. Actor Ronnie Allen, who has played David Hunter ever since he arrived at the Motel more than five years ago,
has helped create a character beloved by everyone who enjoys Crossroads.
As everyone will remember, David Hunter arrived at the Crossroads Motel at a time of crisis in his life. Coming
as he did from a family of hoteliers, it was natural that he should run a hotel of his own. But being David Hunter,
and just as dedicated to his own hotel in Bermuda as he is today to Crossroads, he put perhaps a little too much work into
the business; and not enough, it turned out, into his marriage. His wife started an affair with his partner and things
indeed looked black.
Explains Ronnie Allen: "He sold up his share in the Bermuda hotel and came back to England hoping that would bring
the marriage back together again. And at the time there were a whole lot of shares going in the Motel so he bought a
block and started co-directing Crossroads with Meg Richardson." Unfortunately even this attempt to set things on an
even keel didn't save his marriage. Things went from bad to worse and in the end David Hunter was divorced. "Ever
since then, Crossroads has served as his home and as a sort of surrogate family."
For Ronnie Allen himself, joining the Crossroads team was far less of a traumatic experience. A veteran
of stage and screen both in the UK and America, he had already become well known to many TV viewers through his role in Compact,
a series also written by the creators of Crossroads, Hazel Adair and Peter Ling.
"I've been acting for about twenty-nine years. I started off in the classic way that actors of my age started off:
You go to drama school, which in my case was RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art). You then spend six months in
a good weekly repertory company - I was in Salisbury - and then you go to do Shakespeare at the Old Vic. Then along
come some film parts which are very difficult to refuse, you know."
But Hollywood, where Ronnie was offered a three-year contract by 20th Century Fox films, didn't turn out to be what he
really wanted from his career and after making three films he managed to come home to England. "Theatre has always been
my first love, though I'd be scared stiff to go back now. I'd need a lot of training to get all the basic equipment
going again."
