No-one is allowed to forget that Crossroads is essentially a programme for all the family. So the challenge
for actor and writer is always to establish strong situations without causing needless offence.
Reg Watson, former radio actor in Brisbane, had no previous experience of a daily television serial. But neither
had anyone else in Britain.
He had one small advantage, though: he'd seen one done in the United States - and taken that as an awful warning
of how not to do it ...
Today Reg's philosophy is simple: "Crossroads is entertainment. There's a time and a place
for a show of this sort.
"It's not intended to be motivated by profound purpose or social message, though naturally if we can do some good as
we entertain, so much the better."
Crossroads has its harsh critics. But then it always hd. Reg is content to say they are entitled
to their opinions.
He recalls the wry words of ATV's first Midlands Controller, the later Philip Dorte: "Critics are too high-minded
to like it very much. Only the viewers love it - in millions."
For Reg Watson there is a lesson in that.
