Every suit the smooth David Hunter wears has set Ronnie Allen back £300.  "I've been subsidising the show ever since I took on the part," he said.  "A man like Hunter would be very conscious of his clothes - £6 a week would hardly keep him in socks.

 

"I wanted the part to work, so for 14 years I've invested my own money in his clothes.  I won an award as Britain's best-dressed man - I'd never have done that on £6 a week."

 

But away from the Crossroads motel Ronnie would not be seen dead in David Hunter's clothes.  "David's dress sense is a bit square," he said.  "I prefer much more casual clothes."

 

Sue Lloyd, who also averages £700 a week playing the stylish Barbara, said:  "I get the same clothing allowance as anyone else in the series.  Some of the girls who are playing waitresses, can get away with cheap fashions, but I'm expected to look like a rich man's wife.

 

"It became a real challenge for me to dress cheaply.  I beg, borrow and steal clothes from my friends."

 

Ronnie and Sue know that they earn peanuts compared to Dynasty and Dallas stars like Joan Collins and Larry Hagman.  Ronnie said:  "Nobody has ever got rich through Crossroads.  Central TV are notoriously bad payers.  It is only over the last two years that it has become a reasonable salary for the work we put in, and the popularity of the programme.

 

"But we've never complained about the money, because the security of the job was a big plus.  Now they've even kicked that from under us."