Noele Gordon did not fall from grace. She was pushed. One of the biggest television stars of her day courtesy of her role as Meg Mortimer in ITV soap opera Crossroads, Gordon was sacked, unceremoniously, in 1981.
The news sent shockwaves around the country. In the immediate wake of Dallas’s ‘who shot JR?’ storyline, big soap stories were big news, and Gordon’s sudden departure from a show enjoyed three times a week by 15 million fans made the front pages of all the newspapers.
For 17 years Gordon had been the beating heart of ITV’s low-budget soap, set in a Midlands motel. Her sacking broke her heart. She was never given a reason by her bosses. Nolly, as she was affectionately known, became ill the following year, died in 1985, and her name has gradually faded from the public consciousness.
But Russell T Davies remembers. Now, with the help of Helena Bonham Carter in the lead role and director Peter Hoar behind. And he couldn’t be prouder.
