The life and times of a true soap diva and legend are being brought firmly back into the spotlight by new ITV drama Nolly, which makes its debut this week.
You have have seen the preview adverts over the last few weeks, as there have been an awful lot of them, but on Thursday, it will be time for viewers to get their first look of Helena Bonham Carter in another iconic role, as stars of Crossroads and one of the most famous faces on British TV in the 1960s an 70s, Noele 'Nolly' Gordon.
The leading lady of the now defunct soap, Noele, who won the TV Times award for Best Actress eight times, was a real darling of the TV industry and, seemingly at the top of her game, when she was dealt the huge bombshell that was being given the chop, in a move that she and fans of the show definitely didn't see coming.
Noele's shock dismissal arrived when ATV was in the process of being re-constituted into a new company, Central Independent Television. It was thought that Central would continue with Crossroads but it was reported that the broadcaster's Head of Programmes Charles Denton and Head of Drama Margaret Matheson wanted to get rid of it to concentrate on more expensive and lavish drama productions, with it being claimed that they axed Noele so Crossroads fans would start to desert the show.
What happened to Noele Gordon?
After being given the boot from Crossroads, but went onto star on stage in Gypsy, Call Me Madam and The Boyfriend, but it became known in 1982 that she had stomach cancer, having to undergo two major operations as part of her treatment.
As it happened, Noele ended up returning for few episodes in 1983 and, after Central revamped Crossroads as Crossroads Motel in 1985, the plan was to bring her back on an occasional basis, starting with a three month stint. However, Noele was too ill for this to happen.
Noele passed away at home in Birmingham on April 14, 1985 at the age of 65. She never married.
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