Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by Peter Hoar
Nolly (to the press): "I am shattered and devastated. I have been brutally axed and my heart is utterly broken."
Like many people, I do tend to watch soaps and while Crossroads was something I was familiar with, it wasn't something I ever really watched. I know it had something of a brief revival in the early 2000s but essentially, it's heyday was it's original run and part of that was down to the show's focus on a particular character.
The character in question being motel owner, Meg Mortimer, as played by the rather indomitable Noelle Gordon (Helena Bonham Carter) or Nolly to all her friends. This three part series from Russell T. Davies opened with a young Noelle getting her first big break before jumping quite a few decades into Noelle's career as queen of daytime television. With Crossroads, Nolly was on top of the world, only for the whim of reckless men to make it all coming crashing down on her.
The men in question being ATV executive Charles Denton (Tim Wallers) and director Jack Barton (Con O'Neill) who not only fired Nolly from her own show but even teased the idea of killing her character off before relenting with a departure that would eventually allow them to bring her back for a temporary gig when the ratings for the show began to slide. Needless to say, along with Nolly's own devastation of losing her own job, there was also something of a public outcry with her sacking to boot.
In these three episodes, Nolly's downfall was explored rather well. Acknowledging her limitations as an actor and the stigma attached to soap opera, it's no wonder that comforting words from people like Larry Grayson (Mark Gatiss) or Nolly's former co-star and best friend, Tony Adams (Augustus Prew) couldn't quite get her out of her initial funk. Nolly's relationship in particular with Tony was a highlight of this miniseries with him being a genuine ally to her when it mattered the most, even down to a beautiful scene where Tony gave Nolly some tough love as she tried to make the transition into theatre.
There are two scenes in this miniseries that really stood out the most. The first would be in the second episode when on a bus with Tony and some soap fans, Nolly gave a rather dismissive male passenger a dressing down over his disdain of soap. Given Russell T. Davies own background in soaps, there was a part of me that wouldn't be surprised if that was some of his own views on the genre coming across through Nolly's dressing down but it's a gorgeously written scene.
The best scene though in the entire miniseries would be Nolly talking to her Gypsy co-stars and director about an affair she had with a married producer and sharing the man with his wife, something which seemed to almost endear her to her young co-stars while a trip to Bangkok had her learn the real reason behind her sacking.
The confrontation Nolly had with Jack was sublime, leading to her return to her most infamous role as the series then ended on a poignant note with the conclusion of her death from stomach cancer. In the space of these three episodes, it's not difficult how we saw the impact that Nolly had on those around her and the legacy she had left behind.
- There are some Doctor Who connections here. Notably, Russell T. Davies, Mark Gatiss, director Peter Hoar as well characters such as Tony Adams and Nolly's agent, Michael Summerton (Max Brown) all appeared in the classic series. Freema Agyeman prior to appearing in Doctor Who also appeared in the revival of Crossroads.
- Tony's boat story sounded outrageous that I'm not surprised that many didn't believe him. I was surprised to learn he was straight but I loved his rapport with Nolly throughout the series.
- I'm sure there were moments when some archive footage of Nolly, especially at an awards ceremony popped up here.
- Chronology: It started in 1938, took in most of 1981 before ending with Nolly's death in 1985.
Nolly is another triumph for Russell T. Davies with an absolute star performance from Helena Bonham Carter along with exceptional performances from Augustus Prew, Mark Gatiss and Con O'Neill to boot. It's a fantastic miniseries, doing justice to Noelle Gordon's story and further demonstrating why Russell T. Davies remains one of the best writers on British television.
Rating: 9 out of 10
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