" CROSSROADS" 1985 & 1986

From 3rd April 1985 and 3rd October 1985, I had only been in one Training Film for Kodak, "Marjorie & Men" for Anglia TV, my first "Crossroads" on 11th July and "Lovejoy" on 13th August and 24th September for BBC.
 I arrived at the ATV studios in Broad Street Birmingham on 3rd October 1985 for my second appearance in "Crossroads". Birmingham was a lot different in those days than it is today. I parked my car in the multi storey car park situated on the bottom left-hand side of Bridge Street. Walking back up towards Broad Street, on my left had side was the James Brindley public house and on the top left hand side of the road was another public house. The right hand side of Bridge Street housed the Central Television Studios which were surrounded by spear railings that were painted in the yellow ,red and orange colours of  the ITV Studios.
Today the James Brindley public house has been refurbished and the area behind it, which was originally the Gas Street Basin, has been developed into Brindley Place, which now stretches from the Mail Box to the Indoor Arena. The area between it also houses the Symphony Hall and the Indoor Conference Centre.
The public houseat the top left hand corner of Bridge Street and New Street and the building below it leading to the James Brindley pub have since been demolished and the tall Hyatt Hotel now stands dominantly over that area opposite exterior of the Indoor Conference Centre Complex housing the Symphony Hall with the Repertory Theatre standing on the other side of a plaza re-created from a former parkland which existed in that place in the 1980's.
By 1985, he main characters had changed from the original cast and when I began to be involved Noel Gordon, who had played Meg Richardson, the owner of the Crossroads Motel, had been replaced by Gabriella Drake but Susan Hanson was still playing Miss Dianne, Paul Henry as Benny and Tony Adams as Adam Chance.
By 3rd October 1986, exactly on year later, I had only been involved in 4 more days of filming.
My first "Boon" was on 8th January 1985 followed by my 3rd "Crossroads" on 25th April 1986, " Forgotten Dreams" with Paul Freeman and Judy Lowe, filmed at Sutton Park on 30th June 1986 and , up to this date, my 4th Crossroads on 3rd October 1986.
These  early days were invaluable in gaining experience of working on Television programmes, I was still performing as a Cabaret Artiste travelling throughout the Country as a Singer/Comedian/Impressionist, plus  I had also become a professional Toastmaster in 1980.