Episodes of Crossroads lost for more than 50 years have been discovered in a vault.
And experts say the footage shows the soap’s reputation for wobbly sets and hammy acting is unfair.
Crossroads ran for 24 years from 1964 and at its peak had 15 million viewers. Its stars included Noele Gordon, Ronald Allen, Susan Hanson and Sue Nicholls, who plays Coronation Street’s Audrey Roberts.
Some of the newly discovered action shows Nicholls’ character, waitress Marilyn Gates, chasing a drug smuggler to France by
Some of the newly discovered action shows Nicholls’ character, waitress Marilyn Gates, chasing a drug smuggler to France by plane.
Other plots are set in and around Crossroads Motel and also follow the staff as they travel to Tunisia for a holiday while the building is repaired after it was blown up by a Second World War bomb.
The tapes were found among 32 cans in an ITV vault in Leeds earlier this year by Kaleidoscope, an organisation that specialises in locating missing TV film.
Soap expert John Drury said: “This footage shows the ambition of the producers to produce an entertaining and engaging programme that still stands up well against the soaps of today.”
The scenes will be shown for the first time in half a century this weekend at an event in Birmingham.
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in DTS: Cancelled Soaps
Posted · Edited by victoria foxton
Here's a rare brief glimpse of Linda Dano as Cynthia starting at 0.10.