Nolly

Russell T Davies has assembled a stellar cast for ITVX original drama series Nolly, which includes Helena Bonham Carter in the lead role of Noele Gordon.

What else has Bethany Antonia been in? What else has Tim Wallers been in? What else has Richard Lintern been in? He has recently gained international attention with roles in pirate comedy [Our Flag Means Death](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/comedy/our-flag-means-death-uk-release-date/) and DC Comics blockbuster [The Batman](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/batman-2-release-date-news/). Since then, he has appeared in hard-hitting series Stephen and Netflix prequel [Young Wallander](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/young-wallander-review-netflix/). 9](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/comedy/inside-no-9-season-8-cast-revealed-newsupdate/). Her earlier projects include BritBox's [The Ipcress File](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/the-ipcress-file-review/), The Spanish Princess and The Trial of Christine Keeler. The comedian also had a presenting role on Sky's Soccer AM, which helped set up a recurring role on Apple TV+ football sitcom [Ted Lasso](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/comedy/ted-lasso-season-3-release-date/). He is also known for collaborating with Steven Moffat on BBC dramas Sherlock and [Dracula](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/fantasy/dracula-season-2-release-date/). He previously worked with Russell T Davies on [Doctor Who](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-60th-anniversary-special-release-date/), writing and starring in several episodes, with other acting credits being Nighty Night, Game of Thrones, Wolf Hall and [Good Omens](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/good-omens-season-2/). What else has Mark Gatiss been in? [Harry Potter saga](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/how-to-watch-harry-potter/) and, more recently, the Fairy Godmother in Disney's live-action Cinderella.

Nolly star Augustus Prew on playing Tony Adams, working with Russell T. Davies, and the queer appeal of Noele Gordon.

What was it like to film that confrontation with Helena? She was also the first woman to interview a Prime Minister. It was the only show. That sense of fun and playfulness and vulnerability and an openness and showmanship. He's a pioneer at a time when that didn't exist. He's got a very specific way of talking, this really specific tone and mannerisms. That sense of solidarity, I think, is gonna really, really resonate with where we are politically in the world, but specifically in this country at this time, especially when it's tough out there. He's like a queer straight guy. He's just like a font of all stories. "He's like a queer straight guy," says Augustus. It says a lot that we're all still chatting to each other. Each instalment showcases talent working on both sides of the camera, including queer creatives and allies to the community.

The life of Noele Gordon is the subject and inspiration behind ITV's new series 'Nolly' but who was the Crossroads star?

[Russell T Davies said](https://www.derehamtimes.co.uk/things-to-do/national/23271248.russell-t-davies-helena-bonham-carter-protecting-noele-gordons-legacy/): "In absolute fairness, she was so determined, like all of us, to do Nolly justice. [Noele Gordon](https://www.derehamtimes.co.uk/things-to-do/national/23271248.russell-t-davies-helena-bonham-carter-protecting-noele-gordons-legacy/) is the subject and star behind a new ITV series but who was the English actress? After she was fired, Gordon returned to Crossroads in 1983 for two episodes and was even asked back again in 1985 when the show got a revamp and was renamed the Crossroads Hotel. In the end, Gordon was actually too ill to return to the series. Gordon never married and has no living family which has made the show's creator more determined to do her "justice" and "extra determined" to protect her legacy. Following her exit from the soap, Gordon continued to act and appeared in various The reason why Gordon was fired from the series was reportedly because the CIT hoped viewers would desert the show and therefore they could cancel the series in favour of other programmes. In 1981, after 17 years in the role, Gordon was sacked when ATV was reconstituted into a new company called Central Independent Television (CIT) [Nolly is a three-part series](http://worcesternews.co.uk/news/national/uk-today/23283410.itv-nolly-full-cast-list-watch-russell-t-davies-show/) tells the story of actress Noele Gordon ( [Helena Bonham Carter](https://www.huntspost.co.uk/things-to-do/national/23265230.helena-bonham-carter-believes-industry-ageist-women-bearing-brunt/)) as she is fired from the long-running British soap Crossroads. In 1964, Gordon joined a new soap opera - Crossroads - in a part that was specifically designed for her. Born on Christmas Day 1919 in East Ham London, Noele Gordon was a beloved English actress who was best known for her role as Meg Mortimer in the soap Crossroads. She also appeared in a few British films and presented The Weekend Show for Associative Television.

Crossroads stars Tony Adams and Susan Hanson share the screen once more for the Nolly finale on ITVX, which pays tribute to their late friend Noele Gordon.

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What happened to Noele Gordon? Nolly explores the life of TV legend and Crossroads star Noele Gordon, but how much of the drama is true?

During her seven-year stint there she joined the cast of Emmerdale for a tour around the famous village, partied with soap stars at awards bashes, interviewed her acting idol David Suchet, and sat in the front row of Strictly Come Dancing. Crossroads was at the height of its success and she was one of the biggest names in British television. At the time of Noele's dismissal, ATV was in the process of being reconstituted into a new company, Central Independent Television. After the success of Gypsy, came roles in touring stage shows Call me Madam and The Boyfriend. When the news broke, the actress was confronted by the national press but remained dignified and gracious saying: “I’ve got nothing to regret, I’ve got a look to look forward to. The show explores her most tumultuous years, and the outrageously fun ride of starring in such a bonkers soap. The three-part mini-series explores TV legend Noele Gordon was at the height of its success and Nolly was one of the biggest names on British television. Her comeback role was in the musical Gypsy at Leicester's Haymarket Theatre. But in the June of that year, the actress was axed from her role, without any prior warning and with no real explanation. Originally a child star of stage and screen, she is credited as being the first female to be seen on color television sets back in 1928. She scooped the TV Times award for most popular television character in 1969, and went on to win the accolade another eight times. And how much of Nolly is based on a true story?

Helena Bonham Carter plays the main character of Noele Gordon, who was known for her acting in Crossroads, and famously named 'Queen of the Midlands.

The show has been described as "almost an exclusive backstage pass to Crossroads". men dictate how women are perceived and the show really puts that into light and tackles those conversations.” Davies explained that in the industry she was depicted as a "diva" and a "show monster".

This forgotten TV titan, played by Helena Bonham Carter in a new ITVX drama, deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as soap icons such as June Brown ...

Then she went to the press, telling reporters that she had been sacked in tones so emotionless it was like the executive in question “was reading a weather report”. By 1985, producers were hatching plans for her to make a return to the soap – but Gordon, who had been diagnosed with stomach cancer, was too ill to do so, and died in April that year. Her gravestone hails a woman who “devoted her life to her career”. It was her role as Meg Mortimer in Crossroads, though, that would cement her status as “the Queen of the Midlands”. The viewing public sprang to her defence, gathering outside ATV Birmingham with “Save our Meg” and “Meg is magic” placards. Plus, Nolly’s TV nous meant that she liked to comment on the production – and to get her own way. Meg had more than her fair share of bizarre storylines: one husband tried to poison her to take her money, and she even ended up behind bars for knocking the postman off his bike (she’d swerved to avoid hitting a cat). On the advice of both her agent, Lew Grade, and Valentine “Val” Purnell, the married impresario and TV exec with whom she had a 20-year affair, she spent a year studying television production at NYU. “She is adaptable and easy to teach,” her instructor Arthur Penzer remarked in a promotional piece for TV Times. Before she made her debut on the famously rickety sets of Crossroads in 1964, Gordon’s showbiz career took her from the West End stage to her own chat show. Born on Christmas Day in 1919 and given a festive middle name, Joan Noele Gordon made her stage debut as a toddler at the East Ham Palace in London. After watching the show’s beloved Midlands motel go up in flames, hundreds of viewers picked up the phone in tears to ask one question: would Meg Mortimer, the onscreen alter ego of actress Noele “Nolly” Gordon, make it out of the blaze alive?

Four decades after the shock sacking of star Noele Gordon, ITVX checks back into the Crossroads Motel for a three-part series that explores the reasons ...

And the fact she was right most of the time. And she was probably cleverer than most of the people on the show and they resented her power. “There's a whole sort of Bible of how to act in Crossroads,” said Bonham Carter. and I applied for a job and I visited the set – and I got very, very close. Some of them worked with her in the 60s and still speak there was so much love and affection. And yet when I spoke to the cast, the opposite picture came out. Bonham Carter recognised the motherly side of the actress. I thought ‘why the hell have I not been aware of her!’,” said the actress. “I always thought there was a story in there. Helena Bonham Carter takes the lead role of Noele Gordon in Russell T Davies’ three-part drama about the sacking and its aftermath. It was a genuinely odd thing to happen for someone to be brutally and publicly axed like that. Suddenly, and at the height of her powers after 17 years behind the Midlands motel's reception desk, Gordon is sacked by the show’s producers.