Shropshire councillor: I was an extra on Crossroads
Thursday 19th August 2010, 11:44AM BST.
Councillor Tony Durnell with his Crossroads memorabilia
Fresh details of Shropshire’s links with Midlands soap opera Crossroads emerged today as the deputy mayor of Shrewsbury revealed his past as an extra in the long-running ITV show.
Tony Durnell, who is also a member of Shropshire Council, recalled his connection to the show, famed for its wobbly sets and fluffed lines, after reading a Shropshire Star report this week.
It revealed how the Crossroads Appreciation Society was mourning the demolition of one of the buildings at Walford and North Shropshire College, near Baschurch, that was used as a location in the filming of the show, which had 18 million viewers at its peak.
Mr Durnell said: “I was a student there in 1965 and until 1968 the cast and crew kept coming back again and again.
“They would turn up with virtually no equipment and always came in July because there were no students around.”
Mr Durnell appeared on screen as an extra during a wedding scene filmed at Baschurch parish church.
He said he was given a running order for the filming of Crossroads as a memento for helping out.
He also revealed why producers were attracted to a sleepy corner of Shropshire for filming parts of the show, which was set in a motel in the fictional village of Kings Oak, Birmingham.
The site had a mix of modern and period buildings plus open countryside and villages nearby, making it the perfect place.
Crossroads was axed in 1988 after 24 years.
It returned for two more years in a glossier format in 2001.
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Some things are best left in the past…..
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Riveting story.
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How can this be considered news worthy??
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Great story, makes a change that local history is covered. Well done. (Certainly more interesting that ‘Katie Price opens local Co-op’)
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Wow.
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Nice follow up story from the location article earlier this week. The fan club is very grateful to the Shropshire Star for helping with this search for information after ATV “lost” the paperwork.
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As the person that found the location i am also gateful to the star for helping further with this search. A good local feature in this follow up article.
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Is this the same Tony Durnell that went to the Corbet school in Baschurch ?
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WOW, Is that how you become a councillor
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By going to college and working hard, I expect so. Being an actor didn’t do Ronnie Regan any harm… whether it later did America any good when he got into politics is debatable.
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