Iconic British television soap, Crossroads, will be brought back to the small screen by Big Centre TV, which launches on February 28th at 6pm on Freeview Channel 8.

In a move that will delight fans of the show, Big Centre TV plans to broadcast all existing episodes, including some classic early episodes from the 1960s.

Crossroads originally ran from 1964 to 1988 on ITV and at its peak the show’s viewing figures reached up to 18 million. The show, which was the UK’s first full length daily soap, revolves around the village of Kings Oak, near Birmingham, and the main location of the Crossroads Motel.

Channel director, Chris Perry, said: “It’s an incredible honour to bring Crossroads back to viewers. More than 4,500 episodes were filmed, but only around 3,000 have survived and these are mostly from 1978-1988. The earlier editions were largely lost and only a few classic editions survive. However, we plan to show all editions available, including those known as the’Crossroads Classics’.

“Bringing Crossroads back to the small screen has only been possible because of the close partnership between ITV and me and my team at Kaleidoscope.Arranging this deal was not easy as checking assets from the 1960s took time, restoration and research, but we are deeply proud to be the new home of such an iconic programme.”

One of the show’s stars, Jane Rossington, who played Jill Richardson, said: “I am delighted that audiences will be able to experience the phenomenon that was Crossroads. We filmed at a number of locations here in the Midlands, so it’s great that Big Centre TV, the local station for the area, has chosen it as the headline show.

“Many people have fond memories of the show and even today I meet people who remember characters and storylines.”

Andrew Gavaghan, ITV’s archive operations manager, said: “ITV and Kaleidoscope have worked together for many years in sharing knowledge and information about ITV’s rich broadcasting history and ITV hasdonated archive materials to Kaleidoscope to help assist with its endeavours in preserving and exploring past British TV programming.

“The in-depth knowledge and enthusiasm that Kaleidoscope possess, is a valuable resource not only to the broadcasting and production communities but also to anyone interested in this important area of our culture.”

Big Centre TV is the UK’s newest station and will cover Birmingham, the Black Country and Solihull, providing an estimated 2.3m viewers with an eclectic mix of local and national programmes. It will broadcast seven days a week and programmes will also be available online, giving the station a potential global audience.

Crossroads will be broadcast weekdays at 9.30am. There will be additional screenings each weekday at 6pm and 11pm.

Categories: Press Releases