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Anyone remember Benny from Crossroads?


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Old 11-07-2016, 06:41
Citizen Kane
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If you are of a certain age you probably have a reasonable memory of the storylines in Crossroads.
Benny, a mentally challenged character, went out one day to get a spanner but never returned nor was spoken about again by the other characters.

Saun has just left for a holiday and to see his son, Dylan. Any chance he will vanish never to be spoken about again. There is a good relationship developing between Billy and Todd, and a lot of potential story development between two sound characters played by two competent actors.
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Old 11-07-2016, 06:54
davads
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If you are of a certain age you probably have a reasonable memory of the storylines in Crossroads.
Benny, a mentally challenged character, went out one day to get a spanner but never returned nor was spoken about again by the other characters.
Is the whole "going to get a spanner and never coming back" thing true or something of an urban myth, is that really how Benny was written out? Does anybody know/remember?
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Old 11-07-2016, 08:09
Alex_Sullivan
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It's hard to believe that Benny, the simple, wooly-hatted odd-job man with a pet dog called Moses, was once one of the most recognisable faces on TV, but then it's hard to believe that Crossroads in all it's plonking glory, was once such a big part of everyday life.
I think the elusive spanner was a hiatus rather than a departure. Paul Henry, the well-spoken actor who played Benny, used to take time off to pursue his theatre career and so made a
'Crossroads exit' i.e staying off-screen and unmentioned for six months and then suddenly
re-appearing with no reference to where he had been.
There had been a period of Benny-mania at one point where Paul Henry was ticked off for selling wooly hats to fans outside the studios in Birmingham where the show was made (possibly a rumour) and released a record called something like 'Meet Me At The Crossroads' (not a rumour).
By the time I was old enough to watch evening TV, about five or six, Crossroads was going through it's desperate final phase where the title was amended to Crossroads-Kings Oak and Tony Hatch's excellent theme tune had been changed for something less distinctive.
The producers were ill-advisedly aiming the show at a yuppie audience, but they weren't fooling anyone. Even as a little kid, I could see Crossroads was shoddy. I remember one scene where Benny turned up late for a staff party and the motel receptionist told him
'You've missed all the grub' - a line of dialogue that belongs on the pages of the Beano, surely?
Nowadays Crossroads-Kings Oak would be referred to as a re-branding. Part of the new look was to put Benny in a suit rather than his more familiar wooly hat and dungarees and present him as a more aspirational figure. Strange times, indeed.
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Old 11-07-2016, 08:21
Andybear
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I loved Crossroads and have fond memories of Benny's friendship with 'Miss Diane'
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Old 11-07-2016, 08:42
soupnazi
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Wasn't he last seen putting up the Xmas decorations?
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Old 11-07-2016, 10:58
Citizen Kane
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As a child, I was never sure if Meg's son, can't remember his character's name, but the actor was Roger Tonge, was really a paraplegic. Never seen him outside the programme so I presumed he was always in a wheelchair.
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Old 11-07-2016, 11:00
claremonts
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Ah there's a blast from the past-good old Crossroads 🙂
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Old 11-07-2016, 11:46
Hanna_Yasmin
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As a child, I was never sure if Meg's son, can't remember his character's name, but the actor was Roger Tonge, was really a paraplegic. Never seen him outside the programme so I presumed he was always in a wheelchair.
Sandy.

He apparently became disabled in real life after he took on the role playing a disabled person. Very sad end to his life, in real life.
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Old 11-07-2016, 11:54
Citizen Kane
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Born 46 Died 81
So mid thirties, no age at all. Not much information on line.
Didn't know this, I'm quite shocked!
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Old 11-07-2016, 12:19
claremonts
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Born 46 Died 81
So mid thirties, no age at all. Not much information on line.
Didn't know this, I'm quite shocked!
I have just looked at the Wikipedia page dedicated to Roger Tonge-so sad.
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Old 11-07-2016, 12:24
claremonts
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There was even a song about him called "Benny's Theme".
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Old 11-07-2016, 12:54
SillyBoyBlue
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Born 46 Died 81
So mid thirties, no age at all. Not much information on line.
Didn't know this, I'm quite shocked!
I can vaguely remember when the actor died, his character just disappeared fom the show and no-one mentioned it at all.

Then something like a year later, there was a scene where his mother Meg (played by Noele Gordon) was sitting in a chair looking sad, and her daughter Jill asked her why she was sad: "You're thinking about Sandy, aren't you"

AFAIK this was the first time it had been alluded to on screen; we were to assume that Sandy had died at some point but there was no indication when, or how, or whether there was a funeral. And after that it was never mentioned again. Hilarious really, and typical Crossroads.
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Old 11-07-2016, 13:06
silversox
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I used to like Benny back then, but now, with all this silly PC business, I feel uncomfortable when watching him in a Crossroads episode on YouTube. Silly really. I can relate to Sam on Emmerdale as my Autistic son is very similar to the character of Sam. Does anyone know whether Sam is Autistic or why he seems to have certain learning difficulties?
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Old 11-07-2016, 15:57
soupnazi
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I'm sure I've seen benny's last scene (which occurred only a few months before the end of Croasroads) and he does a knowing look to camera- Crossroads 'broke the 4th wall' numerous times). Anyone remember?
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Old 11-07-2016, 16:32
valkay
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Miss Diane, she do say.
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Old 11-07-2016, 16:46
Gulftastic
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Benny is well remembered because he was an easy 'go to' for 70's impressionists.

Eddie Large could barely get through a show without a good bit of 'Miss Diane-ing'.

Normally in between Deputy Dawg and Cliff.
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Old 11-07-2016, 20:13
sam_gee
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I used to like Benny back then, but now, with all this silly PC business, I feel uncomfortable when watching him in a Crossroads episode on YouTube. Silly really. I can relate to Sam on Emmerdale as my Autistic son is very similar to the character of Sam. Does anyone know whether Sam is Autistic or why he seems to have certain learning difficulties?
The actor's kids went to the same school as a friend of mine - she said everyone was wary of talking to him in case he was a bit slow like Benny, but he wasn't apparently.
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Old 11-07-2016, 20:14
sam_gee
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Benny is well remembered because he was an easy 'go to' for 70's impressionists.

Eddie Large could barely get through a show without a good bit of 'Miss Diane-ing'.

Normally in between Deputy Dawg and Cliff.
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Old 11-07-2016, 21:24
lobeydosser
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AH,, Crossroads - the wobbly sets, the dreadful acting - it was so bad it was good! Shughuie McPhee, Amy Turtle, Glenda,..........................that woman with the weird piled up hair who was married to David(?) Happy days!
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Old 11-07-2016, 21:34
CPW4EVER
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The producers were ill-advisedly aiming the show at a yuppie audience, but they weren't fooling anyone.
I have only seen episodes online and the noticeable move towards trying to make it a more upper class show was so clunky in it's execution it was hilarious. Random hotel staff were suddenly talking about stuff like going to jazz concerts or discussing the latest French dishes that had been added to restaurant menu as if it gave the show an air of class whereas it really stuck out like a sore thumb.

Wasn't he last seen putting up the Xmas decorations?
The episode is on YouTube somewhere. He's decorating the Christmas tree and goes up a ladder to put a star on top and never comes back down. Presumably, this was just supposed to be one of his breaks (for panto maybe?) but the show was axed a short time later and they didn't bother to bring him back.

As ridiculous as the show could be at times, there was something compelling about it. It was soap opera in it's true sense as it was high drama all the way. It seemed to borrow more so from the US soaps than it's UK counterparts in terms of storylining and the various cliffhangers it used. The often OTT drama of Hollyoaks today has it's origins in Crossroads I reckon.
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Old 12-07-2016, 11:24
SillyBoyBlue
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"Me & Miss Diane went to see a film about a big fish that do keep eating people"

(Benny talking about seeing 'Jaws')
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Old 12-07-2016, 11:57
AntoniaA
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Sean won't just disappear, at least I hope not! When people leave Corrie they usually have a good reason and it is explained.

The only exception I can think of in recent times is Faye's little baby's paternal grandparents disappearing off to Canada all of a rush, uprooting their settled life and depriving Anna and Tim of seeing their granddaughter. That struck me as totally unealistiic.

Yes I remember Benny well. I worked with a good friend, now 50-ish, just a few years ago whose older siblings called him, "Benny" in honour of the Crossroads character . His nieces and nephews called him, "Uncle Benny" too. He took it very well.
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Old 14-07-2016, 01:16
StreetFan
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AH,, Crossroads - the wobbly sets, the dreadful acting - it was so bad it was good! Shughuie McPhee, Amy Turtle, Glenda,..........................that woman with the weird piled up hair who was married to David(?) Happy days!
The acting was pretty variable- like most soaps,to this day. But,having seen the DVDs in recent years,I can confirm that the wobbly sets are more myth than reality.
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Old 14-07-2016, 08:33
GrahameSteele
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Yes I remember...such disturbing memories...
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