Entertainment
Helena Bonham Carter ‘so thrilled’ to star as Crossroads icon Noele Gordon in Russell T. Davies ITV biopic
The actress will be taking on this iconic soap star (Picture:Getty)
Helena Bonham Carter will play Crossroads icon Noele Gordon in ITV’s upcoming biopic, written by Russell T. Davies.
The actress 55, will channel the late Noele in the new-three part series, titled Nolly, which will explore the soap star’s rise to fame and her fall from grace after being axed from the show with no warning.
The late TV presenter, who was hailed as Queen of the Midlands, played flame-haired motel owner Meg Richardson in Crossroads, which ran from 1964 to 1983.
The programme revolved around Meg, who was a mother of two, struggling to run the family home after the death of her husband, Charles. However, after finding Charles’ insurance money, she later turned her large Georgian house into a motel.
‘Noele Gordon was a fascinating, complex, brilliant and gutsy woman – none of which I knew before I read Russell T Davies’ script,’ said Helena.
‘I’m so thrilled to help tell Nolly’s long overdue and largely forgotten story. Russell’s screenplay is a work of brilliance and I hope I’ll do him and Nolly justice. I can’t wait to start.’
Helena previously played Princess Margaret in Netflix’s The Crown (Picture: Netflix)
Russell will be producing the upcoming drama (Picture:James Gourley/REX)
The 58-year-old writer, who was the mastermind behind drama’s It’s A Sin and Queer As Folk, also revealed the personal connection he shares with the long-running soap, and admitted he’s wanted to tell the story for ’40 years’.
It took a while, but his wish has been granted.
ITV’s head of drama Polly Hill said: ‘Russell’s scripts are magnificent and a great tribute to Noele Gordon, but also to our national love of soaps and a celebration of the incredible women they create.
‘Helena Bonham Carter is going to be amazing as Nolly and we can’t wait for her to step into those shoes.’
More: ITV
After she was dropped from the show, Noele’s health battles prevented her from accepting many more roles, and she died of stomach cancer in 1985.
Production is set to begin in 2022.
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