A soap motel in space? A Nolly good idea…

Following the success of ‘Nolly’ looking back at the life of Crossroads star Noele Gordon plans are afoot to take a soapy motel into space…

Set in 2124 the Quadrivium Motel welcomes space travellers to a hospitable outerspace nightstop. It isn’t the first time a soap has been set in space with Jupiter Moon airing on British Satellite Broadcasting’s Galaxy channel in 1990. That space serial adventure was produced by former Crossroads producer William Smethurst and ran for 150 episodes. The series also starred a host of former Crossroads cast as well as future EastEnders actress Lucy Benjamin. It was also produced in the Central Television studio which had been home to the motel previously.

While no channel has yet picked up the Quadrivium format producers are keen to trade on the success of Nolly the three-part drama about the life of Noele Gordon who starred as motel owner Meg Richardson in Crossroads for nearly 20 years. The soap was set in a Midland motel and saw plots of the staff and guests take centre stage. This format is something that Quadrivium hopes to recapture with its space motel storylines and set in the future there is no need to worry if the plots become a little far-fetched.

Inset Meg and Hugh of Crossroads (Noele Gordon and John Bentley). Main image a new era with Alison Hammond and William Shatner?

The Quadrivium Motel is based on the docking station Chevron, which is ‘anchored’ in a permanent location 15 miles from Earth’s moon. Small space crafts can check into the station for a fuel refill and guest hospitality. Drama will then unfold with everything from murder, affairs and stolen laundry making for dramatic moments.

“We’d love William Shatner to play a Hugh Mortimer type,” a spokesperson told ATV Today. But what about the Meg Richardson matriarch? “That is a more difficult decision, but names such as Deirdre Kelly and Alison Hammond have been mooted.”

In Nolly, which recently aired on PBS in America and aired on ITV in December, Helena Bonham Carter brought the flame-haired soap star to life.

This was an April 1st spoof feature, if you really couldn’t tell…