devised by the new producer, Phillip Bowman, who himself ended the involvement with the series of regulars Ronald Allen and Sue Lloyd. Gordon, who had already appeared in 3,521 episodes, was too ill to make the planned return. Later career After the termination of her Crossroads contract, Gordon starred in the musical Gypsy at Leicester's Haymarket Theatre, followed by a revival of Irving Berlin's musical Call Me Madam, touring the Midlands. It then moved to the Victoria Palace Theatre in the West End, where it ran for only 88 performances. Her last stage role was in No, No, Nanette at Plymouth's Theatre Royal. She became ill during the run and had to be replaced. In an interview she gave to TV Times in 1981, Gordon announced that she might, once her stage work had come to an end, take up the offer of returning to presenting. In the same interview, she commented that a future role as a breakfast television presenter was being negotiated. She would, however, not return to television full-time because of her theatre commitments. Personal life For many years in the 1960s and early 1970s, Gordon lived in a large white-washed country house in Weir End, near Ross-on-Wye, beside the A40 road to Monmouth. Gordon never married. It became known in 1982 that Gordon was suffering from cancer, for which she underwent two major operations. She retired to her home in Birmingham, where she died in 1985 of stomach cancer. She is buried in the churchyard of St Mary's Parish Church in Ross-on-Wye. Tony Adams, who played Adam Chance in the series of Crossroads, commented in 1985 just after her death that "There has never been a star of Crossroads, although Nolly was Crossroads." Legacy A televised drama production was announced by ITV Studios in November 2021, with Helena Bonham Carter playing Gordon. Written by Russell T Davies, and directed by Peter Hoar, the production is titled Nolly and depicts her time in Crossroads. It first aired in February 2023. References External links Noele Gordon webpage 1919 births 1985 deaths English stage actresses English television actresses English people of Scottish descent English soap opera actresses People from East Ham 20th-century English actresses Alumni of RADA Actresses from London