Joan Noele Gordon (25 December 1919 – 14 April 1985) was an English actress and television presenter. She played the role of Meg Mortimer (originally Richardson, later Ryder) in the long-running British soap opera Crossroads from 1964 to 1981, with a brief return in 1983. Early life Gordon's father was an engineer in the Merchant Navy and she was born in East Ham, Essex (now part of the London Borough of Newham). She was given the middle name of Noele because she was born on Christmas Day. After attending convent school in Ilford, she was taught to dance by Maude Wells and later spent several years living in Southend-on-Sea. She made her first public appearance at the East Ham Palace and shortly afterwards, sang "Dear Little Jammy Face" at a restaurant in London. After this event, her mother and her aunt were keen for her to begin a stage career. Gordon was credited as the first woman to be seen on colour television sets, as she took part, as a teenager, in John Logie Baird's world's first colour transmission on 3 July 1938. Career Early career Gordon attended RADA, appearing in repertory theatres and the West End stage. From June 1943 to July 1944, she appeared in the musical The Lisbon Story at the London Hippodrome. In April 1949, she took the role of Meg Brockie in the original London production of Brigadoon for 685 performances at Her Majesty's Theatre. She stayed with the show for a national tour. In 1953, she toured as Mrs Sally Adams in Call Me Madam after Billie Adams had played the role in the London season at the Coliseum. She appeared in two British films, 29 Acacia Avenue (1945) and Lisbon Story (1946) in minor parts. In 1954, Gordon spent a year in New York City learning American television production at New York University. Her acting career came to a halt in 1955, when she joined Associated Television in London, where she presented their first-ever programme, The Weekend Show. She worked behind the scenes as Head of Lifestyle programmes. Gordon helped Reg Watson and Ned Sherrin launch ATV Midlands in 1956. As well as being a producer, Gordon became a presenter for the new Birmingham-based service. Her first television appearance for ATV in the Midlands, Tea With Noele Gordon, was the first popular ITV chat show, and while presenting this series, she became the