Redheads & Rollers

Simon Stabler talks to Crossroads' Tony Adams

When preparing to write Nolly, his three-part biopic about the sacking of Noele Gordon from Crossroads, writer Russell T Davies was told that there was only one person who really knew what she was like, fellow Crossroads actor Tony Adams.

"And so, every morning, Russell would phone me up and we would talk about the various aspects that had happened while I worked with Nolly and some of the dreadful things that happened to her," says Tony.

"There were certain things I didn't think were going to be right, like Helena Bonham Carter. I think she's a wonderful actress, but I didn't think she was right to play Nolly.

"And when Russell finally got the three runs together, he said: 'Before anybody else sees it, I'm sending you the three runs of the show and I want you to have a look at it before we do anything more.'

"And I just picked up the phone and I said: 'I hate to tell you this, Nolly would be so thrilled by what you've done because there is nobody who can get the essence of what she's like and play it the way that Helena plays it. And then there was the boy who played me (Prison Break's Augustus Prew), and when my wife saw him for the first time, she said: 'Oh, he's a dish, isn't he?' And I said: "Thank you very much, darling! Born in Anglesey, Tony's mother was Winifred Brown, a pioneer of aviation, who explored the Amazon by canoe and represented England at hockey and ice hockey.

"She did some wonderful things and gave it all up for me. And I could never understand that. But that was what my mother was like."

Asked by his mother what he wanted to do, Tony said he'd like to be an actor ("I couldn't think of anything else") and successfully auditioned for the Italia Conti stage school.

"And then, literally a few days later, I was out filming. A film called The Magic Box was one of the first things I did.