By Patrick LowmanA FAN of the television soap Crossroads, considered the nation's aficionado on the series, has criticised the decision to axe the show.

By Patrick Lowman

A FAN of the television soap Crossroads, considered the nation's aficionado on the series, has criticised the decision to axe the show.

The daytime ITV series has been scrapped after suffering poor ratings less than three months after its second re-launch.

ITV bosses yesterday announced the series would be dropped from the schedules when its current run ends in the summer.

Crossroads fanatic Peter Kingsman, who lives in Bures, near Sudbury, said the decision was premature and marked the end of an era.

He added: "I think the decision to pull the show is a great shame – it has not been back on very long and it hasn't had a fair crack of the whip."

Mr Kingsman has become an authority on Crossroads and in the 1970s he became friends with Noele Gordon, who played the motel's original proprietor, Meg Richardson.

After her death in 1985, he inherited scores of photographs and material she had collected for her autobiography.

Mr Kingsman also has a number of artefacts from the show, including the original motel sign and reservations book.

"This is the second time the show has been re-launched, then axed, so I would say it is now the end of an era and I am sad about that," he said.

"Although very different to the original, I thought the new show was good, but people need time to get into it and I think it deserves longer."

The plug was pulled on Crossroads after audiences slumped to a low of 1.3 million viewers, despite the latest revamp.

Staff at Carlton, which makes the programme, were told of the decision at its Nottingham offices yesterday morning.

Director of programmes, Nigel Pickard, said: "Carlton and ITV have worked extremely hard to establish Crossroads, but despite the best efforts of all concerned it has attracted disappointing audiences since its return earlier this year.

"This is a tough decision to have to make and I would like to thank everyone involved for their hard work and commitment to the series."

The soap will move from its current 5pm slot to a new time in the early afternoon in the next few weeks.

patrick.lowman@eadt.co.uk