Rare Noele Gordon collection goes under the hammer

A family friend of Noele and her mother Joan is parting with some items gifted to Caroline during a friendship that spanned the late sixties to the early eighties.

The lot contains items such as original ATV cast card signed photographs, an autograph album and other signed publicity photographs and personal dedicated pictures. The majority are from Noele but others in the collection include Susan Hanson, Ronald Allen, Ann George and Paul Henry. Some items come from the time Noele appeared with Larry Grayson at the London Palladium in his sell-out Grayson’s Scandals show. The opening night was attended by the entire Crossroads cast. And as Nadine Hanwell, who played Marilyn Hope recalls, ‘the entire cast got soaked in the rain as the theatre was evacuated due to a fire alarm.’

The vendor’s father, Dr. Nicholson, was a GP in Ross-on-Wye where Noele Gordon and her mother, Jockie, lived at Weir End a large country house for a decade from 1963. Such was his friendship with Noele he was their doctor for over 15 years, even after she relocated to live in Birmingham full-time.

Television pioneer: Noele with Ned Sherrin and Reg Watson at ATV in the 50s.

Giving an insight into that time in Ross On Wye Caroline recalls:

“I was adopted as a surrogate grandchild by Jockie (Joan) and Nolly and was asked over to play at Weir End, where they both lived when Nolly wasnt in Birmingham filming. They used to let me play on their baby grand piano and Jockie used to make tea parties for me with dollies and teddies as company. There was a local lady who made beautiful handmade soft toys. Nolly and Jockie had several of these made for me, which I still own.

“I remember laughing a lot, listening to music, singing and having a lot of fun with both of those ladies. Nolly would bring fellow actors to visit, and she asked all the cast to sign these photos for me. The Larry Grayson photo comes from a time when we were her guests at the London Palladium and went backstage to meet him…”

The auction, by The Burnt Common Auction Rooms, is held on February 15th and the collection is estimated to sell for £150 – £250. The items can be bid for online at The Saleroom. There has been a huge interest in Noele Gordon since the release of ITV drama ‘Nolly’ last year which looked at the life of Noele as penned by Russell T Davies. The award-winning drama starred Helena Bonham Carter as Noele, the ‘Queen of Soaps’.

Noele Gordon had a successful stage career before TV.

Stage Door Records recently released, for the first time on CD, The Crossroads Wedding Party album which shot into the UK Official Soundtrack charts at number four and topped the Amazon soundtrack sales chart, the CD is now on limited stock. Last year Crossroads: The Noele Gordon Collection DVD release also sold out of stock.

Caroline notes on other items in the sale:

“The other autographs in my collection were sourced for me by Nolly (except for Jake Thackray, who was treated by my father at some point), from artists based at ATV/Central television (e.g. TISWAS signatures). Tony Adams was Nolly’s good friend and always drove her down to Ross from Birmingham in the Rolls Royce. He was so kind to her, and I remember him as a really nice, genuine guy. We saw Noele in Gypsy, and I remember how upset she was when [she] was axed. My friendship with her went from about 1970 until 1981 when I left home for college. My father last visited her in her final months, in Birmingham.”

The auction is the second Noele Gordon related offering to go under the hammer. A costume as worn by Helena Bonham-Carter as Noele in the ITV1 drama Nolly is also up for sale.