Shropshire councillor: I was an extra on Crossroads

Fresh details of Shropshire's links with Midlands soap opera Crossroads emerged today as the deputy mayor of Shrewsbury revealed his past as an extra in the long-running ITV show.

Tony Durnell, who is also a member of Shropshire Council, recalled his connection to the show, famed for its wobbly sets and fluffed lines, after reading a Shropshire Star report this week.

It revealed how the Crossroads Appreciation Society was mourning the demolition of one of the buildings at Walford and North Shropshire College, near Baschurch, that was used as a location in the filming of the show, which had 18 million viewers at its peak.

Mr Durnell said: "I was a student there in 1965 and until 1968 the cast and crew kept coming back again and again.

"They would turn up with virtually no equipment and always came in July because there were no students around."

Mr Durnell appeared on screen as an extra during a wedding scene filmed at Baschurch parish church.

He said he was given a running order for the filming of Crossroads as a memento for helping out.

He also revealed why producers were attracted to a sleepy corner of Shropshire for filming parts of the show, which was set in a motel in the fictional village of Kings Oak, Birmingham.

The site had a mix of modern and period buildings plus open countryside and villages nearby, making it the perfect place.

Crossroads was axed in 1988 after 24 years.

It returned for two more years in a glossier format in 2001.