11,000-MILE TRIP TO STAR IN CROSSROADS; Cindy commutes from

A STAR of the revived TV soap Crossroads will be commuting every week to appear in it...11,000 miles across the Atlantic.

Former Price Is Right hostess Cindy Marshall-Day will make the round trip from her home in California to star in the Midlands-based series.

Cindy, 33, who plays beauty salon manager Tracey Booth, said: "Lots of people commute across the Atlantic these days - I don't think it's a big deal.

"I really wanted the part and to be at the start of something new."

She will appear in episodes from Monday to Friday before flying home each weekend.

A Crossroads insider said: "Nobody could believe it when Cindy said she was going to fly in every week from the US.

"We thought she would have to drop out, but she convinced the producers that she could fill the role while living in the US.

"The motel has never had a guest from California - but now we have a staff member from there!"

Cindy, who became a hostess in the hit quiz show The Price Is Right when she was 18, moved to America two years ago.

She met her future husband, marketing millionaire Tony Lane Roberts at a showbusiness party in Los Angeles and they married in Las Vegas only a few weeks later.

A spokesman for the show's producer's Carlton TV said: "We are quite happy for Cindy to commute. Where she lives is entirely up to her.

"There are some great storylines in the script for her which will make the long journey worthwhile."

Crossroads, which was axed by TV chiefs in 1988 after more than 4,500 episodes, will return as a daytime ITV show next spring.

Only three members of the original cast are making a comeback in the new series.

They are Jane Rossington (who played Jill Chance), Tony Adams (Adam Chance) and Kathy Staff (chef Doris Luke, but best known as Nora Batty in BBC comedy Last of the Summer Wine). There will be no return for the much-loved handyman Benny, played by Paul Henry.

The new series will be shot at Carlton's studios in Nottingham and on location in the nearby village of Redmile in the picturesque Vale of Belvoir.

The refurbished motel makes its first appearance in the 21st century complete with a new gym and swimming pool.

Crossroads first appeared on November 2, 1964. It was originally scheduled to run for 30 episodes over six weeks.

During its heyday in the '70s the show attracted more than 16 million viewers, rivalling Coronation Street for the title of most popular soap.

However, critics attacked the series for its wobbling sets and wooden acting.

Carlton is spending pounds 10 million on the new series. Among the show's fans is Tony Blair.

He is said to be "delighted" that the programme is making a long- awaited comeback.

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