It's the year 2001, and after years of trying you've finally got that dreadful earworm of a theme tune out of your head... But don't breathe a sigh of relief just yet, because Crossroads, that bastion of acting talent and set design is gracing our screens once again. Yes! Crossroads is back!

But says David Liddiment, ITV's programmes director, fans of the old series, which ran for 25 years from 1964, shouldn't expect more of the same. In other words, poor old Benny won't be there. Instead, ITV promises 'to bring Crossroads into the new century, while building on the strong affection for the programme...' New hairstyles all round then. Oh, and the sets won't wobble, either.

In its Seventies heyday Crossroads was watched regularly by 16 million viewers, but with competition much fiercer now it's anyone's guess as to how popular the new-look show will be. Could it follow Sunset Beach as the latest standard bearer of tack TV?

To get everyone in the mood for the return of a British institution, unmissable tv looks at who's who in TV's latest soap and takes a trip down memory lane to find out why Crossroads did for motels what Norman Bates left undone.