Press Association News, December 7, 1992, by  John von Radowitz
"Coffee romance reaches the boil"
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Another love story was set to capture the nation's 
imagination tonight. As the Princess Royal and Commander Tim 
Laurence planned for their wedding, the Gold Blend romance 
was reaching a make-or-break stage with a declaration of 
love. The 11th episode in the long-running saga of 
neighbours who strike up an on-off relationship over a cup 
of coffee was making its debut in a peak-time TV commercial. 
It features actor Tony Head bursting into a restaurant where 
co-star Sharon Maughan is being wined and dined by an 
Italian rival. The scene ends with the couple drinking 
coffee and Sharon's face melting into a smile as Tony tells 
her: "I love you." As with all the other episodes in the 
award-winning series, the viewer is left wondering what will 
happen next. That is the secret behind the success of an 
advertising campaign which has boosted sales of Nestle's 
Gold Blend coffee by 40% since 1987. The story is thought to 
be of such public interest that Britain's top-selling 
newspaper, The Sun, filled almost the whole of its front 
page today with details, "relegating" the royal romance to a 
column beside it. The tie-in between two love affairs was 
not lost on other newspapers who raced to catch up after the 
Gold Blend story was leaked to the Sun. Nestle spokesman 
Alan Allbeury insisted that the timing of the advert was a 
co-incidence. He said: "It worked out quite well, didn't it? 
But the Queen didn't give me any prior warning." Early next 
year Corgi will publish a novel based on the Gold Blend saga 
entitled Love over Gold. The final chapter has not yet been 
written. Mr Allbeury described the novel as a "prequel" and 
said it would not necessarily mark the end of the 
advertising series. He said: "We continually research 
audience reaction. Each episode has a 'wear out' factor and 
we monitor that. They tend to last on average about six 
months. "If we saw that generally people were losing 
interest, we'd pull it. But the viewers are still as hooked 
as ever. "At some stage of course we're going to have to 
make a judgment about whether to carry it on." When the 
series began it prompted such enormous public response that 
the Nestle public relations office became an unofficial fan 
club, distributing signed photos of Tony and Sharon. Some 
viewers have even submitted their own scripts for future 
episodes. Asked if Tony and Sharon were likely to follow the 
royal example and wed, Mr Allbeury said: "People keep making 
assumptions. The whole thing is intended to be a thorough 
tease."  Bookmakers William Hill today offered even money 
that the Gold Blend couple will marry in 1993. 



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