25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
River City was axed because viewers want shorter formats like Shetland
The new BBC Scotland dramas will all be written by Scottish writers, they will employ a wide range of Scotland-based talent, will have training opportunities attached to them and will be made by producers with bases in Scotland – just like River City has been. We believe they will qualify on all three of our regulator Ofcom's made-in-Scotland criteria – on which Ms Rowat, with regard to The Traitors, is also incorrect. The BBC doesn't 'claim' Scottish spend with regard to The Traitors, which as viewers can see is clearly filmed in the Highlands. The BBC publishes its spend, allocated in line with how Ofcom states the BBC should publish its spend. We're not making claims about anything.
Luke McCullough, Corporate Affairs Director, BBC Scotland, Edinburgh.
Ditch current affairs shows
Alison Rowat's article reinforces the problems which exist within the whole of the BBC. If BBC Scotland needs money for new programmes surely it can do better than axe River City, which I suspect has significantly more viewers that the current affairs programmes which serve no real purpose other than to pad out stories already covered on Reporting Scotland and the national news?
Do we really need (and does anyone actually watch) News at Seven, Debate Night, or Scotcast? News at Nine was closed down because no one watched it. Surely it's time to ditch the rest and save some money for programmes that viewers want to see?
Alan McGibbon, Paisley.
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Who exactly is leaving uni?
You report that the University of Edinburgh is losing staff ("University of Edinburgh: 350 staff take voluntary severance", heraldscotland, April 24). "Staff", however, covers a multitude of functions. We cannot know how far the nature of Schools and the availability of academic courses will be affected unless we are told which categories of staff are involved – and who will be involved in any compulsory redundancies.
Over the last 25 years, the proportion of academic staff to "support staff" has diminished dramatically, as all kinds of bureaucratic structures have mushroomed. This is an all-UK phenomenon. It would be interesting to know what proportion of those leaving are academics close to retirement (who will not be replaced), and what proportion is among the kinds of support staff whose absence will have little or no effect on the academic activity that should be at the centre of university life. Or, to put it another way, are any of those leaving in the sector of DEI – Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – and other more marginal activities?
As they used to say in Private Eye, I think we should be told.
Jill Stephenson, Edinburgh.
Scotland's autocracy
Last October, Highland Council objected to yet another wind farm in the Kyle of Sutherland – a National Scenic Area. Today (April 23), without any further input from the developers, councillors changed their minds and voted to approve it. Why? Because a previous wind farm application (Garvary) in the same area which they had objected to had been steamrollered through by the Scottish Government after a public inquiry. Another nearby, Strathoykel, was also railroaded through recently.
These inquiries cost councils time and money they don't have, so to avoid a repeat, Highland Council has effectively been forced to change its position. We are all being beaten into submission up here in the Highlands by the relentless march of infrastructure. A National Scenic Area and a nationally important viewpoint on the NC500 have been further degraded, for no benefit to anyone in the Highlands. So all of us have lost enjoyment of some of the natural beauty that Scotland has to offer.
Scotland produces more renewable energy than it needs and the profits are going to foreign multinationals at great cost to its natural heritage. Why? We are heading towards our own autocracy.
Peter Dunn, Beauly.
Are too many wind farms being approved? (Image: PA)
Window of opportunity
Having been away in Millport for a few days, only on returning have I had a chance to read Dani Garavelli's excellent article last Saturday ("Glasgow is failing to protect its stained glass. Can it be saved?", Herald Magazine, April 19).
This has given me the opportunity to tell everyone about a recent amazing reuse of original stained glass.
St Gabriel's RC Church in Merrylee Road discovered that some beautiful stained glass from Our Lady & St Margaret's Church in Kinning Park had been in storage for 50 years after demolition of St Margaret's to allow construction of the M8 and Kingston Bridge.
Catherine Dillon-Ruddy, a parishioner of St Gabriel's, arranged the gift of the glass from the Archdiocese of Glasgow to St Gabriel's.
Several members of the congregation were involved in the cleaning, including Andy Harris who arranged having the stained glass inserted into new double-glazed units.
The impetus of this promoted the redecoration and recarpeting of the church to compliment the glass installation.
The results are beautiful and are available to be viewed internally or externally.
Brendan Keenan, Glasgow.
The cheek of it
P Davidson's letter (April 24) re "a petted lip" took me back to my own childhood when I was told "to straighten my face, or I would get a "skelpit you know what!".
Amy Kinnaird, Ochiltree.
