Latest news with #O'Hara's
Scottish Sun
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Fears over future of BBC's iconic River City set once show is axed for good
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) RIVER City bosses don't know what to do with the axed soap's iconic set, show insiders revealed. The fictional Glasgow district of Shieldinch will disappear from our screens next year after 24 years of drama and scandal. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 4 BBC Scotland previously announced that it is scrapping River City Credit: John Kirkby 4 It will disappear from screens next year Credit: John Kirkby - The Sun Glasgow 4 But bosses 'don't know' what to do with the set Credit: BBC But the huge custom-built set, including the Tall Ship pub and Oyster Cafe, will still be there when the cameras stop rolling. And sources say BBC executives are being bombarded with questions about what will happen to it. It comes amid suggestions fans could snap up pieces of TV history from the filming lot in Dumbarton. An insider said: 'The question on everyone's lips has been, 'What will happen to the Shieldinch set?'. 'And the truth is, bosses have absolutely no idea. "It's an impressive filming space and was the backdrop for so many legendary scenes. 'Many viewers feel an attachment to it. Bosses are not ruling out the possibility of auctioning off some of the props.' Corporation chiefs decided to cancel the soap due to a 'change in viewing patterns' — as demand for long-running shows falls away. They told MSPs last month the £9million-a-year soap was no longer 'value for money' as its audience figures were down so much that it cost too much 'per viewer' to produce. BBC Scotland's drama budget over the next three years is expected to rise to £95million. Tragedy looms when the O'Hara's family holiday takes a dramatic turn after a life-threatening car crash Three new shows with shorter runs will be created for the channel — Counsels, Grams and The Young Team. Shetland has been renewed for a tenth series while there will be third runs for Vigil and Granite Harbour. River City's cast, including Stephen Purdon who plays Bob O'Hara, only learned it was being dumped minutes before the public was told in March. It is understood exact details of the final episodes and whether former cast members will return have not yet been discussed.
RTÉ News
24-04-2025
- RTÉ News
RUC investigation into 1991 Belfast murder was 'ineffective', ombudsman finds
The RUC investigation into the murder of a man by loyalists in Belfast in 1991 was "ineffective" and not capable of bringing perpetrators to justice, Northern Ireland's Police Ombudsman has said. Marie Anderson said that complaints from the family of John O'Hara about the inquiry were "legitimate and justified". The 41-year-old father of five was working as a taxi driver when he was attacked by gunmen in Dunluce Avenue, south Belfast, on 17 April 1991. He had arrived to pick up a fare when a number of men emerged from an alleyway and fired shots through the side window of his vehicle. The Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF), a loyalist paramilitary group aligned with the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), admitted the murder the following day. Police said that Mr O'Hara had no connection to any political or paramilitary organisation. Publishing her report, Ms Anderson said while the original RUC response was of a good standard, the subsequent murder inquiry was "not capable of bringing those responsible to justice". She said the "inadequacy" of the investigation meant it failed to meet the legal obligation under the European Convention on Human Rights. Ms Anderson said that police investigating the murder did not effectively pursue relevant suspects, including failing to arrest a significant number of individuals implicated by intelligence reports and other information as having been involved. Her report also said the murder weapons can no longer be located for analysis using modern forensic techniques, and identified failures to test suspect alibis, to seize a car suspected of being used by the killers, and to conduct adequate forensic inquiries. However, the ombudsman said that she had found nothing to suggest police had information that would have allowed them to prevent the murder. RUC actions surrounding Mr O'Hara's murder were initially looked at as part of a larger ombudsman investigation which focused on the activities of the UDA in south Belfast between 1993 and 1998. Mr O'Hara's killing was not included in the report on the broader investigation, published in 2022, due to the pending prosecution of a man charged in connection to the murder. The trial was halted in December 2023 when the suspect died. Ms Anderson said: "I am mindful that intelligence is not evidence but all investigative agencies rely on intelligence to assist in the investigation of crime. "Intelligence can provide investigators with new lines of inquiry which may result in subsequent arrests and other investigative opportunities. "My investigators have viewed intelligence and information that was provided to the murder investigation team that would have enabled them to identify a number of potential suspects to the murder. "However, no arrests of these individuals followed." She said that one potential suspect was not arrested despite being connected to the murder by witness evidence and four separate pieces of intelligence received between April and September 1991 - one of which suggested he had been one of the gunmen. Ms Anderson also referred to intelligence received by police in late April 1991, which indicated that eight people had been involved in the murder. "This intelligence provided a significant amount of information about the murder, which I have concluded ought to have been actioned by police. "However, only three of those people were arrested," she said. Her report added that another of those named in the intelligence was identified by RUC Special Branch as a possible likeness to a photofit created by witnesses who described a gunman running down the street telling people to stay indoors. Despite having been identified on the basis of intelligence and witness evidence, he was not arrested, although his home was searched. The search found nothing to assist the investigation of Mr O'Hara's murder. 'Concern' that suspect wasn't arrested Police also raised an investigative action to trace and interview another of the potential suspects, rather than arrest him, the ombudsman's report said. "I find it concerning that police had separate pieces of information suggesting that this man may have been linked to Mr O'Hara's murder yet he was not arrested. "He was interviewed only as a witness rather than a suspect." The ombudsman investigators found no evidence that the alibis provided by three suspects arrested in connection with Mr O'Hara's murder had been tested by police. One was interviewed 21 times over three days in April 1991. Ms Anderson said there were only two brief mentions of the murder during the questioning. The report said the suspect stated that he had been at his brother's house at the time of the murder. Ms Anderson said there was no evidence that police had conducted inquiries to test this alibi. The complaint to the ombusdman by Mr O'Hara's widow included an allegation that she had not been kept updated about the progress of the original police investigation. As a result, she suspected there had been collusion between the RUC and those involved in the murder. Ms Anderson said her investigators had identified and spoken to the officer who had liaising with the family during the inquiry. He said that his point of contact with the family had been Mrs O'Hara's brother-in-law. The ombudsman said: "The officer agreed that, because of the pressure of work at that time, together with security concerns regarding the releasing of information, there was insufficient contact with all families who found themselves in similar circumstances during this time period. "This is a systemic issue that I have identified in other similar cases." The ombudsman's investigation found no collusion in relation to the allegation of failures by police to update Mrs O'Hara about her husband's murder.
Miami Herald
31-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
What did Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale look like decades ago? See for yourself
Like most downtown areas in South Florida, Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale have changed through the years. In Hollywood, the Greyhound bus station is long gone. So are the movie theaters, some beloved restaurants and stores, a landmark hotel (although a new residential building features a replica facade). And the Las Olas and downtown areas of Fort Lauderdale certainly went through changes through the years. The business district is now dotted with outdoor cafes. High-rise towers glisten in the distance. There's a lot more traffic. And construction. Lots of construction. Let's take a look at how the two areas looked decades ago through the photo archives of the Miami Herald: Hollywood The Great Southern Hotel in the 1920s, near Young Circle in Hollywood. Miami Herald File Hollywood Blvd. looking west from Young Circle in the 1970s. Miami Herald File O'Hara's, a jazz bar on Hollywood Boulevard in 1999, that is now a Twin Peaks. Miami Herald File In 2005, art patrons and artists packed the newest addition to downtown Hollywood's art scene during the city's latest Art Walk. Eileen Soler Miami Herald File A saxaphonist performs in 1988 at the old amphitheater on Young Circle in downtown Hollywood. Miami Herald File Fort Lauderale Las Olas Art Festival in Bubier Park, across from the Museum of Art in 1992. Miami Herald File Las Olas Boulevard near downtown Fort Lauderdale in 1994. Miami Herald File In 1954, the lobby of the Las Olas Inn. Miami Herald File
