18-03-2025
BBC Scotland to scrap flagship drama River City
BBC Scotland is to scrap its flagship soap River City after more than 20 drama which began in September 2002 will continue filming for another 12 months before airing its final series in autumn next BBC said there had been a significant change in audience behaviour away from long-running series and towards shorter said total investment in drama would increase over the next three years with the focus on "world-class productions" that can be sold internationally.
River City was set in the fictional west of Scotland town of Shieldinch and filmed on a specially built set in was originally seen as a Scottish competitor to Eastenders and Coronation Street but struggled to get viewers in other parts of the Purdon, who was nicknamed Shellsuit Bob in the early years of the show, is the only original member of the cast that still appears in the its early days, the soap attracted stars such as Stefan Dennis, from Neighbours, and Lorraine McIntosh from pop band Deacon Webbe from pop band Blue also had a part in the show as well as young Sam Heughan, the actor who would go on to star in hit show Susan Boyle, broadcaster Lorraine Kelly and Radio 2 DJ Scott Mills are among the celebrities to have made cameo appearances over the years.
BBC Scotland director Hayley Valentine said: "The team have done a brilliant job and I know they have some big plans for the finale next year. "But as viewing patterns change and competition intensifies, this is the right time to invest in the next generation of high-impact drama series from across Scotland showcasing storytelling across the UK."At the same time as announcing the end of River City, the BBC said three new dramas - Counsels, Grams and The Young Team - would create new opportunities across the independent TV production sector. It said total investment in BBC drama from Scotland over the next three years is expected to rise to over £95m in well as the new dramas, the BBC said that popular show Granite Harbour will return for a third series as well as Shetland coming back for its 10th series and Vigil for a third.
The BBC says the decision to bring River City to an end is driven by changing for soap operas and continuing dramas have been declining across the focus is shifting towards shorter series which make a high impact. Shows such as Shetland can be "appointment to view" TV which are sold abroad, streamed for a long time and repeated on smaller falling audiences for soaps - along with the inflationary costs which have faced drama productions - have led to some hard decisions for commissioners, with daytime soap Doctors and the medical drama Holby City coming to an challenge for the BBC will be to demonstrate that the resources freed up by this move are being spent effectively on other Scottish the programme started in 2002, the hope was that River City would build a strong relationship with its audience - especially those viewers who may not have felt well-served by the BBC in is only natural some regular viewers and fans will be disappointed by today's there is also the question of the impact on employment - for actors, writers and production of those who work on River City are will be vital for the BBC to demonstrate that other commissions balance out River City's loss and ensure there are still plenty of employment is likely to face scrutiny to ensure a creative decision which will disappoint some viewers does not prove to be bad news for the TV production industry.
