River City
Setting
Main article: River City Locations
The studios are in a purpose-built BBC Scotland set in Dumbarton where the set representing Shieldinch has been built on the site of an old J & B Whisky Bond which, to a large degree, has been modelled on a Glasgow West End scene. Examples of this reproduction include; the red sandstone tenements reflecting Partick, a Subway station similar to those found in urban Glasgow and also the Oyster Caf, which is modelled on various Scottish/Italian cafs found throughout the west of Scotland, including the University Caf on Glasgow’s Byres Road.
Cast
Main article: List of characters in River City
In its seven years on air, River City has featured over a hundred main characters, with many more in a temporary or recurring role.
Famous Names
For a fledgling soap, River City has attracted various familiar faces on a permanent or temporary basis. Actors such as Stefan Dennis (known to viewers of Neighbours as Paul Robinson), Gray O’Brien (formerly of Casualty, Peak Practice and now Coronation Street), Juan Pablo Di Pace and Lorraine McIntosh (of the Scottish band Deacon Blue) have played various parts in the soap. Eileen McCallum, who played Isabel Blair in the now defunct soap opera Take the High Road on stv, plays the mother of lawyer Archie Buchanan. More recently Jacqueline Leonard (who played Lorraine Wicks in EastEnders and Valerie Holden in Hollyoaks) and David Paisley (who played Ben Saunders in Holby City) have joined the cast as mother and son Lydia and Rory Murdoch. Later in 2008, Louise Jameson (who is most noted for roles in Doctor Who, Bergerac and EastEnders, where she played Rosa di Marco) also joined the cast as co-owner of Moda Vida with Shirley Henderson.
Kari Corbett who played Kirsty Henderson in the original cast from 2002 is now playing Nurse Marian Mckaig in ITV’s The Royal and Caroline Cooper in Hollyoaks.
BBC Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills praised the show highly and was rewarded with a cameo appearance as a DJ at Hazel and Vader’s Hogmanay Party.
Lorraine Kelly appeared as herself, an old schoolmate of Billy’s, in June 2006 during Gina & Archie’s wedding episode. She talked about her role in the episode while appearing on Channel 4’s The Paul O’Grady Show.
Veteran Scottish actress Hannah Gordon guest starred as hotel owner Rose in the 2007 Christmas episodes of the show. She was manager of the hotel the Adams family visited for Christmas, only to discover that Archie Buchanan was working there, though under the guise of “Douglas” as he claimed to have suffered memory loss and had been taken in by Rose when she found him.
Kieron Elliott (Duncan Robertson) is a DJ on the 96.3 Rock Radio weekday breakfast show.
Natasha Watson (Freya Robertson) is a BAFTA nominated actress.
Paula Sage (Donna McCabe) starred in the Scottish film Afterlife.
Laura McMonagle and Jade Lezar (Zoe Cullen and Alanna McVey) sang together as City Chix, one of the acts vying to represent the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006. Despite their entry All About You receiving the maximum 12 Points from the Scottish vote, they finished third overall in the Making Your Mind Up programme.
Laxmi Kuthuria, now a doctor at Yorkhill Royal Hospital for Sick Children, appeared in the first months of River City as Jamilah Malik.
Johnny Wu, the owner of the now replaced “Wok My World” takeaway, was played by veteran Hong Kong and Asia movie star Richard Ng (known as Richard Woo in the UK).
Production
Format change
In August 2008, it was announced that River City’s format would change from a twice-weekly 30 minute soap to a weekly, hour-long drama format with ‘very little referring to earlier storylines’ and an emphasis on the newly-established Murdoch family. However, there has been criticism from loyal fans that the quality of characterisation and storylines have slid and that established characters such as the Rossi/Hamilton, Henderson and Adams/Mullen families have been sidelined.
Broadcasts
The show is broadcast terrestrially in Scotland, initially with two 30 minute episodes a week (Tuesdays at 8pm and Fridays at 8.30pm) it has moved in 2007 to one weekly 60 minute episode broadcast on Tuesdays at 8pm. However, viewers in the rest of the United Kingdom with satellite services are also able to tune in. BBC One Scotland can be found on Sky Digital Channel 971. Audience figures outwith Scotland may have been helped by ‘celebrity fans’ like DJ Scott Mills and Lorraine Kelly who have seen the show on satellite and recommended it to viewers and listeners alike. The show is also available via the BBC iPlayer on demand throughout the UK.
The omnibus edition is also broadcast, usually sometime on a Sunday afternoon, on BBC One Scotland. Virgin Media On Demand shows the week’s episodes on its TV Pick of the Week section for free.
External links
River City at BBC Online
River City on Internet Movie Database
River City at Digital Spy
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River City
Characters
Present characters Past characters Recurring Characters
Locations
River City Locations Shieldinch The Tall Ship Oyster Caf Montego Deli Moda Vida Hola Montego Motors Shieldinch Medical Centre Shieldinch Subway Station
Crew
Stephen Greenhorn Morag Bain Eric Coulter
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River City Characters
Present and Future characters
Malcolm Hamilton Eileen Donachie Gina Hamilton Ruth Rossi Joanne Rossi Robert ‘Shellsuit Bob’ Adams Derek ‘Deek’ Henderson Scott Wallace Raymond Henderson Scarlett Mullen Lenny Murdoch Liz Buchanan Iona McIntyre Jimmy Mullen Madonna Mullen Lydia Murdoch Amber Murdoch Ewan Murdoch Father Mulvaney Daniel McKee Marianne McKee Joe Charlie Bowie Jennifer Bowie Innes Maitland Gordon Swan Hayley McCrone Robbie Fraser Murray Stella Bob O’Hara Molly O’Hara
Past characters
Alanna McVey Alice Henderson Alisha Shah Andrew Murray Archie Buchanan Arun Shah Billy Davies Brian Henderson Callum Stuart Carly Fraser Charlie Drummond Cormac O’Sullivan Della Davies Dilip Shah Donna McCabe Duncan Robertson Eddie Hunter Ewan Donachie Father Dominic Fi Kyd Frank McKenna Freya Robertson George Henderson Gerry McGrade Glenn McAllister Hana Malik Harry Black Hazel Campbell Heather Bellshaw Helen Gilmour Jamie Hunter Jamilah Malik Jean Drummond JP Walsh Karim Malik Kelly-Marie Adams Kirsty Henderson Lewis Pope Liam McNulty Lily Fraser Lola Fraser Luca Rossi Mac Macdonald Marcus McKenzie Marty Green Michael Royston Michelle Rafferty Moira Henderson Nazir Malik Niamh Corrigan Nicki Cullen Paddy Adams Paul Hunter Richard Whiteside Robert Henderson Roison McIntyre Rory Murdoch Russ Minto Sharon McLaren Shirley Henderson Shona McIntyre Steph McKenzie Stevie Adams Tina Hunter Tom McCabe Tommy Donachie Vader Campbell Vinnie Shah Viv Roberts Zara Malik Zoe Cullen
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Soap operas in the United Kingdom
Coronation Street Doctors EastEnders Emmerdale Hollyoaks
Regional soaps
River City Pobol y Cwm Rownd a Rownd
Medical drama
Casualty Holby City The Royal
Police drama
The Bill Heartbeat
Radio soaps
The Archers Silver Street
Defunct
199 Park Lane Albion Market Brookside Compact Crossroads Eldorado Emergency - Ward 10 Family Affairs Garnock Way General Hospital The Grove Family HolbyBlue The Newcomers Night and Day The Royal Today Take the High Road
Categories: River City | BBC Scotland television programmes | Scottish television soap operas | Fictional cities and towns in Scotland | 2000s British television series | 2010s British television series | Glasgow | West Dunbartonshire | 2002 in British television | 2002 television series debuts | Television shows set in Glasgow
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