| Genre: | Soap opera |
| Creator: | Stephen Greenhorn |
| Starring: | Present and former cast |
| Open Theme: | River City theme (2020) |
| End Theme: | River City theme (2020) |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Num Episodes: | 1,389 |
| Location: | Dumbarton, Scotland |
| Camera: | Multiple camera setup |
| Runtime: |
|
| Producer: |
|
| Last Aired: | present |
| Channel: |
River City is a Scottish television soap opera created by Stephen Greenhorn which has been broadcast on BBC One Scotland since 24 September 2002. Since 2019, the show has aired episodes a day earlier on the new BBC Scotland channel. Set in the fictional district of Shieldinch in the west end of Glasgow, River City follows the lives of the local residents and their families as they go about their day-to-day lives. From its inception in 2002, the soap struggled to grasp viewers' approval, but would gradually see a rise in popularity. In 2023, the soap won 'Best Drama' at the Royal Television Society Scotland awards.
In 2000, BBC Scotland were in talks of launching its own serial drama for Scotland.[1] With the success of the BBC's other soap operas EastEnders and Holby City, which was launched the year before, the Corporation opened to independent producers but later decided to open an in-house bid.[1] The BBC invited Stephen Greenhorn, who had finished working on the Glasgow Kiss for the BBC that year, to help develop the soap.[2]
When deciding where to set the new soap, the BBC thought Glasgow was the "obvious option" but were worried it was too overexposed and they were looking at other locations.[1] Greenhorn suggested Edinburgh, but the BBC raised concerns that setting it in Edinburgh "wouldn't connect emotionally". The only other urban cities left were Dundee and Aberdeen, but these were ruled out. He thought setting it in the likes of Stirling "simply wouldn't work".[1] Greenhorn had spent a lot of time in Leith writing a story about the opening of the Scottish Parliament so he suggested the port district as the setting as he believed it shared similarities to Glasgow. The BBC loved the idea and asked for Greenhorn to begin work on writing a new drama.[3]
It took six months for Greenhorn to write a 50- to 60-page 'document' about the new soap.[1] The soap was to be set in Leith and titled The Shore. Although the BBC were impressed, they thought the right setting for the show was to be in the west of Scotland, essentially in Glasgow. This set Greenhorn back as he had already begun developing characters and producing storylines, but they didn't fit into the social classes and lifestyle of the city. Before he could rewrite his proposals, Greenhorn has to deicide where in Glasgow, the soap would be set. He settled for Whiteinch just on the north banks of the River Clyde.
His original commission for the soap only covered the first three episodes, however, Greenhorn planned to stick around to help contribute to what he hoped would become a Scottish household soap opera.[4] He also wanted to stick around to help the soap become a "drama factory" to open doors to actors, writers and crews to get into the television industry. BBC Scotland began building a purpose-built backlot, studio facility and office accommodation on an old whisky and vodka bottling plant in Dumbarton. This would be the setting for the show and helped for the BBC to build Shieldinch from scratch.
The soap's title, The Shore, was dropped by the BBC and Greenhorn suggested simply calling it Sheildinch, but this was rejected. In a brainstorming session, the final decision was River City People, although this was later shortened to River City. The BBC kept the name of the new soap opera a secret until its inception, simply referring it to as the Scottish Soap.[5]
The first episode aired on Tuesday 24 September 2002 on BBC One Scotland. On the same day, the Manchester United played in the United's Champions League match against Bayer Leverkusen. Over 700,000 viewers tuned into the first episode of River City.
The show was branded "River Shitty" in its early days.[6]
In November 2017, a short crossover episode of the show was made for Children in Need and featured several of the show's characters meeting characters from Scottish sitcom Scot Squad.[7]
In March 2020, production of River City was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and filming recommenced in August 2020.[8] In place of new episodes, a select number of "classic" episodes were aired.[9]
In February 2022, it was announced the cast were back filming another series. In March of the same year, the show returned to its original broadcast pattern of two half-hour episodes a week. After a break which started in August 2023, the show returned in October with a new format. Starting in October, each year's output will be three 11-week runs of 2 episodes.
River City is set in Shieldinch, a fictional district in the west end of Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. Shieldinch was founded in 1860 and was known for its shipyard (the local pub is named "The Tall Ship", which is a tribute to the area's shipbuilding heritage). The name is derived from the real districts of Whiteinch and Shieldhall, located on opposite banks of the River Clyde.[10] Filming takes place on a set built specifically for the soap opera in the nearby town of Dumbarton.[11]
See main article: List of River City characters. The storylines featured in River City are based on personal relationships and family life. Community involvement and the ability to come to terms with family issues, distress, and disagreements contribute to the development of each character. One of the original families that River City had been centered on was the Hamilton family which included Malcolm Hamilton; his daughters; Eileen Donachie, formally called Eileen Henderson; Gina Hamilton, previously known as Gina Buchanan and Gina Rossi; Gina's daughters; Ruth Rossi; Green; and Joanne Rossi. Another family that was integral to River City was the Hendersons. Both of these families have grown as the show has gone on. Eileen had two children, Kirsty and Brian, with her husband Raymond, as well as a stepdaughter Hazel who was her second husband Tommy's daughter from a previous marriage. She later had another son, Stuart, with Raymond which happened by chance. Joanne Rossi's son Franco and Ruth Rossi's daughter Ellie also became part of the show.
The Hamilton and Adams-Mullen families were the main focus of the plot for several River City storylines. The Hamiltons played centre stage from the drama's beginnings in 2002, and the Adams–Mullen families from around 2003. Around the start of 2007, the storylines were based around the recently integrated Murdoch clan. In the year 2008 a new couple, the McKees, had been brought into the show when they made a new home in Shieldinch, giving them a big part in several storylines focused on their lives outside Shieldinch and the challenges of coming to a new town. As well as this, 2009 saw the introduction of the students and the hairdressers, consisting of father, daughter and two stylists. The current longest-serving character is Bob O'Hara, played by Stephen Purdon. He is the longest-serving character since Deirdre Davis' (Eileen Donachie) exit in May 2016 (the last character to have appeared since Episode 1). Scarlett O'Hara, played by Sally Howitt, is the longest-serving female character, having appeared since 2003. In 2016, Scottish actress Juliet Cadzow, known for appearing in Balamory, joined the soap.
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | BAFTA Scotland Award | Best Drama Programme | River City | |||
| BAFTA Scotland Award | Audience Award | River City | ||||
| Great Scot Award | Entertainment Award | River City | [12] | |||
| 2009 | BAFTA Scotland Award | Television Drama | River City | [13] [14] | ||
| Scotland Variety Award | Best New Scottish Actor or Actress | Lisa Gardner (Jo Rossi) | [15] | |||
| 2010 | Scotland Variety Award | Best New Scottish Actor or Actress | Lorna Craig (Jennifer Bowie) | [16] | ||
| New Talent Award | Acting Performance | Keira Lucchesi (Stella Walker) | [17] [18] | |||
| 2011 | New Talent Award | Producer: Fiction/Factual | Lizzie Gray | [19] | ||
| 2012 | Scotland Variety Award | Best New Scottish Actor or Actress | Kiera Lucchesi (Stella Walker) | [20] | ||
| 2020 | BAFTA Scotland Award | Audience Award | River City | [21] [22] | ||
| 2023 | RTS Scotland Award | Drama | River City | [23] |