River City

Last updated

River City
River City 2021.jpg
Genre Soap opera
Created by Stephen Greenhorn
Starring Present and former cast
Opening themeRiver City theme (2020)
Ending themeRiver City theme (2020)
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original languages
  • English
  • Scots
No. of episodes1,389
Production
Producer
  • Martin McCardie
Production locations Dumbarton, Scotland
Camera setup Multiple camera setup
Running time
  • 30 minutes (2002–2007, 2022–present)
  • 60 minutes (2007–2022)
Production companies
Original release
Network
Release24 September 2002 (2002-09-24) 
present

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.

Contents

History

Development and launch

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. [1] 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. [1] Before he could rewrite his proposals, Greenhorn had to decide where in Glasgow, the soap would be set. He settled for Whiteinch just on the north banks of the River Clyde. [1]

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. [4] 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. [4]

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. [4] 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]

2010s

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]

2020s

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.

Setting

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]

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.

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNomineeResultRef
2006 BAFTA Scotland AwardBest Drama ProgrammeRiver CityNominated
BAFTA Scotland AwardAudience AwardRiver CityNominated
Great Scot AwardEntertainment AwardRiver CityWon [12]
2009BAFTA Scotland AwardTelevision DramaRiver CityNominated [13] [14]
Scotland Variety AwardBest New Scottish Actor or ActressLisa Gardner (Jo Rossi)Nominated [15]
2010Scotland Variety AwardBest New Scottish Actor or ActressLorna Craig (Jennifer Bowie)Won [16]
New Talent AwardActing PerformanceKeira Lucchesi (Stella Walker)Nominated [17] [18]
2011New Talent AwardProducer: Fiction/FactualLizzie GrayNominated [19]
2012Scotland Variety AwardBest New Scottish Actor or ActressKiera Lucchesi (Stella Walker)Nominated [20]
2020BAFTA Scotland AwardAudience Award [lower-alpha 1] River CityNominated [21] [22]
2023 RTS Scotland AwardDramaRiver CityWon [23]
  1. The Audience Award was specifically for Most Popular Television Programme

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>General Hospital</i> American television soap opera

General Hospital is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in Guinness World Records as the longest-running American soap opera in production, and the second in American history after Guiding Light. Concurrently, it is the world's third longest-running scripted drama series in production after British serials The Archers and Coronation Street, as well as the world's second-longest-running televised soap opera still in production. General Hospital premiered on the ABC television network on April 1, 1963. General Hospital is the longest-running serial produced in Hollywood, and the longest-running entertainment program in ABC television history. It holds the record for most Daytime Emmy Awards for Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, with 14 wins.

Hollyoaks is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera Brookside. From 2005 to 2023, episodes have aired on sister channel E4 a day prior to their broadcast on Channel 4. In 2023, Hollyoaks was removed from Channel 4's early evening schedule, but remains on E4 and Channel 4's on demand service with episodes now uploaded to YouTube. At its inception, the soap was targeted towards an adolescent and young adult audience but it has since broadened its appeal to all age groups. Hollyoaks has covered various taboo subjects rarely seen on British television, for which it has received numerous awards. It has won the award for Best British Soap twice, in 2014 and 2019; its first win broke the 15-year tie between rival soap operas EastEnders and Coronation Street. Beginning with a cast of 15 characters, it now has 37 regular cast members. The longest-serving actor is Nick Pickard, who has portrayed Tony Hutchinson since the first episode.

Dawn Steele is a Scottish actress best known for her portrayals of the characters Alexandra “Lexie” MacDonald from the BBC drama Monarch of the Glen, Alice Trevanion in the ITV drama series Wild at Heart and Dr. Annie Jandhu/Murdoch in BBC Soap Opera River City. Steele played Ange Godard in BBC's Holby City until it ended in March 2022. Recently been in BBC Crime series Granite Harbour.

Sue Johnston OBE is an English actress. She is known for portraying Sheila Grant in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside (1982–1990), Barbara Royle in the BBC comedy The Royle Family (1998–2012), Grace Foley in the BBC drama Waking the Dead (2000–2011), Gloria Price in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street (2012–2014) and Miss Denker in the ITV drama Downton Abbey (2014–2015). She won the 2000 British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actress and was nominated for the 2000 BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Performance for The Royle Family.

<i>Still Game</i> Scottish BBC TV sitcom (2002–2019)

Still Game is a Scottish sitcom produced by Effingee Productions, The Comedy Unit and BBC Scotland. It was created by Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill, who played the lead characters, Jack Jarvis, Esq and Victor McDade, two Glaswegian pensioners. The characters first appeared in the pair's previous TV sketch show Chewin' the Fat, which aired in Scotland from January 1999 until December 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whiteinch</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Whiteinch is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated directly north of the River Clyde, between the Partick and Scotstoun areas of the city. Whiteinch was at one stage part of the burgh of Partick, until that burgh's absorption into the expanding city of Glasgow in 1912, and part of the Parish of Govan.

<i>Waterloo Road</i> (TV series) British television series

Waterloo Road is a British television drama series set in a comprehensive school of the same name, first broadcast on BBC One on 9 March 2006, concluding its original run on 9 March 2015, exactly nine years after the broadcast of the first episode.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Media of Scotland</span>

There are several types of mass media in Scotland: television, cinema, radio, newspapers, magazines, game design and websites. The majority of Scotland's media is located in Glasgow, the countries largest city, which serves as the HQ for much of the countries major media employers such as broadcasters BBC Scotland and STV, radio services including BBC Radio Scotland, Clyde 1 and Pure Radio Scotland. Game design and production company, Rockstar North, has its international offices in the countries capital city, Edinburgh.

Stephen Greenhorn is a Scottish playwright and screenwriter. He is the creator of the BBC Scotland soap opera River City.

The first series of the British medical drama television series Holby City commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 12 January 1999, and concluded on 9 March 1999. The show was created by Mal Young and Tony McHale as a spin–off from the BBC medical drama Casualty, intended to follow the treatment of patients from Casualty as they were transferred onto the hospital's surgical wards. McHale served as the programme's lead writer throughout the first series, which ran for nine episodes. Young cast actors who were already established names in the acting industry, particularly from a soap opera background. Several cast members shadowed real surgeons and nurses in preparation for their roles to increase the show's realism. The series received mixed reviews from critics. It was compared favourably with Casualty, but received negative reviews in which it was contrasted poorly with the American medical drama ER. The series première attracted 10.72 million viewers, falling to 8.51 million by the series finale.

Kathleen Beedles is a British producer, who has worked on a total of over 2500 episodes of various British soap operas to date. She grew up in Rogart and now resides in London.

Eileen McCallum, MBE is a Scottish actress who is best known for playing the part of shopkeeper Isabel Blair through the complete run of soap opera Take the High Road from 1980 to 2003, and as Liz Hamilton from 2005 to 2018 in the BBC Scotland soap River City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shed Productions</span> UK production company

Shed Productions, part of Warner Bros. Television Productions UK, was an independent UK television production company, specialising in contemporary, original drama programming and content. It was established in 1998 by Eileen Gallagher, Brian Park, Ann McManus and Maureen Chadwick, who previously worked together at Granada Television. As of October 2015 it no longer exists as a company with all properties folded into Wall to Wall.

Juliet Cadzow is a Scottish actress. She played Edie McCredie in the children's television series Balamory, Suzie Fraser in BBC series River City and various roles in BBC series Still Game.

Haldane Duncan was a Scottish television producer and director, best known for his contributions to soap operas.

Libby McArthur is a Scottish actress known for her portrayal of Gina Hamilton in soap opera River City, a character she played from the show's inception in September 2002 until November 2013. Other television appearances include Taggart, Take The High Road, Rab C. Nesbitt and Looking After Jo Jo.

Stephen McCole is a Scottish actor. He is best known for starring in the dark comedy series High Times, the American comedy Rushmore, and for his former role in BBC Scotland soap opera River City.

Deirdre Davis is a Scottish actress. She is known for her role as Eileen Donachie in the BBC Scotland soap opera River City, which she starred in for almost 14 years, from its first broadcast on 24 September 2002 until May 2016. She has also appeared in the films Orphans (1998), The Debt Collector (1999), The Magdalene Sisters (2002), and The Rocket Post (2004).

Holly Jack is a Scottish actress and acting coach. She is known for her role as Nicole Brodie in the BBC Scotland soap opera River City, in which she joined as a series regular in October 2010. After appearing in the soap for four years, she quit and began working as an acting coach. She also appeared in Waterloo Road as Bonnie Kincaid in 2015. Then, four years after leaving River City, she returned in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Oates</span> British television producer

Kate Oates is a British television producer, who was born in Nottingham and graduated from Warwick University. She began her career working as a researcher and editorial assistant for Germaine Greer, before becoming a script editor for the soap opera Crossroads. In 2003, she joined the radio soap The Archers as a producer, a position which Oates credits as the majority of her training. After resigning from this job, Oates began working on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale as a script editor, during which time she assisted with the soap's fortieth anniversary celebrations and worked on British Soap Award-winning storylines. She remained in the position until 2012 when she joined Coronation Street as the assistant producer.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Holmes, Jeff (2012). 10 Years of River City: Behind the Scenes of Scotland's Favourite TV Drama. World of Books Ltd. p. 2. ISBN   9781845024529.
  2. "He's had a crisis, it's now time for drama Face to Face: Stephen Greenhorn After two years of hard labour, a writer unveils his 'baby' to the viewing public". The Herald. 23 September 2002. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  3. "River City: Leith's Shore was original setting for hit BBC Scotland soap reveals show's creator". Edinburgh News. 19 May 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Holmes, Jeff (2012). 10 Years of River City: Behind the Scenes of Scotland's Favourite TV Drama. World of Books Ltd. p. 3. ISBN   9781845024529.
  5. "BBC names Scottish soap". 6 August 2002. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  6. Fulton, Rick (16 September 2012). "River City celebrates 10th birthday with a look at the original cast". Daily Record. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  7. "Scot Squad and River City stars join forces for Children In Need mash-up with Pudsey". Media Centre. BBC. 16 November 2017.
  8. "River City Resumes Filming". BBC. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  9. "BBC to screen classic episodes of River City throughout summer months". Daily Record . Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  10. Neil Blain, ed. (2008). Media in Scotland. Edinburgh University Press. p. 130. ISBN   9780748631827.
  11. "Dumbarton: River City stars heading to town for night of laughter". Dumbarton Reporter . 9 February 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  12. "Great Scot! River City Wins Award". bbc.co.uk. 6 November 2006. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  13. "Scottish BAFTA nominations announced". film.list.co.uk. 30 October 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  14. "BAFTA Scotland Nomination". bbc.co.uk. 20 October 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  15. "Scottish Variety Awards 2009". bbc.co.uk. 12 February 2009. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  16. "Scottish Variety Awards-26 March". BBC. 23 March 2010.
  17. "New Talent Awards Winners in 2010". bafta.org. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  18. "Bafta New Talent Awards – Friday, 19 March". bbc.co.uk. 19 March 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  19. "New Talent Awards 2011". bafta.org. 28 February 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  20. "Scottish Variety Awards". clyde1.com. 12 December 2011. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  21. "BAFTA Scotland 2020 nominees". BAFTA Scotland. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  22. "All the winners from the BAFTA Scotland Awards 2020". The List. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  23. "RTS SCOTLAND AWARDS 2023". Royal Television Society. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.