Unions have described the BBC’s axing of Scottish drama River City after 23 years as a “killer blow” to freelancers and the nation’s talent pipeline.
Director of BBC Scotland Hayley Valentine said the decision to end the BBC Studios show in autumn 2026 and transfer its £9m annual investment into a trio of new series is part of plan to put the nation “on the global drama map”.
LA Productions’ established series Granite Harbour plus three new BBC Scotland shows totalling 20 hours – Balloon Entertainment’s Counsels, World Productions’ Grams and Synchronicity Films’ The Young Team – will help push total investment in BBC drama from Scotland to more than £95 over the next three years.
Each of the new shows will have a network broadcast: Counsels and Grams on BBC1 and The Young Team on BBC3.
Last year, the BBC aired 67 episodes of River City - 33,5 hours in total - and unions voiced fears about the cumulative impact of the drama joining fellow BBC continuing dramas Doctors and Holby City on the scrapheap, plus the scaling back of ITV soaps Emmerdale and EastEnders and Channel 4’s Casualty.
“While we welcome a commitment from BBC Scotland to invest in new drama production, these changes will result in a significant loss of writing hours,” said Writers' Guild of Great Britain chair Emma Reeves.
She said the move is “a huge blow to our members who write for River City, to loyal audiences, and another serious erosion of continuing drama which provides a unique talent pipeline into an industry that is currently facing crisis after crisis.”
Bectu head Philippa Childs said the loss of creative jobs is “hugely disappointing”.
Describing Scotland as “a place which reflects the fantastic diversity the BBC should be representing,” she added: “Many of those who work on River City are freelancers, for whom this news will be a particular blow given the ongoing uncertainty in the UK’s production sector and precarious employment prospects.”
Directors UK head Andy Harrower said his members in Scotland had been dealt a “killer blow”.
He added: “The BBC has indicated that the money saved will be reallocated to other Scottish production. This must happen, and it must translate into work opportunities for Scottish talent.”
