Happy Birthday River City

BBC Scotland's flagship drama River City is ten years old.

Over the last decade, Scottish audiences have been treated

to a veritable feast of Shieldinch shenanigans.

This programme will look back and celebrate this unique, quirky

and unashamedly Scottish product,

marking this ten-year milestone and raising a glass

to the good people of Shieldinch.

Happy Birthday, River City.

Many's a twist and turn River City has taken in its young life,

establishing household names,

welcoming some of Scotland's showbiz legends into its fold

and morphing into an hour-long drama with punchy, gritty storylines.

Let's go back to the very beginnings of River City

or, as it was called then, the Scottish soap.

It was kind of terrifying at the beginning.

Joining River City on day one was nerve-racking.

Everybody and their dug was being seen for a soap.

Everyone was proud of the fact that BBC Scotland were making

our own soap, that we were going to hear our own voices.

There was a huge buzz from the first read-through to the first day

on set, which was nerve-racking, but great fun.

When I got the call to say you're auditioning for Shell Suit Bob

I thought someone was kidding. It didn't sound like a real name.

And everybody wanted a gig on River City, everyone did.

BBC Scotland searched the length and breadth of the country

looking for a suitable site.

Very quickly, an old whisky bottling plant in Dumbarton became the frontrunner.

The first time I came down here and actually came on set, I remember

being completely blown away by how realistic the set looked.

I think the set itself was inspirational

and I'll never forget the day

that Barbara McKissak invited us onto set

and it was like, you turned a corner, crossed a puddle

and you were in Partick!

The preparation was over. It was time to start shooting.

I was actually on the first day,

the first scene that we ever started filming

in June 2002, and I remember when they said, "Running up, turn over,"

Barbara McKissak, the head of drama, burst into tears.

I was incredibly emotional when it started.

To actually get to this stage where we're turning over

and we're now recording the new Scottish soap.

It's just like a miracle.

With the first episodes in the can, it was now time to show and tell.

860,000 discerning Scottish viewers tuned in to get their first glimpse

of life in Shieldinch.

On Tuesday the 24th of September, 2002 at 7.30pm,

River City went on air for the first time ever. Yikes!

The show opened with Tommy Donachie and Eileen Hamilton's wedding.

The wedding's off.

-We can't get married.

-What?

I actually can't think of Tommy and Eileen's wedding

without a feeling of prickling horror,

because I had the worst wedding outfit in the world on

and my hair, I looked like Dandini from the pantomime,

so I can't look at the photographs without thinking, "What was I wearing?!"

# What's the use in sharing this one and only life?... #

We sang at Eileen's wedding on the first episode.

Gina, Ruth and I all got up to sing.

I cannot sing. I'm completely tone-deaf, so I'm standing there

trying to mime and trying to follow them moving about.

It was a great first episode because it introduced you to all the characters

and all the different relationships and who was married to who.

It wasn't something you felt was going to have to grow on you.

Immediately you thought, "It's good, it's going somewhere."

Very early on the three main families of the soap,

the Donachies, the Rossis and the Hendersons, were established.

Through them and some colourful characters around them,

the Shieldinch community was born.

Of course there were the three main families at the beginning

of River City and I was what was called a satellite character,

me and Shell Suite Bob, Stephen.

It was a wee community

and communities within communities as well.

Every good soap needs a good boozer

and the Tall Ship Bar was quickly established

as the heart of the soap, bringing together the old and the new.

It gives me great pleasure to declare the Tall Ship Grill open.

The stage was set for a whirlwind of births, deaths, marriages,

double dealings, accidents and lots

and lots of gallus Glasgow humour, which very quickly set the tone

and captured the hearts of the Scottish nation.

What there was was a real feeling of camaraderie.

We were all in this together because no-one knew how it was going to turn out.

It was about starting with this idea of new connections and hope.

And we were all out on the set, popping the champagne bottles

It was so exciting.

It was such a new thing for Scotland.

It was all, "We're young people and we've just started working

"in Glasgow. It's exciting, the future will be great."

To the future - bring it on!

-ALL:

-The future!

You didn't know what was coming, but you knew it would be good.

With the show on air, the Scottish public had to get used to hearing

a concentration of their own voices on national TV.

Jo, hen. Sounds to me like she wants a tailor's dummy, no' Kate Moss.

They now had a mirror held up to them

and some found this a tricky reflection to embrace.

A lot of folk really freaked out at first.

I mean, folk would come up to you and go, "I cannae stand that, naebody talks like that."

"What are the accents? Naebody's talking like that."

-I just wanted to say, "You are talking

-just

-like that," you know.

You could feel the tide turning

and people starting to talk about characters.

-What a thing to come back to.

-Well, that's not all.

Lewis came round with a bunch of flowers.

What kind?

It doesn't matter what kind.

You kind of realised that times are changing,

people are taking them to their heart.

I think it just found its feet very quickly

and became a very watchable soap, up there with the best of them.

I watched River City right from the very start.

I was so pleased that we were actually doing a Scottish drama

and I was hooked right away, and I've been a fan ever since.

I became a fan and I have remained hooked to the programme ever since.

I loved it from day one, because it's really authentic.

It's people speaking to us in our own accents and in our own language.

It's five o'clock, I thought yous were finished!

This was new, it was fresh

and it was speaking about the kind of modern Scotland

and modern Glasgow.

We had been used to High Road and something that was very, very twee

and, of course, when River City came on the scene, it had tenement buildings, you know,

it had young people in it. You know, they spoke with a Glaswegian accent.

I'm fae Glesga. We take pride in the fact that naebody understonds us.

And there were early signs of a young star emerging.

Who could ever have predicted the impact that Shell Suit Bob

was going to have on the Scottish viewers?

You know, if you want anything else out of there,

trainers of whatever, the security guy's useless.

Shell Suit Bob, what can you say? He's just... He's just...

You can't imagine River City without him.

Shell Suit Bob's an institution.

Shell Suit Bob doesn't wear a shell suit, of course.

He was the guy to go to for your shell suits.

I never really wore shell suits a lot.

I think I had a couple of shell suits

and I think my whole thing was just stealing shell suits

out of shops, I think, and the name just stuck

and it's never left me since.

And a certain torry quine, Roisin McIntyre, played by Joyce Falconer,

burst onto our screens with the line...

"You've got a face that would turn the milk."

Roisin had a meteoric rise to becoming the voice of the show,

with everyone asking, "Does she really talk like that?"

Why nae hae a go on one of your own sunbeds?

Get a bit of colour about you!

The main reason folk noticed my character

was, of course, the way I speak.

Excuse me, do you mind talking properly?

Roisin was just speaking in dialect

and I mean, speaking the way that a lot of folk in Scotland do speak,

but they're so unused to seeing it on a square box.

No need to apologise, I'm happy to do that for free.

There were also strong signs of a strong, platonic friendship

in Scott and Ruth.

Scott and Ruth were a romance in the sense

that they just loved each other so much.

Scott and Ruth were intrinsically linked from day one

and so we went on a complete and utter rollercoaster for nine years.

Oh!

The casting net was flung far and wide.

New colourful characters and familiar faces from Scottish showbiz

started to pour into Shieldinch in their droves.

Casting was mammoth. You can imagine, we went everywhere.

I mean, let's face it, we went to Neighbours.

-Is this a private party or can anyone join in?

-Come in.

I did a reading. They went, "Great, great,"

and then the next minute I was on a plane to Scotland.

Deacon Blue's very own Lorraine McIntosh arrived

in Shieldinch. Alice Henderson was looking to reconnect

with her long lost son Deek.

I actually joined, I think it was about three months,

maybe two-and-a-half months into it. So I got a chance to see it

on screen and kind of see a bit of what I was coming into.

After bonding with Deek,

reformed alcoholic Alice soon fell off the wagon

and there was a rocky road ahead.

Why don't you do us all a favour and put a sock in it?

Shell Suit Bob needed a family. First up, his beloved mammie.

Enter Scarlett Adams and her ice cream van.

I'll never forget the first time I saw Scarlett in her van.

She jumped out the van

and was basically was ready for a punch-up, you know.

She was scary. You didn't know what would get with her.

Scarlett Adams, a woman with a sharp tongue,

razor-sharp wit, and a tigress when it comes to her cubs.

Robert Adams, get back here right now!

Ashamed of me or something? Me and you're ma, too!

I'd come to reclaim my son

because I know he was living rough and then he was hanging out

with Deek Henderson kind of thing,

and I was wanting him to come back into the family business,

and basically, when she turns up

looking for him, he's absolutely mortified.

Shell Suit also needed a sister. Enter Kelly-Marie.

My big entrance to the show was a big articulated lorry

and I tottered down the stairs

and all you seen was these legs and this wee skirt.

-Thanks! This is great.

-HORN TOOTS

And as I walked off, I just picked the knickers out the bum. Classy!

My classy entrance!

Even a gay brother arrived, but more about him later.

-Stevie!

-I caught him breaking in!

Don't listen to them, they're talkin' mince!

Latterly, wee Bob's been given an uncle in the form of Big Bob,

arriving in Shieldinch, as you do, in a tomato suit.

Out my road! Come on, get out my road!

And then Granny Molly arrived on her mobility scooter.

Molly O'Hara, Scarlett's mum, bold as brass

and ready to give anyone a tongue lashing if they stood in her way.

-Out my way!

-What do you want?

Oh! Oh, Scarlett.

I mean, it didn't go all that fast,

but touching reverse by mistake and suddenly you're away!

Aye, right(!) What did you do to deserve it?

That's no way to speak to your mother!

I never honestly, honestly thought I would be in a soap,

and I'll tell you something, I didn't think I'd still be in it.

I was just assuming it would be for a few episodes.

Scarlett met a good man in Jimmy Mullen, and the Adams-Mullens were born,

forming the backbone of the Shieldinch community.

We're the family in Shieldinch who have probably got the least money

and probably the most working-class family in the show

and we represent that, and I think a lot of people identify with that.

The esteemed lawyer Archie Buchanan arrived home to Shieldinch,

rapidly followed by his very posh mother Liz Buchanan,

played by soap royalty Eileen McCallum.

So she's invited to Gina's for dinner

and that was the first scene, and it was hysterically funny.

Very...exotic.

-Mother!

-What? I said he was cute.

Glam hairdresser Shirley arrived,

played by Barbara Rafferty

and became the boss of salon Moda Vida.

Coming into the show was a mixture of fear...

and excitement.

Very quickly, Shirley became a resident feature

of one of the three main families.

To become one of the big families of the community was fantastic.

Heather Bellshaw burst onto our screens.

Sexy Heather, always in killer heels, made her mark

on the Shieldinch community in more ways than one.

Coming into River City or trying to get into River City was

'a big deal for me.' Why's Kelly here?

-I needed the help.

-Right, fine.

But I do the hiring and firing round here - not you.

She was fierce, in the true sense of the word.

And the bad boy of all bad boys, Lenny Murdoch

and his gangster's moll Lydia, brought glamour

and grit to the show, proving an instant hit with the audience,

shortly after to be joined by a rebel of a daughter

and two brothers from a previous marriage.

Roisin was later joined by her two sisters, Iona and Shona

and her long-lost daughter Alana.

The one thing these McIntyre sisters shared,

hellish luck when it came to men.

Shieldinch had its full complement on board with a cast bursting

at the seams. Yeah, you've guessed it - a hotbed for lust and romance.

Everyone loves a good love story,

and after lots of flirting over the sunbeds,

employer and employee Raymond and Roisin finally got it together.

It was very much a love/hate relationship with Raymond.

Roisin was constantly putting him down.

-You're sick.

-Aye, sick of your moaning.

So sack me, then.

But of course he was head employer, so he could have sacked her

at any time, but he must have liked the abuse, I think.

She'd just, you know, take control. That was me,

and I was quite happy to let her do that. It's safer that way!

So...what is your type, then?

He had remembered that she'd liked these...

throwback, '80s white jeans that he'd had.

Which, I hasten to add, do nothing for me at all.

And then she came back to the Lazy Ray's

and there was Raymondo in all his glory with the white denims on.

He said, "Press play," and it's Proclaimers and Sunshine On Leith.

MUSIC PLAYS

Which is a personal favourite of mine.

And that was the moment that they realised

that they were for each other.

They went on to get married in one of the most flamboyant

wedding ceremonies Shieldinch has ever witnessed.

There have been so many weddings, and almost all of them

have happened in the Tall Ship.

I remember the huge big Las Vegas love heart above Raymond and Roisin,

and it was just fantastic.

And it was a real Footballers Wives type wedding.

I, Roisin McIntyre,

want to take you, Raymond Henderson,

as my husband

because you love me for the person I am.

MUSIC: "Love Really Hurts Without You"

I'd now like to read a bit from my favourite book Wuthering Heights.

I now pronounce you husband and wife.

This is the bit when you kiss.

Excellent!

CHEERING

From a flamboyant wedding to a flamboyant wedding dress.

Who could forget that leopard skinned, fluffy pink number that Scarlett Adams wore

in her ostentatious wedding to Jimmy Mullen?

I must say, I had the most fantastic dress known to man or woman.

I had a leopard-skin, fishtail dress with kind of pink, flowery bolero.

Jimmy, still recovering from his dramatic hit-and-run accident,

made a sterling effort and even ditched the wheelchair.

So he was on the sticks and they had their first dance together

and Jimmy's like Douglas Bader, sort of going about the dance floor.

-Oh, my goodness!

-Jimmy was just out the wheelchair. Oh, dear.

It was those sticks.

Scarlett Bernadette Adams and you, James Leslie Mullen,

are now husband and wife.

APPLAUSE

Now why stop at one sister when you can have two?

Years later, Raymond married Roisin's sister Shona.

Only one slight problem - she was still married to someone else.

Never that lucky in love, wee Shell Suit Bob should get a medal

for his attempts to get hitched with all his proposals.

Proposal number one, Zara Malik.

Er, cherry picker.

Take me to Planet Love, Captain Henderson.

So he thought "Come on," to Deek,

"you can put me up in the cherry picker,

"so I can go up to her window and propose." Young love.

# I will be...

-# With you... #

-Ssh!

Zara, hen, every time I see you I feel the voltage has been turned up in my socks!

The things starts going back and forward, up and down.

-Eh?

-I pure love you!

He's reaching out to give her the ring and I'm mucking about

with the leavers and pulling him further away

and the gap's getting bigger.

Going to hurry up, Zara? My arm's kind of sore here!

It was ridiculous. It was good fun. It was a funny scene.

Proposal number two - Michelle.

I want us to get married...

I mean, I got it out the cracker. I didn't have time to go to the shops.

I'll get you a better one. Ones with diamond and all that, I promise.

Proposal number three was Charlie Drummond.

-That looked like the perfect match.

-I'm so, so...

Charlie jilted him at the altar, so that was quite a sore one for him.

Charlie!

Proposal number four was a semi proposal,

it wasnae a full-blown proposal. It was Nicki Cullen.

Marry me. Please.

Give me the rest of our lives to make it up to you.

She was just about to leave and Bob went to propose

but she just left. Again, Bob failed miserably.

All he really needed was for someone to pop the question to him

and voila, you have a wedding.

Will you marry me, Bob Adams?

CHRISTMAS CAROLLERS SING

Of course I will.

CHEERING

Well, a wedding of sorts.

They did it on the QT, fooled everyone

inviting them to a quiz night, of all things, which actually turned out

to be their own wedding party, without any help or input

from Scarlett,

which, as you can imagine, when down like a lead balloon.

Slapping Bob at the venue, I've always felt it was out of love.

Are you happy now?

After arriving as the glam older hairdresser and merry widow,

Shirley married her love George Henderson,

a bittersweet moment as George was not a well man.

George was already terminally ill

and they make this hugely romantic, loving gesture

that they were still going to get married.

I'll always remember how much you mean to me.

It was a beautiful wedding

and it was very emotional, because we knew George wasn't well.

APPLAUSE

It was beautiful. I remember it clearly.

Then the lovely Gina Rossi eventually tied the knot

with the not-so-lovely Archie Buchanan,

becoming the new Mrs Buchanan of Shieldinch.

I'm going to be the next Mrs Buchanan.

Gina should never have married Archie and she knew that,

and Liz came to her and said to her, "He's not good man."

On her wedding day, mind you.

The wedding, I think you should call it off.

-You are kidding?

-No, I'm not.

You see, I don't believe that Archie will make you happy.

Oh, Gina, you should have taken Liz's advice.

A mother always knows her own son, good and bad.

And in this case, it was bad. Really bad.

He did want to marry her, I do believe he was fond of her.

-You're

-fond

-of her?

So that's what you have to offer, is it? Fondness?

The bad seed that was in his father

had obviously been inherited by him.

You're every inch the swine he was.

And if that girl's going to have any chance of happiness,

you better love her, Archie.

At least as much as your father loved me.

The wedding goes ahead with disastrous, disastrous results.

It's not too late. We can leg it out of here.

I'll be right behind you.

The audience all knew she shouldn't have married Archie.

I'm sure the whole of Shieldinch knew.

But at the end, as everybody knows,

Archie was just out for whatever he could get from it.

And a certain famous face from daytime TV

got to witness the nuptials first-hand.

-It's you, isn't it?

-Last time I looked.

Long-time friend of hairdresser Billy Davies,

Lorraine Kelly was in Shieldinch to visit her mum.

Is that who I think it is?!

I was so delighted to be asked to be part of River City

cos it was kind of like crawling into my TV set, it was amazing.

Excuse me. It's you, isn't it? I'm Scarlett.

-I'm a pal of Billy and Joanne's.

-Lovely to meet you, Scarlett.

Being on set was fantastic

and surrounded by all these characters that I knew so well.

-Is she coming to the wedding?

-No, she's not.

-Oh, go on,

-Gina's my mate, she pure loves you, by the way.

-Does she?

-Aye. Tell her!

She would be tickled pink.

Maybe I'll pop in for five minutes once I've seen my mum.

When I heard Lorraine Kelly would be at Gina's wedding,

it was just so exciting because we also knew

that Lorraine Kelly was genuinely a big fan of River City

-so it was a big mutual appreciation society.

-Hello!

Oh, my God.

Gina, this is an old school friend, this is Lorraine.

-Gina. Gina, Lorraine.

-It's lovely to meet you, and congratulations.

It was quite nerve-wracking cos I'm not an actress

and I know it wasn't much of a stretch cos I was playing myself, but it was still quite scary

and I was really worried I would forget my lines.

We had this brilliant bit where we meet each other

and I'm reminding myself, "This is Gina meeting Lorraine, not Libby!"

Have you had anything to eat? There's sausage rolls,

-they're lovely. I made them myself.

-Mum!

Such good scenes, because she steals the sausage rolls in her handbag

and Gina was really proud, cos she'd made them.

Everyone was so great, they all made me so welcome.

The atmosphere was fantastic. It was just like a big family

and they just, you know, they made it so, so easy for me

and I thought it was great and, like I say, just being able to be part

of a show that I love was really a very, very special moment for me.

But there wasn't a dry eye in the house

when two of Scotland's showbiz legends, in the guise of Malcolm Hamilton and Liz Buchanan

demonstrated their love for each other in front of all to see.

With the shadow of a dementia diagnosis hanging over him,

Malcolm asked his treasured Liz for her hand in marriage.

Are...

Are you asking me to marry you?

Oh, you're quick on the uptake.

Oh...

Malcolm.

Get your hankies at the ready.

This really was the wedding of the season.

Never doubt...

I love...

We got halfway through the ceremony

and Malcolm forgot my name.

I, Malcolm Hamilton...

..take, take...

There was this awful pause, you know,

and Liz just seemed to know what to do.

Look at me, Malcolm.

..take you, Elizabeth Buchanan,

to be my lawful, wedded wife.

Ach, I've never needed a piece of paper to tell me how I feel.

-I'm not going to start now.

-LAUGHTER

He never needed a script to tell someone that he loved them.

I think Johnny handled that beautifully,

I loved the wedding episode.

It was a fantastic storyline for us

and it was wonderful to take these two folk up to Loch Lomondside,

this beautiful Scottish setting, and make it a real emotional wedding.

It was a joy to do actually, I really enjoyed it.

My mind may be playing up,

but my heart's as strong as ever.

And I love you with my whole heart.

'She's such a pleasure to work with.'

She's a remarkable lady,

an absolutely remarkable lady.

Everybody adored that storyline,

we had huge feedback about how wonderful it was.

I cried a tear at the wedding of Liz and Malcolm.

'When River City plays that kind of storyline'

when it's getting right into the heart of humanity,

'that's when it really connects with people.'

Eileen McCallum and Johnny Beattie reflect the best of acting talent.

Of all the weddings we've seen over the ten years in River City,

Malcolm and Liz, for me, has got to be up there, probably number one.

They're part of our heritage, giving the performances of their lives

at that stage in their career. What a joy.

Where there's wedding bells, the stork is often not too far away,

or in soap land, it's de rigueur to do it the other way around.

River City has had its fair share of weans claiming Shieldinch

literally as their rightful birthplace.

First of all we witnessed four generations in the one close,

as Gina's daughter Joanne gave birth to wee Franco on the stair landing.

-Mum, mum...

-Oh, Joanne.

It's so sore, Mum!

OK, OK.

Here we go. One, two, three...

I felt as if I was giving birth and I always remember walking away

at the end of it thinking, "I'm never giving birth."

-Come on! Come on!

-SHE SCREAMS

"Push! Push!"

And this massive baby appearing.

THEY LAUGH EXCITEDLY

Oh, my goodness, he's a big boy.

Next up was Scarlett going into labour in the Oyster Cafe

-on Christmas Day.

-PANTING

-Are you all right?

-No, Jimmy, I'm having a wean.

-I know that.

-No, what I mean is, I'm having a wean the now.

"Jimmy, I'm having a wean!" He goes, "I know you're having a wean,"

"No, but I'm having it right now!"

Jimmy, pull over! It's coming!

-You're going to have to hang on.

-I cannae! I mean it! Stop!

-Hang on, Scarlett, we'll be there in a couple of minutes.

-Aaah!

Scarlett's getting swung round

all the corners and eventually ends up on the floor of the taxi

and Jimmy comes in, and the next minute - pop.

SHE SCREAMS

MUSIC: "All I Want For Christmas Is You"

BABY CRYING

A wee lassie.

A beautiful wee lassie.

Have you thought of a name yet?

How about wee Madonna?

She sounds like a wee Madonna.

This is why it was such an amazing Christmas Day episode,

because it's Madonna, the baby's name, it's Christmas Day,

she's been born in a taxi. It was TV gold.

That's exactly what you want to watch on Christmas Day.

Even Eileen got in on the act

with a late baby to her original husband Raymond.

Poor Eileen had locked herself in the toilet above the Tall Ship

and yes, you've guessed it, went into labour, again on Christmas Day.

Well, don't just stand there!

Right, come on, it's going to be all right. Let's get you up.

Don't talk to me in that namby-pamby voice.

She doesn't want to hear that nice, reasonable, "keep breathing" person,

she wants everyone to do what she wants them to do right now!

Raymond, get me to the hospital. Now.

After all that high drama, baby Stuart arrived safe and sound,

Eileen and Raymond's third child together.

We've had two Christmas babies, wee Madonna and baby Stuie.

Having a baby should be joy and happiness,

but for Ruth, it brought her back to a familiar dark path

of madness and paranoia.

After a horrendous fallout with yours truly,

feeling alone and dejected,

poor Ruth went into labour all on her own.

She was in the flat all alone in the darkness

and went into labour

and just completely ignored it.

I think that was the start of her complete breakdown, I suppose.

TV ON

SHE WEEPS

I think she was kind of detached from reality at that point

and went through the whole agonising labour on her own.

Neighbour Shirley Henderson heard the commotion and raised the alarm.

-Anything?

-No, nothing. We've phoned, we've called through.

Ruth.

-Ruth!

-Ruth! It's Shirley!

Oh!

And there they found Ruth

in what can only be described as a catatonic state,

half on the couch, half on the floor.

There was just a mess everywhere and then Shirley looked over...

Scott.

..and there was a little baby and the episode ended.

Was it a foetus, was the baby alive or what?

Very dramatic.

Oh, poor Ruth, beautifully played by Morag Calder over the years,

Ruth swung in and out of her borderline personality disorder

with monotonous regularity, and the results were horrific.

No-one was immune from Ruth's fury,

especially her sister. And when she blew her top

and you got in her way, look out.

I had massive padding on

so that Morag, the actress playing Ruth,

could really go to town kicking me.

I think Morag was probably taking out a bit of frustration

out on me as well when she was giving me those wee kicks.

She even pushed her own mother down the stairs.

You bitch!

You've ruined everything for me!

She's white with rage and she just launches her mother,

launches her mother down the stairs.

Ruth!

I always remember that and Gina just lying at the bottom, motionless.

I didn't know if she was dead or not.

Gina did make a full recovery

but years later when Ruth found out that her good husband Marty

had been playing around with Iona,

all hell broke loose, and Iona was right in the firing line.

Iona was trying to apologise, so she comes walking up and Ruth's outside

the Portakabin and Ruth, to be fair, gave her quite a few warnings,

you know, "Shut up, don't talk to me." Because Iona was behind Ruth,

she didn't see the look in her eyes which should have warned her.

Will you shut up?!

IONA SCREAMS

Ruth, no!

That's for the baby. Don't you ever, ever...

Stop it, you're going to kill her!

Ruth, stop this!

Iona!

Oh, darling, that's not the answer!

Somebody phone an ambulance.

Now!

She did get quite crazy...

She did get...and violent.

After much heartache and grief, Ruth eventually was diagnosed.

Ruth was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder,

but she could also have periods where

she had long spells of normality and things were OK for her.

All of Ruth's mental instability culminated

in her daughter Eilidh being taken away from her.

What followed was a sterling performance with a huge impact.

I won't let you take my baby.

Ruth, darling, nobody wants to take Eilidh away from you.

Yes, you do, I heard you. Don't lie.

Ruth, we just want to get her back to the hospital.

Come on, darling, please.

I won't let you take her.

-She's going to go in the water!

-Ruth!

-No! No, don't take my baby!

Mummy!

-No, don't take my baby!

-It's OK.

-No!

Ruth was finally sectioned.

Even her close family couldn't protect her from herself any more.

We thought it would be for the best...

if you went into hospital.

What?

I felt so sorry for her at that point,

and then, of course, being taken to the hospital

and being left in a room on her own,

and it was just...her world was broken. Completely.

And that was an incredible episode because it just ends

on a close-up of the eyes and I think everyone just felt for her.

The madness in Shieldinch was never far from the surface.

Sometimes characters were just incandescent with rage

and derangement.

The only way to vent their frustrations,

take their friends and family hostage! It is drama, after all.

Some incredible tense moments have been captured over the years

-with sterling performances from the actors involved.

-Run, Nicki!

Any good drama worth its salt needs a healthy doze of deceit,

affairs and betrayals.

They really are a basic ingredient. River City had them all.

Sprinkle on top some beautiful performances and you're on to a winner.

Now who would have thought that Paul Robinson from Neighbours

could be an evil rapist? Not long after his arrival

in Shieldinch, the paediatrician doctor Marcus McKenzie,

played by Stefan Dennis, started to wreak havoc.

The audience in the beginning thought, "Oh, Gina's finally found

"somebody nice, she's got on the right track, a doctor,"

and all of this, but he had this vile streak beneath.

Marcus finally showed his true colours

and poor Gina got a dreadful birthday shock.

Marcus, don't!

Covering his tracks well, the good doctor - I use the term loosely -

started a love affair with Heather Bellshaw.

He was a very horrible man who raped Gina, had a wee pop at Ruth

and then set his sights on Heather - silly man.

But mud sticks, and the rape accusation wouldn't go away.

Ultimately, this conniving Aussie picked the wrong girl

to tussle with.

Watch this space.

Now, it's complicated, so stay with me.

Hairstylist Billy Davies was married to Della, Shirley's daughter.

They came back from Spain to run Moda Vida.

He then started an affair

with Joanne, who wasn't exactly whiter than white.

She had started seeing Luca, a gorgeous Italian,

Franco's long-lost son - yes, that's right, her half-brother. Or was he?

At the eleventh hour, she found out he wasn't her half-brother at all.

The romance flourished, Joanne got pregnant

and you've guessed it, Billy thought he was the father.

Wrong, Billy! It was Luca.

Billy, of course, found out about this betrayal and went off his head.

-You're a tramp!

-No, Billy.

You're a tramp.

-A disgusting, sick tramp.

-No!

-No?

What bit? Cos you slept with your brother. That's quite sick, isn't it?

No, you don't understand!

All of this boiled over in a showdown in Billy and Della's flat.

-Where are they? I said where are they?!

-Get out of here!

-I'm not leaving without my son.

-GINA SCREAMS

-Do you want to tell her? Or will I?

-Please don't do this.

What did Luca mean about his son?

Luca's just been punched

so Gina goes straight into her, "Oh, my Luca,"

and wants to dab up the blood

and look after Luca, and within the same split second

she finds out that Luca and Jo have been getting down.

My baby, Mum...

..Billy's not the father.

So who is, then?

I do remember actually turning round to look at him

and having my hands on him and then that kind of, you know,

not thought-through thing, but just kind of, you know,

I don't even know if I pushed him a bit.

Joanne left with Luca, Romeo and Franco into the Italian sunset.

And poor Billy was left greetin' his eyes out.

He thought it was just going to be a wonderful life and...

IMITATES DEMOLITION

..crashing down.

Poor Billy.

Poor Alice didn't really have an easy time

in Shieldinch from day one.

If she wasn't drunk, she was trying her darnedest to get drunk

and was also not very lucky in the love department.

However, things started to look up for Alice and she fell in love

with her old flame Mac.

They set up home together and Deek finally accepts him as well

and then we take on board two kind of stray children.

But the happiness didn't last long.

Mac betrayed Alice big-style, having an affair with teenager Zoe.

Zoe?

You mean our Zoe?

No. No, tell me that's not true.

We fell in love.

You're having an affair with her?

We're...we're going to go away for a while. Make things easy.

It really breaks Alice's heart

to find out that's he's basically gone off

and been has been having an affair with this 16-year-old girl

that Alice is really like a mother to.

-How could you do this to me?!

-Stop it.

-How could you do this to me?!

-Don't do this!

Ultimately, Alice could only find solace in her old friend the booze,

goes off the rails

and get's off with her son's best pal, Shell Suit Bob.

The ardent steamy affairs in Shieldinch were not just restricted

to a heterosexual nature.

Yes, Scott, who only ever wished for a soulmate and dream boyfriend

learnt the hard way - it's not all chocolates and roses.

Early on there was Dan - Sanjay from EastEnders,

-for those who are interested.

-I'll give you "open relationship"!

"Open relationship" is another language to Scott,

and Dan soon got short shrift.

Then Scarlett's very own wayward son Stevie couldn't make up his mind

if he wanted to snog Scott or lamp him one.

But Scott did eventually find true love.

Just one problem - he was married.

Oh, and he was a detective high up in the police. And he had two kids.

One thing Shieldinch has witnessed its fair share of -

shocking murders.

Eddie was preparing a special event for boyfriend Scott

when bang, he was no more.

And little did poor Scott know that Eddie was about to propose to him.

Shieldinch just missed out on its very first civil partnership.

This is yours, Scott.

Eddie wanted you to have it.

'She produces the ring that she had in her handbag, the ring that Eddie

'was going to propose with that Scott didn't know about.

'And that was really interesting to play'

because she could've withheld that, she could've kept hold if it.

But she had reached a point where that would have hurt her more.

She wants Scott to know just how much Eddie loved him.

Who killed Eddie Hunter?

Well, I think Lenny Murdoch was definitely involved.

He might not have pulled the trigger,

but he was absolutely behind the shooting of Eddie, in my mind.

I can't prove it, obviously, but I have a feeling.

One murder that will go down in the annals of Shieldinch's most dramatic

was the stabbing of Dr Marcus McKenzie by Heather Bellshaw.

No!

Joanne wanted to get revenge for her mother's rape, made a mad dash

for the hospital

and was met with a scene of devastation.

She runs in after Heather's left and...

..it was quite funny to film, you pull out the knife...

It was always ambiguous who did kill Marcus,

because Heather stabs him

and Joanne pulls it out and pulling it out obviously killed him.

Heather stabbed him,

but Joanne pulled it out, which actually killed him,

so Joanne Rossi killed Marcus McKenzie, not Heather Bellshaw.

So I'm actually, Joanne is down as killing Marcus McKenzie,

and good on her.

Cats have nine lives. Archie Buchanan had just the two.

Sleekit Archie was planning to leave Gina

and flee the country with nefarious Nieve Corrigan.

Liz found the letters and the passports

and a massive confrontation ensued.

-Gina! Where is Gina?!

-Shut up!

-Gina!

-Shut up!

Now listen. This is what's going to happen.

I am leaving now

and you are not going to stop me. All right?

Gina came hurtling down the stairs in her dressing gown.

And they confront Archie. And...

being Archie, he basically just thinks, "They're in my way."

-I'm warning you!

-Archie, no!

Shut up, just shut up!

-Get out my way.

-No, you're not leaving me.

Liz, in a moment of panic, rushed to the mantelpiece in the hall

and picked up the urn which held her dead husband's ashes

and smashed it over Archie.

Let me go!

Stop it! Stop it, Richard!

SHE CHOKES

-You stupid old bitch.

-Get away from me!

Basically, Liz saves Gina's life

and Archie falls on the grate

and the next thing, we've got dead Archie lying

with his head in the fireplace

with a big bruise from the urn and two women going, "Oh, my God, what have we done?"

What to do, what on earth to do?

And what did they do? Gina phoned her big sister Eileen.

Eileen didn't want to help at all,

but your sister's in crisis, what else can you do?

And then Gina, Eileen and Liz had blood on their hands

or so they thought, when they all colluded in a plan

to tip Archie's body off a remote country cliff.

High drama indeed!

No!

Liz, stop it, calm down!

Stop it!

Liz was a gibbering wreck by this time.

We didn't cope well with it, we were hysterical, it was the full,

the full tears, the full snotters, pushing him off that cliff.

Goodbye, Archie.

Just as the credits were about to roll,

you saw his hand move.

And the fingers curled on the stones.

IMITATES DRAMATIC MUSIC

Time for that second life of Archie's to come into play.

The Adams were having a lovely Christmas dinner in a posh country house,

Jimmy was just about to propose to Scarlett

when something unusual caught Scarlett's eye.

Archie?!

# And so you're back from outer space ... #

Yes, Archie had reappeared as an affable waiter called Douglas.

The bump off the cliff had erased his mind completely...apparently.

My favourite storyline was the whole mad Archie storyline

when he disappeared and came back as somebody really lovely,

and then he was Archie again.

I thought that was really, really well done.

Archie - sorry, Douglas - returned to Shieldinch one Christmas,

giving his mother the shock of her life.

MUSIC: "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor

As a device for reintroducing Archie back into the show,

it was a very clever one, I think.

Totally implausible, but nonetheless very clever.

Douglas even asked Gina to marry him...again.

So basically here he was, the same bloke but just nicer,

you know, just a better version.

I just wanted it to work out for Gina, I didn't want him to turn back into Archie.

But, of course, unlucky in love as always she is, it was very sad,

so that was a cracking storyline, that really had me hooked.

However, in true soap fashion, after seeing his old lawyer colleague

Fi Kydd, Douglas/Archie's memory came flooding back

and the mask slipped.

The old, mean Archie Buchanan was back.

There's a moment when you saw Archie coming back behind the eyes.

It's you.

You've got your memory back.

You're...

..Archie again.

There's no way I believed from the beginning that he was ever Douglas.

I thought, "He knows exactly what he's doing." He played a good game.

He was convincing and he managed to convince Gina and everyone else,

but you knew at some point the mask was going to slip.

Was it Douglas with amnesia?

I would say it was...

..80% Archie and 20% Douglas.

Archie fell into the Shieldinch underworld,

and this time it was renowned bad boy Lenny Murdoch who sent out

one of his henchmen and had Archie killed.

Properly, this time.

In fact, many's a person has died at the hands of Lenny,

directly or otherwise, but just how many people has he murdered?

Just shut up! You don't even know what you're talking about!

How many deaths has Lenny been involved in? Absolutely none.

MUSIC: "Man's World"

There have been so many murders in Shieldinch that he's been

connected to. He's got to be on the Most Wanted list.

He's a cold-blooded killer, but he's ours.

He's our cold-blooded killer.

And his lovely wife Lydia, played by Jacqueline Leonard,

turned a blind eye to all of it, as long as the bling

and the hard cash was coming in.

A bit of advice, don't ever ask her where the money comes from

or what Lenny actually gets up to.

He provides for this family. And you. That's what he gets up to.

She likes the nice things in life

and she did turn a blind eye to a lot of his sort of dealings,

but I don't think she realised he actually murdered so many people.

I don't think she could quite have quite coped with that,

so she just sort of never spoke about it, really.

I am just a hard-working businessman trying to earn an honest crust.

Mm. And I'm Donatella Versace(!)

If you say so, darling.

This old school gangster really does rule the roost in Shieldinch,

but will he ever learn the difference between right and wrong?

You wouldn't know what was right if it slapped you in the face!

-I know one thing...

-So will he ever change his ways and become part

-of the Shieldinch community?

-'I think he feels he's part'

of the community, but I don't think they feel he's part of the community

and they're quite happy to have him at arm's length at all times,

which is probably wise.

In fact, you could argue that Shieldinch really is

-quite a dangerous place.

-If you lived in Shieldinch,

you'd put your house up for sale and get out of there.

It's the most dangerous place. They say somewhere like Johannesburg is the most dangerous place -

no, you've never been to Shieldinch.

Just sometimes in drama, good people have to die.

It pulls at the heartstrings of the empathetic audience

and makes the ratings soar.

But some deaths are more spectacular than others.

Lenny's son Ewan fell to his death

from the scaffolding on Montego Street. OK, here's the background.

Lenny had taken his own son hostage.

Oh, don't ask, this family really did need some serious counselling.

But before he died, Ewan told Lenny some harsh home truths

which made Lydia's hair curl.

You can't turn me in. I'm the father of our child. Your family!

-Didn't save my mum, though, did it?

-Shut up!

-He killed her.

-Shut up, I said!

-And he'll do the same to you.

He'll dump your body in the boat yard just like he dumped hers,

just like he dumped Archie's. How many more have you got in there, Dad?

From Lenny's point of view, he just feels totally betrayed

by his son and the rest of his family,

and Ewan climbed out onto the balcony...

because Lenny was threatening him and then we they realised

it's went too far, both Lenny and Lydia try to talk him back in.

I'm sorry.

-No!

-Ewan!

So the big question remains.

Was he pushed and did Malcolm see something he shouldn't?

Or was it just an accidental fall after all?

Either way, Lydia made sure that Lenny took the rap for it.

Then, that's when Lydia just realises

he has to take responsibility for this, and she goes on

to blame Lenny for actually pushing Ewan, which he actually didn't.

Lydia told a big lie which put Lenny behind bars.

Lenny attended the funeral of his own son with handcuffs on.

For the first time ever, audiences witnessed a very emotional side

to Lenny Murdoch.

That should be me lying in there, not you. God....

That whole emotion just came out in that speech.

Actually I'm getting a little bit choked thinking about it now,

cos, of course, we all left then, the whole family.

That was our story to go, really.

Stunts like falling from heights,

car crashes and explosions have been embraced

by the River City production team and crew

over the years, and still now continue to provide pivotal moments

in the drama's throughline.

Recently, the team have been filming an incident involving

the character Deek Henderson,

culminating in a spectacular road accident.

Will! Hey!

TYRES SCREECH

And to make the tenth anniversary go with a bang,

an impressive explosion in the Tall Ship Bar.

These current stunts are just following a long line

of River City casualties, catastrophes and calamities.

But some of you River City buffs might remember Moira Henderson,

George's first wife, exploding in a horrible car crash

at the bottom of Montego Street.

This was River City's first ever stunt.

Moira!

Who can forget Roisin and Raymond's mad dash from the exploding caravan

with her daughter Alana's drunk, evil father inside it?

And Scarlett's very own Bubba dramatically falling

into the River Clyde.

Now, faces come and faces go, and when your number's up in Shieldinch,

it's time to go, through a variety of ways.

Joanne Rossi favoured the more conventional way, leaving with Luca

in a taxi round the corner.

That girl had had her fill of Shieldinch...

but was to come back years later with a different face.

Joanne?

Hello, Mum.

And then Joanne came back and looked better.

Now, Kelly-Marie has been back and forward like a yo-yo.

Oh, look who's back!

I'm leaving. Today.

Yes, after a fling with a footballer,

she left for a second time with the local priest.

She then ditched the man of the cloth

and, after a short liaison with Ewan Murdoch,

left for third time - again in a taxi.

Now she's back, this time with a son in tow.

Yep, that's right, Scarlett's and Lenny Murdoch's grandson.

With such a strong bond and friendship,

it was only fitting that Ruth and Scott would leave together

to be a happy family of sorts, but without Gina's blessing.

Just at the last minute, Gina comes running through

and says a big farewell and everything's OK, it's OK to go.

They'd gone through the gamut of emotions

with just a litany of events, and I think

it was maybe time to close the chapter

and open a new chapter somewhere else.

Oh, poor Gina. Don't worry, we're doing just fine in lovely Yorkshire.

But do you know what, looking back over the ten years,

it's not always been doom and gloom in Shieldinch.

You dancer!

Roisin's joy was palpable for all to see when she won the Lottery,

lost the ticket, then found it again.

The whole cast camped it up in the Shieldinch pantomime.

Johnny Beattie, of course, played a blinder as the dame.

Hello, boys and girls!

-ALL:

-Hello!

That's more like it.

And Scarlett got quite the eyeful on her hen night

with a sexy male stripper,

# Celebrate good times... #

And what about Liz's hen night?

When those Shieldinch girls get together, look out!

The Adams-Mullins had quite the penchant for dressing up at Christmas,

or any other time of year, for that matter.

And Raymond made a sterling effort to emulate his idol.

Shame the real Elvis didn't make it to Shieldinch,

but a few other famous faces did.

And so the going's on of the good people of Shieldinch

continue to enthral the Scottish nation.

Plenty of fresh new faces have taken up the challenge

of some strong, innovative story lines.

Today's audiences follow the antiques of Robbie the hairdresser,

a harmless soul with a zest for life

and a boyfriend with a rather heavy hand.

Big Bob, Scarlett's brother, and his battle against his weight...

and a bossy maw.

Wide boy Gabriel and his on/off affair with his sister-in-law Leyla,

who is a little bit too fond of the booze.

Lots of doctors who come and go like the buses.

There's never one when you need one - they all come at once.

Of course, there's still some of the show's original characters in there too.

Gina and Eileen fall in and out with each other all the time,

but they never forget their sisterly bond, and blood's thicker than water.

Eileen's back with the devil she knows in Raymond

and living above the pub...for now.

Scarlett continues to reign over the firm, keeping Jimmy, Bubba

and the rest of them in line.

A setback with cancer has given her a renewed lust for life

and mischief - watch this space.

And let's not forget the chilling legend that is Lenny Murdoch.

Will he add any more to the death toll? Let's hope not.

Their motto - the show must go on, and so it does, week in, week out.

One of the hardest-working crews in Scotland

and a cast of talented, dedicated actors all working together

for our viewing pleasure and giving us our weekly dose

of Shieldinch dramas.

Happy Birthday, River City - here's to the next ten years.

Happy birthday, River City.

Happy birthday, River City.

Happy anniversary, River City.

Happy birthday, River City!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd