A UNION has hit back at BBC Scotland’s claims that its bosses told “mistruths” about the cancellation of River City, claiming the corporation has failed to uphold its public broadcasting duties.
Bosses at BBC Scotland said that Equity, a trade union for performing artists in the entertainment industry which led a campaign to save the long-running drama, made misleading claims about the potential impact of the loss of the show.
BBC Scotland said the union's claim that River City attracted more than 500,000 viewers per episode was wrong, and that the actual figure for the soap was 200,000.
Bosses at the broadcaster were also reportedly angry that the union at suggestions that River City’s £9 million budget would be “funnelled into cheap reality or factual TV” and that people in London would be chosen over Scottish crews to work on the new dramas.
The actors’ union said that BBC Scotland’s response to their campaign shows a “refusal to engage with the real issues at play” and that the half a million viewers statistic was a “figure reported in the press” and that they amended the inaccuracy as soon as they became aware.
“Equity’s decision to protect jobs, training opportunities and careers in the entertainment industry does not hinge on viewing figures alone,” an Equity spokesperson said.
“As we have said from the start, the cancellation of River City will have a disproportionately negative impact on Scottish performers.
“It provides pathways and training opportunities, as well as longer term work, for those who would not be able to enter or sustain a career in an otherwise precarious, London-centric, and often exclusionary industry.”
Equity launched their campaign to save River City in the immediate wake of BBC Scotland’s announced plans to bring the show to an end in the autumn of 2026.
At the time, bosses at the broadcaster said their decision was due to “changing audience habits and declining viewing figures” and that River City’s budget would be fully reinvested in new dramas, starting with three new series – Counsels, Grams, and The Young Team.
However, Equity said the hours of programming proposed for the three new drama series, which are to replace River City, “pale in comparison” and that Scots who pay for a BBC license fee are “losing” hours of Scottish drama.
The union said by their calculation, a season of River City comprises of 33 hours in total with 66 episodes at 30 minutes in length, and that the hours proposed for the three new series combined are 18, with six episodes each at one hour in length.
“People in Scotland who pay the BBC license fee are therefore losing at least 15 hours of drama – with no guarantee as to what comes after these series end,” an Equity spokesperson said.
BBC Scotland previously insisted that Scottish culture and voices would be represented in the three new drama series, adding that all of the lead writers are Scottish and that “it’s wrong to suggest otherwise”.
A spokesperson for the broadcaster said BBC Scotland and the independent companies involved in its dramas are “fully committed to hiring Scottish crews”.
They added: “It’s inaccurate to say that these new dramas will be bringing cast and crew up from the south rather than hiring locally and these mistruths are damaging to the creative sector we are committed to growing.
“The BBC remains committed to reflecting Scottish culture and voices in dramas across the UK.”
However, despite BBC Scotland’s claims that they prioritising Scottish crews, Equity has said that although all three of the new series may be written by Scots, two of the new dramas are produced by production companies based in England.
The union said that the production company behind Counsels, Balloon Entertainment, is based in London and that Balloon Scotland, registered at the home address of Balloon Entertainment's company manager, is listed as a dormant company according to Companies House.
Additionally, Equity claims the production company for Grams, World Productions, is also based in London. The union added that Young Team, produced by the Glasgow-based firm Synchronicity Film, is the only production being produced by a “genuine” Scottish based production company.
A spokesperson for Equity also outlined that the training opportunities River City offers Scots have also not been guaranteed for other projects and have claimed the broadcaster has not fulfilled its duties to represent and reflect Scottish communities.
They said: “We have had no guarantee from BBC Scotland that they will provide a similar number of training opportunities or jobs as the current level offered by River City.
“As part of its public broadcasting duties, as outlined in the Royal Charter, the BBC has a duty to ‘To reflect, represent and serve the diverse communities of all of the United Kingdom’s nations and regions.’
“We fail to see how the closure of River City lives up to this duty.”
A BBC Scotland spokesperson refuted Equity's claim.
They said: “As we have always made clear, the decision to end River City is a creative one driven by changing audience habits and declining viewing figures, which have dropped to an average of 200,000 per episode, considerably lower than other BBC dramas. Audience patterns have shifted away from long-running serials to short-run dramas so that is where we will be moving our drama investment.
“We are clear that we will be making fewer hours of drama, despite spending more on it. However, this is in line with audience expectations - making shorter-run, higher-impact content which attracts larger audiences than long-running formats like River City. Due to the complex production requirements of these dramas, the number of weeks cast and crew are employed are often similar – and sometimes greater - as the longer-running formats.
“The BBC in Scotland is open for business and remains committed to reflecting Scottish voices in drama. This is about value for money for the audience. We are not cutting our drama spend in Scotland – in fact, we will increase it to around £95m over the next three years.
“Again, as previously stated, River City training opportunities will remain active for another year until we cease production in April 2026. We are actively working with BBC colleagues, the independent companies making our newly announced dramas and others in the industry on future training opportunities.”
