Lesley Hart, who played police officer Lou Caplan for almost six years, said: “I feel so sad for Scotland, to have lost this show, and for everybody working on it.
“I fell in love with it, it meant so much to me.”
BBC Scotland announced today (March 18) that the final scenes of the Glasgow-set soap will be shown in September 2026.
The shock news prompted sadness and anger from fans, trades unions representing the actors, writers and crews involved, and politicians.
The channel says the decision is a result of “a significant change in audience behaviour away from long-running series” and it intends to make a “considerable boost in major drama productions set across Scotland.”
Actor, writer and director Lesley, who is currently writing her first episode for River City, said: “This is a catastrophic loss for our TV industry, especially for young talent, cutting their teeth in all aspects of the business – acting, writing, production, runners, script editors.
“River City is such a fantastic place for that. And it’s also a place where brilliant, very experienced writers and actors make a living.”
She added: “I’m really excited to be writing for the show, it’s such a fantastic opportunity to write for TV for the first time. Without River City, that opportunity will be lost. What will it be replaced by?
“For the health of the industry in Scotland, I hope something else will take its place.”
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Lesley added: “I’m also really sad for the audience. People take such ownership of soaps, they invest in them and love them and sometimes they feel supported.
“I remember a young woman telling me she loved watching River City with her parents and it was my character, who was a lesbian cop, who actually helped her come out to her parents, and helped them talk about it with her. That means the world to an actor to hear something like that.”
BBC Scotland says that around £95m will be invested in drama from Scotland over the three year period from 2026 to 2028.
Three new series – Counsels, Grams and The Young Team – have been commissioned, while Aberdeen-set Granite Harbour will return for a third series, and Shetland, starring Ashley Jensen, for its tenth.
Following the cancellation of daytime soap Doctors last year, and recent cuts to Coronation Street and Emmerdale, Lesley expressed concern about the future of continuing dramas.
“It’s hard to know where it’s going,” she said. “Can you imagine a world without Coronation Street? Lots of people watch and love soaps.
“It is good to hear about new dramas planned, because new writers and new ideas and visions are what we need.
“I hope that more opportunities can be created, for the sake of the future of this industry.”
