THE BBC has axed River City after over two decades on air in a shock move.
Execs have called time on the BBC Scotland drama, which aired its first episode in 2002.
In a statement, the Beeb said River City will come to an end in 2026.
The move has been blamed on a decline in audience ratings towards long-running series.
Hayley Valentine, Director, BBC Scotland said: “River City has been a wonderful adventure and of course we’ll all be sad to see it go.
“The team have done a brilliant job and I know they have some big plans for the finale next year. But as viewing patterns change and competition intensifies, this is the right time to invest in the next generation of high-impact drama series from across Scotland showcasing storytelling across the UK.
“Our goal is to grow Scotland further on the global drama map – with a slate of world-class productions that set the standard not just here but internationally too.”
Set in the fictional Shieldinch community in Glasgow, River City is filmed in Dumbarton.
The lease the BBC holds for the Dumbarton site comes to an end in September 2026.
The broadcaster has said the money used to produce River City will be diverted into new shows.
Bosses cancelling the fan-favourite Scottish series comes after they brought the axe down on Doctors.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”River City star and Stephen Graham star in new BBC drama Boiling Point” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6337984342112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]After 23 years on screens it aired its final episode in November 2024.
The BBC blamed spiralling production costs for their decision to oust the medical drama from schedules.
Reacting to River City’s axe, one fan said: “I’m not surprised TBH, moving to the short 3 series a year wasn’t a good move. People lose interest when it’s off air and don’t bother to get back into it when it comes back.”
[authenticated-scripts src=”%3Cscript%20class%3D%22palin-poll%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesun.co.uk%2Fpollingwidgets%2Fv3%2Fwidget.js%3Fquestion_id%3D109537%26game%3Dpolling%22%3E%3C%2Fscript%3E” type=”embedded” width=”100″ /]A second posted: “Such a shame the show is ending.”
“This is really sad. I’m a big fan of the show so will be disappointed to see it end. Some fantastic actors on the show,” a third viewer said.