WE'VE GOT NO TIME FOR A RIVER CITY PITY PARTY

THE River City cast have had their last Christmas together.

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But actor Gail Watson, who plays Shieldinch doctor Gillian Gibson, revealed it was “no pity party”.

Efforts to save the show by cast and fans failed following the announcement in March it would be axed in 2026 after 24 years.

As usual in October as the cast filmed the upcoming festive episodes the canteen staff at the Dumbarton Studios where it’s filmed put on a Christmas lunch.

It could have been a sad occasion as everyone realised there was only six months of the show left, with the plan to wrap up filming Scotland's soap in April. The final episodes will be screened in September 2026.

Gillian, 51, said: "We celebrate Christmas on set in October two months before everyone else.

"We had turkey and all the trimmings, crackers and hats and work had Christmas trees and tinsel everywhere. It wasn't sad or joyful. Just another working day. Everyone has been trying to look positively into the future.

"There's no time for a pity party."

While stars like Scott Fletcher and Stephen Purdon, who plays Bob O'Hara and is the only cast member who has been there since the first episode in 2002, campaigned to reverse the soap's axing, everyone now concedes BBC Scotland's decision to end River City won't be overturned.