I don't like to intrude on the BBC’s grief as it waves cheerio to its favourite son Gary Lineker, but when is it a good time to bother the corporation these days? There is always some reason to disturb Auntie’s peace; today that reason is the fate of River City.

As regular viewers are aware, the plug is being pulled on the home-grown soap next year and the money spent instead on three “high-impact” short-run dramas, Counsels, Grams and The Young Team.

There was much shock and disappointment when the announcement was made in March. A petition to save the soap was organised, a debate was held in the Scottish Parliament, and that was about it. Oh, and my description of the move as cultural vandalism was called “somewhat hyberbolic” by a BBC heid yin. Apart from keeping an eye on the petition’s progress, my work there was done, or so it seemed.

But no. On Tuesday, in a report by The Herald’s arts correspondent Brian Ferguson, BBC Scotland accused Equity of punting misleading claims about River City viewing figures. The actors’ union said half a million people watched each episode on average, but the figure is in fact 200,000.

The corporation was also reported to be upset at suggestions River City’s £9 million budget would be “funnelled into cheap reality or factual TV”, and used to make new drama series that would import cast and crew from England.

A BBC spokesperson said: “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.”

Now, at the........

© Herald Scotland