New faces for Shieldinch as four actors join River City

Scottish acting talents Joy McAvoy, Jordan Young, Julie Austin and John Gillespie are set to head to Shieldinch, playing new residents in BBC Scotland’s weekly drama, River City.

In scenes which film in coming weeks at BBC Scotland’s Dumbarton studios, the new faces will make their on-screen River City debuts from the beginning of October onwards.

John Gillespie takes on the role of slick, fast-talking lawyer Paul Malick whose business is representing notorious gangsters. A man motivated by money, ‘fixer’ Paul makes sure he gets a cut of every deal he oversees.

Joy McAvoy plays Pippa Ballantyne, a former school-friend of Zinnie’s (Nalini Chetty) turned escorting entrepreneur. Beautiful and manipulative, Pippa works hard to make sure her ‘girls’ are protected.

It’s amazing to be part of River City – it’s such a big drama in Scotland and the cast are outstanding, especially Nalini Chetty, who has made me feel so welcome. Pippa is an old schoolfriend of Zinnie’s, who lures her into a lucrative proposition but it comes at a cost – she must sacrifice her morals. Pippa’s quite charming but there’s a dark side there too. To her, escorting is business… nothing more. – McAvoy

Julie Austin plays Mandy Kennedy, trophy wife to no-nonsense gangster Billy Kennedy (Alexander Morton), a woman who turns a blind eye to her husband’s dodgy dealings and finds her new home in Shieldinch unsettling, to say the least.

Charming business man Alex McAllister is played by Jordan Young. Alex is Billy’s nephew but there’s no such thing as family loyalty when it comes to this pair as they have a mutual dislike for one another.

I’m delighted to be part of a show which is so established and loved by the audience. There’s a lot of great Scottish stalwarts in River City and I’m thrilled to be joining the cast. My character, Alex, is a bit of an entrepreneur – very different from myself. He’s smooth and charming – again very different from myself! Alex’s a businessman who tries to do the right thing in spite of his family’s criminal connections but can’t always manage to. – Young

River City airs on Tuesdays at 8pm on BBC Scotland. The series initially started out as a twice weekly soap opera in 2002, changing to a weekly hour format in 2007.