Inside River City's harrowing storm and rape storyline as Shieldinch left shaken

dailyrecord.co.uk:

River City will be rocked by a harrowing storyline as a storm blows in wrecking havoc in Shieldinch and a character left for dead.

The episode, which was filmed in November last year but airs tonight, Wednesday January 18, is expected to leave viewers shocked as Lydia Murdoch is raped by her boss Andrew Campbell Baxter during the freak weather event.BBC bosses say it's the Glaswegian soap's most adventurous storyline yet - and took months of planning - and the cast even had to wear special safety gear when shooting.Behind the scene pictures show much of Montego Street battered by the strong winds, with leaves, tree branched and rubbish strewn all over the place.In one image, police officers can been see outside the Tall Ship, with a section of the pub taped off and 'police incident' signs placed out.Another snap shows a tree lying on top of a car near the famous Oyster Café.It's hope the episode tonight will raise awareness and open up a conversation about rape and sexual assault as Lydia Murdoch is attacked.Actress Jacqueline Leonard, who plays the character, told the Record: "It is a storyline I found extremely hard to film but I’m also proud the writers chose to tackle such a sensitive subject as it highlights that no means no and a woman is never asking for it."The writers, director and producers consulted the experts at Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis every step of the way to make sure we made the attack and the aftermath as realistic as possible. "I just hope viewers who ever find themselves in Lydia’s situation will seek the help and support they need from a charity like theirs."Get the latest celebrity gossip and telly news sent straight to your inbox.