KEEPING MUM ON WHO IS THE DAD
GANGSTERS, stabbings in doctors’ surgeries, coverups, and chaos . . . Yes, River City’s scriptwriters continue to reach into the sewers of the human condition to come up with ratings grabbers.
But that’s not to say they’re not prepared to utilise emotional conflict where possible.
This week the Shieldinch focus is on car mechanic Bob. And it seems the wheels are coming off his personal life.
Bob, as we’ve learned in recent episodes is daft to the point of despair over new girl Kim, the woman who has escaped to from the clutches of marital cruelty.
However, Kim and Bob want to seal their love – even though they’ve known each other less time than it takes to walk into Mothercare – with a baby.
“They want to have a baby but they can’t have children the natural way,” says actress Frances Thorburn, who plays Kim.
“So they agreed that Bob’s friend Angus would be a sperm donor.” But that idea didn’t work. And to complicate matters, Angus, having been facing a life or death operation to remove a brain tumour, felt the pressure to help his friend.
“Kim and Angus made a last minute decision to try and have a baby the natural way,” says Frances.
And that will mean not only the wheels coming off Bob’s car, but the engine getting set to blow up. Angus’s girlfriend Cassie has already found out the truth about the one-night stand.
But she kept quiet until Angus got the all clear following an op to remove his tumour. Now he’s on the mend, the secret’s not about to stay hidden for long. And it’s only a matter of time before Bob discovers the reality.
Because as we know the first rule of soap opera is that no secret is ever kept. And the second rule is no good deed, however bonkers, goes unpunished.
“Now that she’s pregnant, Kim wants to tell Bob, but Angus wants to hold off. Everybody, it seems, knows, except Bob.”
Can Angus convince Bob that his idea of having sex with his girlfriend was coming from a good place? Here’s another question the viewers will be wondering; why didn’t Angus simply got a sperm bank and have his sperm frozen, and perhaps Kim could go for IVF at a later date?
“Well...I don’t know,” says Frances, smiling.
“It was a panic decision that saw them have sex.”
Mmm, it’s unusual, you suggest. Couples sometimes have drunken sex, impromptu sex, and often regretful sex. But panic sex? That’s irregular. “I’m not sure. Best you don’t