Soap plot hit home for 'River City' star

River City actor Gordon McCorkell has revealed that he relived real-life heartache when filming his latest storyline.

The star's character Deek Henderson has recently been left devastated following the loss of mum Alice and viewers will soon see his drinking spiral out of control as he struggles to cope with her passing.

In real life, McCorkell lost his own mother Shirley in 2005 after she lost a battle with breast cancer.

Speaking to The Sun, the 24-year-old explained: "There's not a day goes by that I don't think of my mum. It was so difficult to film those scenes and to say those words on screen as I've said them all in real life.

"As soon as I heard about the storyline, I knew what the lines were going to be. I didn't need to act the grief. It brought it all back to me."

He added: "The character I play obviously isn't me and he deals with his mum's death in a very different way. But the feelings of grief are exactly the same."

River City continues next Tuesday at 8pm on BBC One Scotland.