// BBC ENTERTAINMENT & ARTS — MODA & SOCIETÀ
Hints of fiery finale for last ever episode of River City
The BBC has released images from the final River City episode which show a bloodied Lenny Murdoch, the show's arch-villain, amid a dramatic fire scene
Johnny McKnight has written for River City for almost a decade so, when it was announced that the show was drawing to a close after 24 years, he asked if he could write the final episode.
"Those moments don't come up very often with long-running shows so I thought it might be cathartic and a nice way to say goodbye as a writer," he says.
Details of the episode, which will air on Monday, are a closely-guarded secret but images released showing a bloodied Lenny Murdoch amidst a dramatic fire scene suggest the show's arch-villain, played by Frank Gallagher, is at the centre of it.
He said he felt a huge responsibility to the show's fans to give them a satisfying ending.
He points to cult TV shows whose endings have divided fans - like The Sopranos, Dexter, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.
Gallagher says: "I'm just part of a massive collective team effort and I hope we've done the fans proud to the end."
He thinks the show has always managed to walk a fine line between comedy and drama.
"River City is what I think it is to be Scottish. Our punches have punchlines.
"We take our trauma and we find a way to tell it in a pub that makes it palatable, and the humour co-exists alongside the drama."