Susan Boyle to get starring role in River City - as herself

Singing sensation Susan Boyle has secured a starring role in the BBC Scotland drama River City.

Susan Boyle with the cast of River City. Picture: Alan Peebles

The 60-year-old will join the cast of the show for a guest appearance in Shieldinch in the run-up to Christmas.Boyle, a long-time fan of the show, will play herself after she is recruited as a surprise celebrity model for a charity calendar.She agrees to help support a fundraising campaign for Molly's Corner Cafe, to the astonishment of Juliet Cadzow's character Suzie Fraser.Boyle will be following in the footsteps of broadcaster Lorraine Kelly, who made a guest appearance at Gina and Archie's wedding in 2006, and Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills, who had a brief cameo role the following year.

Deacon Blue singer Lorraine McIntosh, who is also a stage and screen actress, had a regular part as Alice Henderson in River City's early years.Midge Ure, Clare Grogan and Amy Macdonald all made cameo appearances as themselves in the penultimate episode of Still Game two years ago.

Boyle, from Blackburn in West Lothian, shot to fame 12 years ago after her famous performance of I Dreamed A Dream, from the musical Misérables in an audition for Britain's Got Talent, which she went on to claim second place in. Her debut album, released later the same year, topped the UK album charts.

Singer Susan Boyle will be making a guest appearance in River City next month. Picture: Alan Peebles

She has since sold more than 25 million albums, claiming the number one slot in 40 different countries, secured two Grammy nominations, broken three Guinness World Records, performed for the Queen and the Pope, and seen her life story turned into a hit stage musical.

She made her feature film debut in the British-American drama The Christmas Dance in 2013 and also had a cameo role playing herself in Zoolander 2 three years later.Boyle will appear alongside other River City stars Frank Gallagher (Lenny Murdoch), Stephen Purdon (Bob O’Hara), Barbara Rafferty (Bernie O’Hara), Scott Fletcher (Angus Lindsay) and Kirsty Pickering (Jessie Murdoch) in the episode going out on 6 December.River City producer Martin McCardie said: “When Susan was on the set she was a total professional, but she is also a fan of the show, so it was great to see Susan meet the cast and see the sets.

"The charity calendar storyline is all about finding a well-known face with a big heart and a winning smile to take part - Susan Boyle is that person! She’s welcome to revisit Montego Street any time she likes.”Boyle said: "I had a brilliant time filming River City. All the cast and crew were so kind and welcoming, it was a great atmosphere.

"I’m a huge fan of the show and always watch it, so to be a part of it and on set was fantastic.”Cadzow said: “Having such an Internationally renowned star on set could have felt quite daunting, but Susan was so natural and unaffected and, indeed, it was almost as if she was overcome being with us on the River City set!"She couldn't have made life easier for us all and it was such a pleasure to be on set with her.”