Scott Vickers leaves River City

The actor from Cheshire, who has appeared in Hollyoaks, Emmerdale, Sirens and Foyle's War, also met his partner here.

In a dramatic storyline he leaves Shieldinch this week but his heart firmly remains in Scotland.

Scott, 38, recently moved into a new house in Bearsden with business consultant Nicola and is leaving River City to set up his own production company, New Light Films.

This turning point is clearly an exciting development in his own life story.

"I've loved sticking to one character. It's extremely rare for an actor to take on a character that goes on for more than a couple of months. It just doesn't happen," he says.

"There are only a handful of actors that get to play a character for any period of time. Even if you do a film, it's just for the duration of the shoot.

"There are only really continuing jobs in soaps and that's a tiny part of the market. It's been fun just settling into a character and really growing with them."

Viewers will see gay policeman Will's dramatic fall from grace this week when he finds himself on the wrong side of the law after hitting his husband Robbie, played by Gary Lamont.

The couple's fractured relationship, with a history of domestic abuse, comes firmly into focus with the departure of Will.

"Will Cooper was just such an interesting character: a gay, violent cop. Will was just not like me at all so I loved it," he says, when we meet in Citation, a restaurant in Glasgow's Merchant City that was the former home of the Sheriff Court.

When Will arrived in Shieldinch three years ago, Robbie had been beaten up and he went to interview him and take a statement.

The got together but Will's past, growing up with a homophobic father, led to serious anger issues for the policeman.

"Robbie pulled that out of Will a little bit and it surfaced in a violent way, he used to lash out," says Scott.

"It was great to have a storyline that fitted in with what was going on in the world. Gay marriage was a big thing – it was brilliant to have your finger on the pulse."

He has made good friends on the drama, behind the camera and in front of it, including Gary and production manager Steven Little, who he has set up New Light Films with.

Their first feature Catalyst, starring Scott and to be directed by Coronation Street's Terence Maynard, will be made next spring.

"It is about a guy visited by an estranged family member who tells him they have predicted nuclear apocalypse and they escape to the Scottish Highlands to try and survive," explains Scott.

"A violent gang appear and try to take control. There's this whole balance of power in a small area. It's like a pressure cooker."

The plan is to sell it to a distributor at a film festival and if all goes well it will fund future projects and create a breeding ground for thriving new talent, from screenwriters to directors.

Scott is passionate about the creation of a movie business in Scotland.

"We really want to put business at the heart of film. In Scotland there is so much talent and not a lot of work and what is lacking is having the real business side of the entertainment world," he points out.

"There's a lot of money to be made and there's nothing wrong with putting food on the table and doing what you love to do.

"I spent a lot of time in the States - about five years to study the business of film - and I'm taking my experiences to show people here that there is money to be made in film and there's nothing wrong with that. Let's make money, make more films and provide jobs."

In New York and Los Angeles, Scott took courses and spoke to distributors to understand how the complicated movie world ticks.

"People can make films here, that's not in question, it's how to sell a film. If you have a film you have to take it to the States to sell, that's the hub. There's no point making a film and then taking a chance on what might sell," he says.

"It's understanding the business side of it. I want to be able to make a film here and sell it, so we can make a profit and make more films and create jobs.

"Often a lot of people in the industry, in the arts, are afraid of making money. You shouldn't be. That's our aim: to bring the business into it."

This isn't Scott's first foray into the world of film. He made short Advance to Contact two years ago, the true story of a soldier's battle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), with Frances Barber, Matthew Crompton and Sarah Jayne Dunn.

A subject close to his heart, Scott suffered from the symptoms of PTSD for 10 years after his sister Jeannine died from a brain haemorrhage at the age of 30.

"I think it's really important to talk about anything like PTSD or depression, it shouldn't be a moot point," he says.

"If I am open with it, it may help other people come forward. There's nothing to be ashamed of, we all have stress. They say one in three people have had depression at some point in their lives.

"I had it for about 10 years. You deal with it and get through it whatever way you can. We are not experts on the mind, so you need to go to an expert. I think it's really important to seek help.

"I felt a massive relief as soon as I talked about it, it was a big thing for me. Once I came to terms with the fact I have stress issues, things just got a lot better."

River City, September 8, BBC One Scotland, 8pm