WHEN it comes to controversial storylines, River City's fun-loving hairdresser Robbie Fraser is a cut above your average TV soap character.

He has been the victim of homophobia and then domestic abuse at the hands of his partner Will Cooper.

Now as part of Shieldinch's gay couple, he is hitting the headlines again as plotlines twist and turn around the issues of a fostering.

Glasgow actor Gary Lamont, who plays Robbie, said he never ceases to be impressed at the shifts in his character's life.

He said: "I've been at River City for five years now and you get to that stage where you think, what else is there? Especially with Robbie and Will.

"They're not afraid to push the envelope, which is brilliant.

"As an actor playing that, you really want to be doing the juicy storylines."

Never scared of shying away from controversial issues, over the years, River City has looked at rape, underage relationships, drug abuse and suicide, to name just a few.

Robbie was the victim of domestic abuse when his partner Will, played by Scott Ryan Vickers, pinned him against a wall moments after proposing. Gary, who is gay, said at the time he hoped the tale would be taken seriously in both the straight and gay communities.

Now the couple are back together again and have decided to foster.

Gary said: "It is important to be at the forefront of what's going on in the world.

"We have a responsibility to document these issues. We show them from all angles. It's a brave thing to do."

Will raises the idea of fostering, not something Robbie had ever considered before, says Gary.

He added: "It throws up some interesting questions for them as a couple, they're not long back together and still have a lot of stuff to sift.

"From the audience's point of view, it is really interesting to watch. Will they do this? Can they do this? Is it all too soon?"

Former EastEnders star Caroline Paterson also gets embroiled in the drama in her role as social worker Sandra Devlin.

She's tough and has a no-nonsense approach to her work but has become a little battle-worn recently due to the level of suffering she's witnessed.

And when Will and Robbie's bid to become foster fathers becomes Sandra's latest focus, she finds herself faced with a moral dilemma.

Next week Will and Robbie learn their meeting with the fostering panel has been brought forward so they quickly need to find people who will give them references.

Robbie asks Tatiana, played by Magdalena Kaleta, but is horrified when she refuses, revealing she strongly disagrees with two men fostering a child.

It drives a wedge between the friends.

Then when Robbie turns to Kelly-Marie for a reference, she issues an ultimatum when she discovers they couple have hidden Will's past violence.

If they don't tell all to the social services, she will.