A RENTON actress has dropped in on a children's charity in the wake of a harrowing soap storyline.

River City's Gayle Telfer Stevens was at the centre of the drama's hard-hitting child abuse story, involving her on screen daughter.

On the show, police officer Joe Dunn uses his position to target Ruby - the daughter of Gayle's character Caitlin.

Producers and writers on the show, which is filmed at Lomondgate, spent hours with staff and volunteers at Childline in a bid to bring the plight of exploiting youngsters to the screen.

Gayle was taken on a tour of the Childline centre in Glasgow, where she thanked workers for their help, and the service they provide to kids across Scotland.

Gayle said: "I wanted to come in to the Childline base to thank them for supporting the storyline and learn more about how the counsellors help young people. 

“The grooming storyline I have been working on has highlighted what a big concern this is for young people and I know that Childline deals with a lot of contacts on this issue.

"It’s every parent’s worst fear and it can happen to anyone. They need to be made aware of the signs to look out for. 

“The work of Childline volunteer counsellors has been so inspiring – they have a very fulfilling role and the work they do makes a huge difference to a young person’s life."