OPINION: As the future of Scotland’s Dumbarton Studios hangs in the balance, producer and creative entrepreneur Maureen Hascoet issues a rallying call to Scotland’s screen industry: to lead with courage, invest in homegrown talent, and build a creative powerhouse on Scottish soil.
Courage.
It’s the word that keeps coming up in every conversation across Scotland’s screen sector right now. In workshops and incubators like Creative HQ, at events such as the Scottish Screenwriters Festival, and in countless pitch meetings with potential investors, courage feels like the new currency.
Maybe that’s because, as commissioners and financiers grow more risk-averse — take Sky’s recent decision to refocus on acquisitions over original commissions — leading a creative life has never seemed braver. The act of building something new, something original, is itself an act of resistance.
Today, the path of least resistance isn’t the safe one. It’s the one that asks us to think differently — to stop waiting for permission and instead create our own movements. In a world where traditional media is sinking, making a single picture no longer feels enough. We are being called to build our own creative Noah’s Arks — vessels strong enough to carry our stories, our collaborators, and our communities into the next era. Because what we make now must work not just for us, but for the world we’re building together.
Scotland feels like what I imagine a frontier town to be, at this moment in time. Every few months, new pioneers emerge — some genuine, some trying to escape the sins of the past — all seeking their share of treasure in the digital gold rush.
Some are experimenting with new storytelling tools and digital platforms; others are re-imagining how we fund, produce, and share stories. All are searching for ways to make new systems work in a changing world. It used to be that people thought you had to move to London to entertain the idea of success in a creative career. Covid and technology have shown you can have the Scottish quality of life but still work with London-centric contacts.
I call for the next step. Build global here.
For me, that search has taken the form of leading the purchase of Dumbarton Studios, following BBC Scotland’s announcement that it would cancel River City and end its 25-year lease on the site. For many of us, that decision marked the end of an era. But it also marked the beginning of something new.
Dumbarton has long been part of Scotland’s entertainment DNA. Within those walls, some of our most beloved shows were born — Still Game, Shetland, Two Doors Down. It’s a place woven into our national storytelling identity. We cannot sleepwalk into losing it!
Comments on social media would have you believe a corporation in shining armour will come save the day and the site from redevelopment.
I can tell you right now – there is no corporation. Just a heart-led entrepreneur with fire in her heart, getting out of her comfort zone every single day… remembering why she called
her production company ‘Firewalker’, to anchor the embodied courage it takes to walk on fire – or make a film – or close a multi-million pound deal.
Now, we have a chance to give Dumbarton new life — to turn it into the producing studio Scotland has been waiting for.
Not just a service facility for productions coming north from London or overseas, but a creative powerhouse that develops, owns, and exports Scottish IP with global appeal.
Imagine a studio where live action, animation, and games co-exist under one roof; where world-building becomes our new creative export; where the money generated by Scottish talent stays in Scotland — reinvested into training, innovation, and the next generation of storytellers.
Wales has already shown what’s possible. Wolf Studios in Cardiff — a producing studio that’s become a national success story — recently celebrated its tenth anniversary with data showing how many jobs it has sustained, how many local businesses it has supported, and how deeply it has enriched the Welsh economy.
Scotland can achieve the same. We have the talent, the stories, and the will. What we need now is the infrastructure — and the courage — to make it happen.
READ MORE: “We need more control over our destiny”: Can Scotland become a ‘global hub’ for film and TV by 2030?
Courage isn’t just a creative quality; it’s an economic one.
It means commissioning bravely.
It means investing locally, even when the spreadsheets say “play it safe.” It means believing that Scottish stories — told by Scottish teams, rooted in Scottish imagination — can resonate globally.
This moment calls for bravery not just from artists and producers, but from commissioners, investors, and policymakers. The easy route is to keep importing content, to keep servicing other people’s visions. The brave route is to build our own.
Because the next golden age of Scottish storytelling won’t be imported. It will be built here — in Dumbarton, in Glasgow, in Leith, in Inverness — by the people who call this place home.
So here’s to big brave bold courage.
Here’s to building the big picture — for Scotland, and for the world.
