SHE is one of the best-known voices on Scottish radio but Theresa Talbot’s latest role is to speak up for the nation’s ‘forgotten’ victims.

As the traffic bulletin presenter for BBC Radio Scotland, Theresa has helped to keep countless commuters heading in the right direction over the years.

Now she is hoping to use her new book to give a voice to the victims of historic sexual abuse.

Her latest novel, The Quiet Ones, is the third in a series focusing on investigative journalist Oonagh O’Neil and explores crimes against boys at fictional football team Caledonian Boys Club.

It follows on from The Lost Children, based on the ‘fallen women’ of the Magdalene Institution, in Glasgow, and Keep Her Silent, which took inspiration from the tainted blood scandal.

Theresa told the Barrhead News: “In the past, crime books were guilty of brushing over the victims or it was always the glamorous girl who ended up in a ditch.

“I wanted to give the victims agency and show these teenagers are real people and not just there as a plot point.

“With a lot of situations, we try to ‘other’ the people involved – ‘oh, it’s refugees, it wasn’t me’ – but these are real people.”

Theresa’s inspiration for her new novel came from a chance meeting with Glasgow taxi driver David Gordon.

The pair got talking and, soon, David revealed he had been a whistleblower in the original trial of Celtic Boys Club founder Jim Torbett during the 1990s.

It was with the help of his testimony that Torbett was jailed for his historic crimes. He was later caged again after more victims came forward.

While the book is inspired by real events, Theresa is keen to stress it is a work of fiction.

She said: “David told me he was set for a promising career in football but just gave up after being abused.

“How tragic – and how many other boys have slipped through the net or have had their lives ruined by such a trauma?

“This went on for decades and you only have to look at cases such as Jimmy Saville, who acted in plain sight.

“No-one will ever be blamed for Jimmy Saville but he didn’t work alone. Why has no-one been jailed for that or had some sort of conviction? I just can’t get my head round that.”

The abuse suffered by countless children is well documented, which is why Theresa wanted her new book to focus more on the victims, rather than the crimes.

She said: “People who have gone on to live successful lives didn’t speak out because they were scared of upsetting others by letting it slip that this had happened to them.

“There were all these social conventions which mean the victims didn’t speak out.

“They just wanted to play football and that’s all they wanted to do and they assumed it (the abuse) was part of it.”

The Quiet Ones is priced at £10.99 and is available to order online from Amazon.

Theresa will also be revealing all about her life when she visits the Barrhead Foundry on Monday.

She will be at the Foundry from 7pm. Tickets cost £4 and can be booked by calling 0141 577 4956.

The Barrhead News is giving away four tickets to the event, courtesy of Theresa.

Winners are on a first-come, first-served basis. To enter, simply send an email to editorial@barrheadnews.com.