Ulva has sixteen residents. One derelict mansion. And now, a second television series.
Cameras are returning to the tiny Scottish island as Banjo and Ro Beale resume work on Ulva House, the abandoned estate they are turning into a boutique hotel. Banjo won BBC One’s Interior Design Masters in 2022.
Ro makes cheese and distills spirits. Together, they moved to Ulva in 2025 with a dog named Grampa and a plan that was, by any measure, ambitious. The first series of Grand Island Hotel was a hit.
It also triggered something the islanders did not expect: a tourist surge. So many visitors came that the 16 permanent residents asked for Sunday ferries to be stopped.
They wanted peace. The request was granted. Now the couple is back for a second go.
The budget, Banjo says, is shot. “We blew our budget last year so this time around we’re really getting creative,” he said. The plans, however, are not shrinking.
They are growing. Banjo and Ro are bringing more than just ambition this time.
A new Scottish Deerhound puppy named Cousin Jerry joins the household. So will peacocks. A llama.
More animals, more projects, less money — that is how Ro describes the situation. “Most people, after renovating a crumbling mansion on a remote island, would probably have a lie down,” he said.
“Banjo looked at the situation and decided what we really needed was more animals, more projects and less money. So naturally we’ve got grand plans to finish the hotel and somehow, even more hare-brained schemes.” The new series will track the couple as they push ahead with the rest of the renovation. Their usual crew of handymen and locals will help.
The puppy will wander through it all. Ulva sits off Scotland’s west coast. It is remote.
Supplies come by ferry. The house itself was abandoned, a crumbling shell.
Banjo and Ro chose to live there anyway, embracing the isolation and the limits it imposes. The first series showed that life — the work, the setbacks, the absurdity. The second series promises more of the same, only bigger.
The BBC has not announced a premiere date. But the production is underway.
The island, briefly famous and briefly overrun, will once again host a film crew. The residents, who have already experienced the boom, know what is coming. The Sunday ferries, at least, will stay quiet.
Banjo summed it up plainly. “The plans are bigger, and so is our family,” he said. “As we continue the ambitious restoration of Ulva House, we’ll be welcoming new puppies, peacocks, a llama and plenty of drama.
Life on a remote island is never straightforward, but that’s exactly what makes it such an adventure.” It is a strange kind of fame for a place with sixteen people. A TV show, a tourist boom, a ferry schedule changed to protect the silence.
And now, a second season. The couple who sparked it all are back, broke, and building again.
