“We blew our budget last year,” Banjo Beale said, “so this time around we’re really getting creative.”
Filming is underway on the second series of Banjo and Ro’s Grand Island Hotel, and the couple are back on the Scottish island of Ulva to keep turning a derelict mansion into a boutique hotel. Banjo won BBC One’s Interior Design Masters in 2022. His husband Ro is a cheesemaker and distiller. They moved to Ulva in 2025 with Grampa the dog.
The first series did well on iPlayer and made the BBC’s top ten lifestyle titles of 2026. It also brought a rush of visitors to a place with 16 residents. Those residents asked for Sunday ferries to be stopped so they could have some quiet.
More animals, less money
This time the household grows. A Scottish Deerhound puppy named Cousin Jerry has arrived, and the couple’s band of handymen and locals is returning to help with the work on Ulva House.
“The plans are bigger, and so is our family,” Banjo said. “We’ll be welcoming new puppies, peacocks, a llama and plenty of drama.”
Ro was drier about it. “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.” He said Banjo keeps turning up with another sketch and the same line: “I’ve had an idea.” Ro called those “the four most dangerous words in my world.”
He leans on two neighbours to cope. Rhuri is the island ferryman, postman and, in Ro’s words, therapist. Barry is “not afraid to share his opinion.”
A health scare
Executive producer Wendy Rattray said the couple face unexpected problems this series, including a health scare that forces Ro to slow down and rethink how he works. Banjo, she said, “remains firmly in post as Chief Imagination Officer,” while Cousin Jerry “brings a fresh dose of chaos to island life.”
The series is a Hello Halo production, co-commissioned by BBC Scotland and BBC Factual Entertainment, with six hour-long episodes. BBC Scotland’s Louise Thornton said audiences “adored being part of Banjo and Ro’s renovation story.” Cal Turner of BBC Factual Entertainment called the show “both escapist and inspiring.”
Filming runs until the autumn. The series is expected on BBC iPlayer, BBC Scotland and BBC Two in 2027.
Sources
- Banjo and Ro are back for a second series of Grand Island Hotel
- Banjo and Ro return to Ulva for second series of Grand Island Hotel
