BBC Radio Shetland’s late programmes return to the airwaves on Monday night. There is a mixture of old and new programmes on offer over the next six months to keep you company as the winter nights draw in.

Claire White and Friends return with a lichtsome monthly hour of chat and tunes beginning with jewellery maker and designer Karlin Anderson and her husband Bryan Peterson who recently became a councillor.

Caroline Moyes looks back on the 40th Shetland Folk Festival, which finally went ahead in April this year, after a two-year delay due to the pandemic. The two, hour-long programmes will feature music and chat from all the visiting acts, as well as some of the local performers. They reflect on the joy of playing to live audiences again after such a long-enforced break and what makes the Shetland festival such a special event for everyone involved.

Join the founder of Shetland Pride, Kerrie Meyer, for an hour-long celebration of Shetland’s first ever Pride Festival held back in July. Buckle up for an evening of drag queens, dancing, sequins, music and all things LGBTQ+.

Jen Stout‘s popular Lie of the Land programme returns, starting with a walk through Michaelswood. It’s a place close to the heart of fiddle-player and teacher Catriona Macdonald and she reflects on family ties, loss and love and the shifting sands of Shetland traditions. In Fair Isle we head to the banks with Neil Thomson and his guitar to talk about a life filled by his love of music, instruments and plants. Poet Christine De Luca takes us wast ower for a stroll around Dale of Waas, reflecting on writing and dialect, Shetland’s future and her childhood memories of a changed place.

The Shetland Larder returns along with the leccy pan. Adam Guest, Joanne Williams and Iona Nicol explore the culinary delights on offer across the isles.

The station will also drop in for a conversation with gardener and author Rosa Steppanova in her Tresta Kitchen ahead of her departure from Shetland and we catch up Fair Isle wadder-man Dave Wheeler who takes us through eight decades of a life packed with adventure from Yorkshire to South Georgia to Shetland.

Davie Gardner catches up with former convener of Shetland Islands Council, Malcolm Bell, to speak about his long career in public service and his time in the police. Jane Moncrieff meets up with helicopter pilot Dougie Gray to hear his stories about working in many challenging missions for her popular Sixty Minutes Programme.

Radio Shetland will also be broadcasting a series of radio plays written and performed in the Shetland dialect. Mary Blance is back with her popular Books Programme. Davie Gardner is back in the chair for the discussion programme Speakeasy.  And we travel the length and breadth of Shetland to find out what folk do Beyond the Briggistanes in our environmental programme hosted by Val Turner and Eva Runciman.

There’s plenty of music on offer too; Barbara Cheyne is along with Fae Hameaboot, Jimmy Carlyle hosts Shades of Blues and Jim Pearson and Shelia Manson are back with Wir Kinda Country. Paul Bloomer explores the music that influenced the Northern Soul movement.

Jeff Merrifield and Joy Duncan also return with Jazz and World Sounds, while Alan Gifford and Cecil Hughson will be along with their guests showcasing the best of Shetland traditional music in Catgut and Ivory. Neil Robertson pulls out his favourite seventies and eighties music and Gary Peterson and Steve Davidson are back with Oota Da Cans.

BBC Radio Shetland editor John Johnston said: “It’s great to be back with such a variety of programmes to entertain listeners across isles during the long winter months.”

The late programmes are broadcast every weekday from 6pm straight after Good Evening Shetland on 92.7FM or live on the “radio player” app.

You can also listen again on the BBC Radio Shetland Facebook page or the BBC Sounds page.