Monday 28 September 2026
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‘Beautiful’ Shetland in the spotlight on Graham Norton Show

From left to right: Sean Diddy Combs, Ashley Jensen, George MacKay, Graham Norton, Rosie Ramsey, Chris Ramsey, Jessie Ware. Photo: BBC/So Television/PA Media/Isabel Infantes

SHETLAND got a starring role on Graham Norton’s hit talk show on BBC One last night (Friday) – with the host calling the isles “so beautiful”.

Shetland was brought up in discussion on the popular programme as Ashley Jensen, actress in the crime drama of the same name, was one of the guests.

In what would be music to the ears of tourism chiefs, host Norton said “Shetland is so beautiful – it’s crazy” – with Jensen saying there is a “strange, almost mythical quality” about the isles.

“It’s stark and bleak and beautiful all at the same time,” the actress said.

Fellow guest on the show, US rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, also said Shetland looked beautiful after seeing a clip of Jensen in action.

Norton added: “We should explain to Diddy – Shetland isn’t just Scotland, it’s an island off Scotland. So it’s remote.”

They also showed a video of Jensen dancing in the Lerwick Boating Club during a Shetland party.

She said she ended up losing a pair of wellies in a taxi that night – and never got them back.

Fellow Graham Norton Show guest actor George Mackay also spoke about his own experience of Shetland, having appeared at the Screenplay festival in 2017.

He reminisced about the music before saying there was a “ceilidh” at a house party nearby.

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