The latest series of Shetland started last night on the BBC and once again the UK’s most northerly archipelago gets some priceless publicity which I reckon the Shetland Island’s Tourist Board must be clapping hands with glee every time a new series drops as it showcases the beauty of the area very well.

As always with any TV or film production fans are obsessed with the locations and one in particular with Shetland proved particularly iconic during the early series – the home of the lead character DI Jimmy Perez who left at the end of the seventh series.

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Firstly, I have to admit that I have a connection to the islands, as my dad’s side of the family are from Shetland, and as family we visited a couple of time when we were kids.

I did return to do my first Up Helly Aa travel feature in 1994 but, I can’t be sure, but I reckon I must have seen the house during that visit as I have shots of nearby properties.

But when I returned in 2005 I definitely got a shot which can be seen above. Having said that, when I was in Lerwick, in Shetland in 2019 for an interview for a job as a reporter at The Shetland Times, I was well aware of it as the location as the series was well established in the public’s zeitgeist. It is so distinctive as it juts out into the sea.

I had some time to kill before I caught the ferry back to the mainland so I took the opportunity to have a wander and revisited the building and the resulting shots can be seen below.

For the record I was on a shortlist of three but did not get the job (having said that The Shetland Times paid all my expenses which was a refreshing change in the current economic climate for the troubled newspaper industry). But within a couple of months I did get a job with the Inverness Courier and that kept me occupied for the next four years so it all worked out for the best.

I have been meaning to get back to Shetland over the years for Up Helly Aa but, for various reasons, it was not to be. Having said that I am determined to return maybe in 2026 (I just hope the weather will be kind to my cameras eh?)