New Ulster-Scots series of Hame returns to BBC Two NI
Date Posted: February 4, 2022
The popular Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund magazine series Hame returns and this time presenters Mark Thompson and Ruth Sanderson are travelling across the ‘Narrow Sea’ to Scotland. The three-part series, beginning on BBC Two Northern Ireland on Sunday 13th February at 10pm, was produced by Below the Radar.
From Portpatrick on the east coast to St Andrew’s in the west, Mark and Ruth unearth fascinating connections between Ulster and Scotland.
So much of Northern Ireland’s history and culture is interwoven with that of our Scottish kith and kin across the North Channel.
Those shared traditions date back centuries, but the ties that bind us continue through to the present day. It’s where so many folk from Ulster go to study, to visit family, find work, go on holiday – and even find love.
Mark is born and bred in the Ards – one of many Ulster-Scots communities in Northern Ireland – and has long been fascinated by links with our Scottish cousins.
Ruth grew up in Banbridge before leaving Northern Ireland to study at St. Andrew’s University. She recently moved back to Scotland with her family and has been amazed to discover so many relationships between the two countries.
In this series, Mark and Ruth visit towns and villages across Scotland to explore those enduring connections – both past and present.
On their travels they meet some of the many men and women from Ulster who have made Scotland their new hame, from church ministers to students. They meet some of the most acclaimed advocates of the Scots language, from the pioneering broadcaster Billy Kay to young singing sensation Iona Fyfe, as they explore how this ancient language is adapting – and thriving – in the 21st century.
Presenter Mark Thompson said: “I was born and bred on the County Down coast, seeing Scotland on every clear day and its lighthouses shining every night. It was great to travel around Scotland for a few weeks with our production team, to capture many of the stories and ‘kith and kin’ connections for our viewers. Scotland’s not a far distant land, we know it so well – it really is another part of Hame.”
Presenter Ruth Sanderson said: It’s been fascinating discovering the links between my home in Ulster and my new ‘hame’ in Scotland. It amazes me how similar the two places and their people are, and exciting to be part of that multigenerational story of folk going back and forth across the Irish sea.
The fourth series of Hame airs on Sunday 13th January at 10pm on BBC Two Northern Ireland.
