A second series of Scotland’s Sacred Islands with Ben Fogle is about to hit our screens.

The new four-part series starts on BBC Scotland and on BBC iPlayer on today, Tuesday October 17 at 8pm and on BBC One on Sunday October 22 at 10.30am.

Across the new series Ben will visit 12 islands, starting with Arran and Holy Isle, then Islay and Jura, with a third episode on Orkney and rounding up the series in Skye.

Alongside stunning photography of some of the UK’s most beautiful islands, the series celebrates their unique spiritual heritage as Ben meets local people finding out how faith and belief are woven into their modern-day communities.

Produced by Tern, which is part of Zinc Media, Scotland’s Sacred Islands with Ben Fogle is a co-commission between BBC Scotland and BBC Unscripted for BBC One and is produced in partnership with The Open University. The series was commissioned by Steve Allen at BBC Scotland and Daisy Scalchi, BBC Head of Religion & Ethics TV.

Steve Allen, Commissioning Editor for BBC Scotland, said: “Ben Fogle forged a link with the Scottish islands which started in his childhood as a young boy visiting Eigg with his family and was fostered by the BBC more than 20 years ago when he took part in the Castaway project living on Taransay, in the Hebrides for a year.

“In this second series of Scotland’s Sacred Islands he connects very directly with the landscape and unique spiritual heritage of the islands, but also with the people and the communities he meets. In these difficult times for many, the series offers a beautiful slice of serenity and a picture of community connection.”

Harry Bell Managing Director of Tern, said: “We’re thrilled to be casting off with Ben on another adventure into the soul of Scotland’s beautiful islands. Celebrating small communities living on ‘the edge of the world’ and sharing their beliefs and way of life has been a magical experience.”

Two academics from The Open University, Professor John Wolffe and Professor Marion Bowman, consulted on the series.

John Wolffe, Professor of Religious History at The Open University, says: “Through its focus on fascinating and scenic islands this series explores changing forms of religious expression and spirituality in the contemporary world and raises important questions about the nature of communities and their relationship to the environment. It has been a rewarding privilege to be involved.”

Marion Bowman, Professor of Vernacular Religion at The Open University, says: “As a Scottish Religious Studies scholar, my research areas are Vernacular Religion (which focuses on religion as it is lived in everyday life), diverse forms of contemporary spirituality, and new non-traditional forms of pilgrimage in Scotland, so working on Scotland's Sacred Islands has been right up my street! It’s been a pleasure to be involved in bringing to a wider audience some insights into possibly unfamiliar places, spiritual practices, cultural traditions and worldviews. I hope that people will find the beauty and diversity of the islands visited, the insights into traditional forms of religiosity, new spiritual and personal quests and the many means of community-building and meaning-making featured both fascinating and thought-provoking.”

The popular first series, which broadcast in 2021, featured Shetland and islands in the Inner and Outer Hebrides, including Iona, Barra, North and South Uist, Mingulay, Berneray, Taransay, Lewis and Harris.

This second series features Arran and Holy Isle in the first episode, Islay, Jura and The Rock of the Saints in the second episode, Orkney Mainland, Shapinsay, Lamb Holm in the third, and lastly Skye, St Columba’s Isle, Raasay and Rona.