THE ISLAND SWIMMER — LORRAINE KELLY’S LOVE LETTER TO ORKNEY

Superstar of daytime TV and all round Orkney fan, Lorraine Kelly, only ever had one location in mind when she came to write her debut novel. The national treasure has been one of Orkney’s finest ambassadors for over 40 years now, after she first visited the isles while working as the Scottish Correspondent on Tvam.

“I instantly fell in love with this glorious part of the world, and even though I’ve been coming every year, I still haven’t explored everything Orkney has to offer,” says Lorraine.

“There’s just so much to see and do, and you always get the warmest of welcomes.”

This passion for Orkney has now been put down into words, in The Island Swimmer, Lorraine’s captivating debut novel.

Centred around Evie, who reluctantly returns to her family home and the wild landscape she left as a teenager, the book charts her fraught relationship with her sister and the struggles she faces to confront a childhood trauma.

“I’ve always wanted to write,” the author says. “And the book’s inspiration was always going to be Orkney. Because I love this place so much, it needed to be here.”

As well as her many holidays in the islands, Lorraine has spent time researching various elements of Orkney’s history, culture and mythology which pop up in the book.

“It was important to get the names and the language right, I just hope my love for Orkney really comes across.”

Lorraine launched her novel with a special event in Kirkwall, where she admitted the book’s title was based on her experiences of taking the plunge in Orkney’s wild waves.

“It really makes you feel alive,” she says of the experience. “It’s bracing and invigorating.”

As well as submerging herself in the Orcadian seas, the isles are intertwined with many key moments in the presenter’s life.

“When my daughter Rosie was a toddler, she learned to walk on Skaill Beach at Skara Brae, and on the grassy slopes of Shapinsay.

“My husband Steve and I came in May for long romantic weekends, staying at the Foveran just outside Kirkwall, which has become a home from home.”

Lorraine is enthusiastic about all aspects of Orkney, from the food — Jolly’s seafood hampers are a favourite — to the scenery and wildlife.

She has spoken often about her fascination with Orkney history, and rates local beers, whiskies, gins and wines highly.

But for Lorraine, two things really stand out as her highlights of Orkney — the people, and the wonderful inspiration the islands offer.

Her easy going, friendly nature has seen her embraced by locals, who now consider her an “adopted-orcadian.”

“While l was shopping in Kirkwall, I was asked to join a traditional ‘blackening,’ when a bride-to-be and her pals kick off the prewedding celebrations aboard an open-top truck,” she explains.

“They are all covered in molasses and feathers, banging pots and pans and singing at the top of their lungs. I helped affix Ellen, the bride, to a pole outside the cathedral, with a giant roll of cling film. It was tremendous fun, and I was chuffed to be included.”

There is, she says, “something magical” about Orkney, a magic that consistently attracts and inspires artists, photographers and writers from around the world.

And now a drop of this distinctive Orcadian magic has fallen from her pen.