Interior designer Banjo Beale is known for his rustic, eclectic style. Since rising to fame as winner of BBC's Interior Design Masters in 2022, he's shone a spotlight on the Hebridean islands he calls home with TV shows and books showcasing his resourceful transformations.
Now Banjo and his husband Ro Christopher have embarked on their most ambitious project yet, renovating a hotel on the tiny island of Ulva, off Mull. And anyone who has tuned into Grand Island Hotel, the BBC show following their journey, will no doubt have been charmed by their charismatic canine companion, Grampa.
We caught up with Banjo and Ro to hear all about their lives together, and what Grampa is like when the cameras stop rolling.
Before Grampa… we thought we’d had enough of Scotland, so went back to Australia to thaw out and make a plan B. We saw a picture on a rescue page of a little blonde wolfhound-greyhound cross wearing a bandana and went to see him. Ro didn’t think he wanted a dog, but it was love at first sight.
Before us… Grampa had been used as pig hunting bait in the bush. He wouldn’t have survived long. We rescued him when he was only four or five months old – he was so small he could fit through a cat flap – and gave him a soft place to land.
We called him Grampa because… even as a puppy, he looked like an old grandpa. He’s always groaned when he stands up, needed a lie down after walking 12 metres and slept most of the day. He’s just a funny, grumbling old man.
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When we returned to Scotland… Grampa’s journey home was much more glamorous than ours. He flew separately and ended up having a layover in a five-star dog hotel in Dubai while we were sleeping on a floor. His room service bill included pulled pork sliders and an itemised list of films he’d watched – he was annoyed when we picked him up!
Our day normally starts with… letting Grampa out for a solo lap of Ulva to visit his ‘people’ – he thinks he’s royalty and owns the island. He says ‘g’day’ to the ferryman Ruari’s dogs, an Alaskan Malamute and a Labrador, then we feed the pigs (Nugget, Dinky and Ginger) together. After that he can’t wait to get back inside for a long nap.
Our biggest bone of contention is... when Banjo cooks for Grampa. Banjo is a veggie, but on random days he treats Grampa to a beautiful steak from the island shop, while Ro gets goujons. Ro's a trained pastry chef; he's planning cooking classes at the hotel over summer and a new salumeria. Grampa will be delighted, because he misses the cheese farm we used to work at on Mull.
If you can’t find Grampa, he’ll be… out scavenging. On Mull, we'd get messages out of the blue from people saying he was 45 minutes away in Tobermoray at the sausage roll stall. Now he's discovered lobster leftovers and puppaccinos at The Boathouse [Banjo and Ro's cafe] He’ll pretend he needs to use the bathroom so you take him outside, then he’ll give a cheeky look over his shoulder to check if you’re paying attention and he’s off – like a grandpa escaping from a nursing home.
This year we're trying to… wean Grampa off our bed. It's a disputed issue, because Banjo needs to touch him at all times whereas Ro doesn't appreciate it when Grampa stretches lengthways across the whole bed. We’re trying to bring him down to earth a bit this year and wean him back onto dog food, too – currently he refuses to eat dog biscuits. We’ve had to rough it while we renovate the hotel, so we all have to make sacrifices!
We have a mutual loathing of… swimming. We refuse to go in the water in this hemisphere. But Grampa is a salty seadog and loves being on a boat or sitting on the slipway by the boathouse watching the fisherman.
Grampa’s best friend is… his girlfriend Una, a beautiful spaniel on Mull. Now they’re separated by a small body of water they’ve gone long distance, but he still visits a lot and stays with her when we’re away. On Ulva, he enjoys playing with the farmer’s seven dogs and has an unexpected friendship with the highland coos. The first time they met he touched noses with the biggest one with wonky horns, and now they just sit in the field together and look at each other.
Since going on television… Grampa has unleashed his inner diva. He loves the camera; as soon as filming starts he knows that’s his cue and comes and stands by us, and when people want selfies he does a model pose with his chest pumped out. He gets lots of fan-mail and gifts too; the ferryman has to carry over stacks of letters addressed to ‘Grampa Beale’. Someone knitted him a crochet blanket and he receives regular declarations of love from other dogs.
Find out more about Ulva House, Banjo and Ro's hotel.
Stylish dog accessories to shop now
TURNER & BELL Woofgill Leather Dog Collar
Barkworth Reeve Tweed Sausage Dog Pencil Case
Fleece Dog Snood
The Little Oak Company Oak Dog Lead Rail
Reg&Bob Dog Lead In Lime And Navy Stripe
Pawz Please The Explorer Customisable Nylon Collar
Cara is Commissioning Editor at Country Living, covering everything from style and interiors to sustainability, artisans and the great outdoors. She has previously worked for Good Housekeeping, Homes & Gardens, House Beautiful, Prima and Red, and has an MA in Magazine Journalism from City University and a BA in Music from the University of Oxford. Follow Cara on Instagram @caralaskaris or Linkedin.
