Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund Supports New TV...

18 March 2026

The Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund Investment Committee has confirmed support for a series of TV productions for broadcasters including BBC NI, RTE, GB News and Thats TV.

Paula McIntyre’s Hamely Kitchen (BBC NI) returns for a fifth series and sees the celebrated chef return to the north coast to cook the finest Ulster-Scots food for famous friends and fans. The series’ production company, Clean Slate Television, will also be producing RTE documentary, Dr. Marie Cassidy Investigates The Witch Trial of Islandmagee. Former Irish State Pathologist Dr. Cassidy will explore this 18th Century Ulster-Scots story and examine its outcomes from her 21st Century perspective.

Fresh from her work on award-winning film Sinners, American singer-songwriter Rhiannon Giddens discovers the Ulster-Scots origins of American folk music. During her journey, Giddens will uncover the deep-rooted connections between Scotch-Irish and African-American music. Produced by Chapterhouse Films for BBC NI, How Sweet the Sound: A Musical Journey with Rhiannon Giddens will also incorporate performances from the Grammy-winning musician.

Two-part documentary series Architects of America: Revolution to Republic and Whiskey and The West continues the re-telling of the Ulster-Scots role in the founding of the USA. Having already covered the pre-revolution period in his 2025-26 Architects of America slate, presenter Dougie Beattie reveals how the Scotch-Irish people helped shape a new nation. The series is made by Féinics Productions for GB News.

Northern Visions TV will produce its 10th year of Ulster-Scots programmes, with everything from news and events to documentaries and fact-ent series screened on That’s TV, and added to their already extensive archive available at ulsterscots.nvtv.co.uk.

While DoubleBand Films has been awarded development funding for Ettlin fur Godot, an Ulster-Scots translation and performance of Samuel Beckett’s seminal play, Waiting for Godot.  

“The Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund is delighted to support these entertaining and thought-provoking programmes for a broad range of broadcasters,” said Heidi McAlpine, Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund Manager. “It is also fantastic to see so many well-known names fronting this eclectic mix of productions. I look forward to working with the companies as each programme evolves.”