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Minister Conducts 'Lovely' TV Couple's Vow Renewal

Monday January 13 2025

Picture: Solus Productions/BBC


The Church of Scotland minister who conducted the renewal of marriage vows ceremony for TV stars Julie Wilson Nimmo and Greg Hemphill said it was ‘lovely’.

Nimmo (known for Balamory) and Hemphill (Still Game) celebrated their 25th anniversary by renewing their vows in the historic Italian Chapel on Orkney last summer, while they were filming the BBC show Jules and Greg’s Wild Swim.

The Rev Chris Wallace was asked to conduct the ceremony as the Chapel is in his former parish (most of Orkney is now formally a single parish) and his manse is nearby. He said: “They were really nice folk. It wasn’t all for the TV show, it was a proper renewal of vows ceremony.

“I’m retiring next month and that was my last wedding blessing, and it was lovely and very special.”

The tiny, ornate chapel, on the island of Lamb Holm, was famously constructed out of two Nissen huts by Italian prisoners who were constructing the nearby Churchill Barrier during World War Two. It has been restored twice, and is now one of Orkney’s main tourist attractions.

Although a Roman Catholic church, it is owned by the landowner and in the care of a Preservation Committee. Chris said he had conducted ‘quite a lot’ of weddings and vow renewals there, especially for visitors to the islands.

“It’s a special place. There’s no electricity in the sanctuary end, so the service is held by natural light, and I’ve had a wedding there when it was getting dark outside and I was struggling to see. It’s quaint, and beautiful, and amazing the way it was done.”

Series two of Jules and Greg’s Wild Swim is currently showing on BBC Scotland at 9pm on Monday nights, and the whole series is available in the UK on BBC iPlayer.


Life and Work is the magazine of the Church of Scotland. Subscribe here.


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