Rock star Fish on why he has turned down reality TV show set on his new Scottish island croft

Rock star Fish has revealed he turned down two offers to do a reality television show on his new croft in the Outer Hebrides.

The former Marillion frontman said he rejected the advances of television producers to protect the “sanctuary” he and his wife are creating on Berneray. The couple have moved full time to the 35-acre site where they will rear sheep, grow food and, eventually, open up a cafe and farm shop.

Fish, whose real name is Derek Dick, said: “I turned down two offers from TV stations to do that. Because this is going to be our sanctuary, it could be taken the wrong way by other crofters. 

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“You don’t want to be that guy. Instead, what we are doing is spending a bucketload of money basically resurrecting the croft properly. The first thing we said to the people up there was it’s not a holiday home; this is a move, we’re taking it seriously.

“And the community’s taken us in, they understand.”

Fish has moved to Berneray where he is living as a crofter | Ilona Amos/NationalWorld

The musician and his wife are selling up their home, which includes a recording studio, in Spittalrig, East Lothian, to make way for their new life. In an earlier interview with The Scotsman, Fish said the time was right to embark on his “exit plan”, which had taken shape over a number of years.

“I’m full here and it’s time for change,” the 67-year-old said in June. The couple have been welcomed in by locals on the island, which sits off Harris, and they recently attended their first ceilidh.

Singer Fish and his wife Simone on their new 35-acre croft on Berneray. | Contributed

He said: “I’d never been to one before. I thought it was just Highland dancing, but it’s a whole coming together; could be ten people, could be 110 people. It was near a beach. There was a band playing Runrig and Eagles songs and Highland dance music, drinking whisky. There was a raffle with farm gates as the prize, all in aid of the air ambulance service. The sense of community, the friendliness, the openness was just outstanding.”

The singer also met one of the younger islanders at the gathering who, it turns out, was named after the title of his band’s hit single Kayleigh.

He said: “There was a girl there. I asked her name and she goes ‘Kayleigh’. I said ‘you’re kidding me, I’m meeting Kayleigh at a ceilidh?’ I said: ‘Was your dad a Marillion fan?’ She said: ‘No, my mother fancied the singer’. We were all laughing.”

As well as crofting, Fish said his retirement would also include some creative projects, such as finishing his autobiography and performing small shows to fans. He became interested in relocating to the Outer Hebrides after travelling around the islands with Simone in 2022 and visiting friends.

Now, they are aiming to become as self-sufficient as possible. The old croft house has been fully renovated and they have taken on a flock of 13 blackface ewes.

Fish earlier told The Scotsman: “When we took it over, it was pretty derelict. The place was rotten and the roof was knackered. We were warned it could get ugly, and it did.

“The scale of the work could have taken others down, but we were lucky we had the resources to fix it up. The property was previously a holiday home, but we want folk to realise that we are not part-time residents.”