Dreams come true in new BBC Alba documentary

There are many different ways to approach one’s 90th birthday celebrations but flying a spitfire might not be on every octogenarian’s wish list.

For Uist pilot and author Bill Innes, that was exactly the birthday treat he had in store.
Since first seeing a Spitfire fly overhead in Glencoe in 1940 when he was just seven years old, Bill has “dreamt of roaming the clouds in such a thrilling machine”.

BBC ALBA’s new documentary, Bill agus an Spitfire, follows him as he sets out to realise this life-long ambition.

Bill was born in Kinlochleven, but when tragedy struck the family, he and his younger brother were brought to Uist to be fostered by the Bowie family in Howbeg. A keen academic, Bill went on to study at Glasgow University, but never lost his fascination for aviation. As a student, he was selected to join the RAF Air Reserve Squadron and to his delight, when the time came for him to do National Service, he was accepted for pilot training in the RAF.

Bill went on to achieve his dream of becoming a commercial airline pilot, a job he loved and found exciting and fulfilling. Over the course of his career, he had flown classic British planes such as the Viscount, Comet, Vanguard and Trident, but never got behind the controls of a Spitfire – until now.

Bill is a regular visitor home to Howbeg, where he stays across from the old Bowie family home where he was raised. He has fond memories and many stories of Uist and the kindness of the people who cared for him and his younger brother. A well-known presenter and reporter on Gaelic radio and TV, he has written several books and edited the much acclaimed edition of Donald John MacDonald’s poetry Chì Mi, which won the 1999 An Comunn Gaidhealach Mod Award for best book.

Bill agus an Spitfire premieres on BBC ALBA and iPlayer on Christmas Day, Monday 25 December at 8.30pm.