It is not every day that an A-list celebrity comes to the Isle of Mull, but when Jamie Dornan is in town, it is fair to say he has caused a bit of a stir.
The 50 Shades of Grey, Belfast, The Fall and Marie Antoinette actor is no stranger to the red carpet – but how does he fair on becoming part of island life, albeit for a few weeks?
He is on the island to shoot the Netflix film The Undertow.
Mr Dornan arrived on the island ahead of schedule, as we understand it, to enjoy a night out with friends who travelled to the island to be with him.
After enjoying a meal in the award-winning Cafe Fish in Tobermory, he had a brew or two with the locals in the Mishnish pub.
A barman in the Mishnish told us he ordered lots of drinks, among them a Baby Guinness.
He said Mr Dornan was kind to everyone who approached him for a selfie.
Throwing himself into one of the busiest pubs on the island, earned him a few new fans.
Everyone we spoke to said he took time to speak to people, and to get to know them.
We went to the island, from Oban, to try and find him.
Tourists aboard the Isle of Mull to Criagnure had not heard he was on the island.
A couple from Las Vegas said: “Can we come with you? I would love to meet Jamie Dornan.”
Instead their bus took them off to Iona, a different kind of spiritual experience.
Former councillor Mary-Jean Devon OBE told us he was hiding in her bedroom cupboard.
She joked: “He is learning his Gaelic words and is joining Mull Gaelic Choir.”
Mrs Devon remembers other films being shot on the island, and recounted people meeting Anthony Hopkins as he filmed When Eight Bells Toll.
Sir Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones filmed Entrapment using Duart Castle as the setting, few people met them, but that was before social media, and mobile phones.
Staff in the Spar Shop in Salen said he had dropped in for “essentials” likely on his way to or from his filming set.
We understand that many of the island’s hotels have had bookings from the film crew, so Mr Dornan might be staying in plain sight in one of the luxury hotels on Tobermory’s seafront.
Robert Crumlish of Cafe Fish said not only did he serve him a fine dinner of shellfish.
He then joined him for a drink in the Mishnish, before asking him for a selfie with his niece.
He said: “Just a lovely, down-to-earth guy. When I approached him for a selfie, it was no bother.
“He fits right in, he can stay.”
John Norman caught up with Mr Dornan in the Mishnish and said he was a nice man, who was chatty.
In the Piece Box in Dervaig, owner Mary Ireson said she would need to “wash her hair”, just in case Mr Dornan dropped in.
Gordon Chalmers, who delivers meals to the island’s primary schools, was aware Mr Dornan was on the island.
He said: “Everyone seems to have seen him out and about.”
A keen golfer himself, he said: “I understand that he has had a round or two up at the golf club in Tobermory and at Criagnure.”
The crew and team filming with Mr Dornan do regular mini-bus runs from Tobermory to the filming point at Grasspoint.
It is a single-track road that is probably best known by bird watchers as a former home for the island’s most famous sea eagle couple Skye and Frisa.
I drove along the road very slowly, finally coming to a man standing in the middle of the road asking me to stop.
It was a security man, Steve from Newcastle.
I asked if I could speak to Mr Dornan, he said he would pass on my details…
Back in Salen, Caroline and George Berry said they had heard of Mr Dornan being on the island, and would “love to bump into him”.
George said: “I could teach him a thing or two about living on an island.”
Caroline joked that Mr Shades of Grey might be able to teach George a thing or two.
The Jamie Dornan frenzy is due to last for another month.
The film is due for release next year after the crew concludes filming in several locations on the island.
