Lorraine Kelly Orkney: TV star masquerades as tattoo artist as Island Games kicks off in Orkney

In the video posted online, the Scottish TV presenter pretended to be a tattoo artist to promote the Kirkwall business, which has released a special collection of tattoo designs ahead of the event.

The TV star, who calls Orkney her “happy place” and visits every year, is an ambassador for the 20th edition of the games, which kick off on Saturday.

Teams from 24 island groups, including Menorca, the Cayman Islands and Greenland, are set to compete in the games, described as a small-island version of the Olympics.

Inga Elder, the owner of Image Orkney in Kirkwall, said she messaged Ms Kelly ahead of the games after the star joined in her cousin’s ‘blackening’ - a traditional wedding custom - on the island a couple of years ago.

“I’ve kept it a secret for a couple of weeks,” Ms Elder said. “I wanted to explode and tell people, but I couldn’t. None of my staff knew.”

She said the town was “buzzing” as competitors and spectators arriving for the tournament.

“Everyone’s excited and there’s a lot of hype,” Ms Elder said. “People have put flags on their houses. It's bringing Orcadians together again.

“We’re proud of where we’re from. And to welcome all these other tourists and sportspeople, it’s just great.”

Ms Elder said when she returned downstairs on Thursday evening after filming with Ms Kelly, she found the team from Bermuda in the salon, asking at reception when they could book in for tattoos.

Ms Elder’s husband, Calum Elder, is an apprentice artist at the salon and is competing for Orkney in the shot put competition on Monday. He competed as a swimmer at the games on the Isle of Man in 2001.

“I knew how special it would be to take part in the games in Orkney, so I wanted to find a way to shoehorn myself in,” he said.

Mr Elder only started throwing in August last year, but as a competitive strongman it was a natural transition.

He said: “The games are about like-minded people coming together from all over the world, from places which are miles away but have similarities to the life we live in Orkney.”

The games will be officially opened by the Princess Royal during the opening ceremony at a park in Kirkwall on Saturday, which is being hosted by Ms Kelly.

The ceremony will be followed by an athletes’ parade finishing at St Magnus Cathedral.

There are 12 sporting events taking place throughout the week, including athletics, swimming, cycling and gymnastics. Local businesses have been gearing up for months to prepare for the influx of visitors on the island.

Ms Elder said: “Everyone has come together to open later at night to offer food later at night. Everyone has cleaned up the front of their shops and put flowers and flags out. Everything's just looking sharp and colourful, it’s lovely.”

It is the second time a Scottish island has taken the reins, with the games being hosted in Shetland in 2005.

The inter-island competition began in 1985 on the Isle of Man and was intended as a one-off contest between 15 islands. The event has developed exponentially since then and now involves around 2,000 sportspeople participating.