The Alex Salmond Show
Political talk show hosted by former Scottish First Minister.
It premiered on RT on 16 November 2017 and featured interviews with various political and public figures. The programme was suspended on 24 February 2022 in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Talk show
- Presenter
- Alex Salmond
- Starring
- Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- Seasons
- 1
- Executive producers
- Maureen Goldthorpe
- Producer
- Slainte Media
Facts from the source article.
History
The Alex Salmond Show was launched by RT on 9 November 2017, with the first episode airing a week later. Salmond said his performance at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival as part of his Alex Salmond: Unleashed tour inspired him to create the programme. Nicola Sturgeon, Salmond's successor as first minister, stated she would have advised against his decision to host a show on RT. Scottish politicians from other parties criticised Salmond for a perceived lack of judgement. The first broadcast on 16 November 2017 featured Carles Puigdemont, the former president of Catalonia, as the main interviewee. On 24 February 2022, the show was suspended until further notice due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, following criticism Salmond received for not taking action in the days before the Russian invasion. On 11 July 2023, Salmond launched a new show on all social media platforms, Scotland Speaks with Alex Salmond, seen as a natural successor and produced by the same team. In February 2024, the programme returned on the Turkish public broadcaster TRT, with an episode featuring actor Brian Cox.
Premise
The show typically begins with Alex Salmond greeting the audience and reading tweets, letters, and e-mails sent in by members of the public. He then introduces the State Your Case section, where a fellow guest expresses opinions on a subject and Salmond discusses and debates the issue. Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh introduces a topical political issue and interviews an individual involved, after which Salmond engages the guest in a friendly chat about their personal life.
Controversy and criticism
When Alex Salmond announced his show would air on RT, politicians and journalists from across the political spectrum criticised him for joining what they called a Kremlin propaganda channel. Several high-profile figures, including David Cameron, John Bercow, and Scottish Government ministers, turned down invitations to appear because of the network. After the Skripal poisonings, critics urged Salmond to cancel the programme and questioned his editorial independence. Salmond responded by saying he had full control over the content and that RT did not interfere. In February 2022, during the Ukraine-Russia crisis, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called it appalling that Salmond was still broadcasting on RT. Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton demanded that Salmond be removed from the Privy Council, a call later echoed by MPs in the House of Commons on 23 February 2022. The following day, Salmond suspended the show indefinitely due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. After the first episode, it was revealed that tweets and emails Salmond read on air had not actually been sent by the public. One tweet appeared to come from an account that never posted it, and another appeared online only after the broadcast. Ofcom ruled that the show was materially misleading and undermined viewer trust. RT dismissed the investigation, calling the incident a trivial teething problem.
More in 2010s British Television Talk Shows
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