Impressionist Rory Bremner is in negotiations to create an independence debate comedy special, starring Alex Salmond as “a version of Iranian President Ahmadinejad.”
The Edinburgh-born comedian, most famous for his portrayals of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and for his work on Spitting Image, Mock the Week and Bremner, Bird and Forture, is now moving back to Scotland to work on his Salmond impression.
Commenting on the idea for the show, Mr Bremner said: “I really need to start looking at tapes of Alex Salmond because he’s not someone I’ve really done.
“We’ve been talking to the Comedy Unit in Glasgow about doing some shows on independence. I’d love to do a documentary on the build-up to 2014 and get enough comic material for a spin-off.
“I haven’t got my head around the independence debate but I have a lovely idea of turning Alex into a version of Iranian President Ahmadinejad.”
The news comes only two months after the BBC was inundated with viewer complaints when Newsnight host Jeremy Paxman compared Mr Salmond to Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe.
Mr Bremner has also hinted at creating a likeness to James Bond supervillain Blofeld, saying: “I kind of see him in an office at the very top of the Scott Monument, stroking a white Scottish terrier, like McBlofeld.
“He’s got to pretend that the nuclear submarine base at Faslane is just part of Scotland’s domestic energy programme.
“And that the submarines are just being used to heat water in Ayrshire and they are actually no threat at all to England and the rest of Britain.
“So another great thing about moving back is that I’ll get to study it all at close quarters.”
A tyrannical portrayal of the First Minister, however, whilst intended as light-hearted comedy, may raise concerns amongst some independence supporters about the nature of the debate and its sensitivity in the run-up to 2014.
Mr Bremner has been a vocal opponent of independence, stating in a recent interview with The Scotsman: “I love the idea of being a separate entity within the whole. I think independence is an idea whose time has come and gone.”
He said he wanted his children to feel Scottish, adding: “But not in an Alex Salmond, independence kind of way…”
Whatever the outcome of the show, one thing that is clear is that the First Minister is beginning making his mark in the popular consciousness and culture of the modern day Scottish imagination.
Note: This article originally stated that Mr Bremner was in talks with the BBC. Mr Bremner has since said that the talks are with another broadcaster. However the source of the claim that Mr Bremner is in talks with the BBC over an ‘Independence Debate Special’ was reported by the Sun newspaper – http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/scotlandfeatures/4207996/Rory-Bremner-Alex-Salmond-has-made-a-big-impression-on-me.html
It was Jonathon Watson, I thought it was brilliant
“…I have a lovely idea of turning Alex into a version of Iranian President Ahmadinejad.”