Alex Salmond showed another side of his talents last night when he donned a dog collar and grey suit to play the part of the Reverend I M Jolly � made famous by the late Rikki Fulton.

Alex Salmond showed another side of his talents last night when he donned a dog collar and grey suit to play the part of the Reverend I M Jolly - made famous by the late Rikki Fulton - for the Scottish leg of BBC's Children in Need appeal.

The First Minister's pre-recorded three-minute take-off of the lugubrious Presbyterian minister, who was welcome in every household in the land, was greeted with hoots of laughter by the audience who gathered at BBC Scotland's Pacific Quay headquarters in Glasgow for last night's appeal.

Reporting Scotland's Jackie Bird, and comedians Hardeep Singh Kohli and Des Clarke, presented BBC Scotland's contribution with a host of Scottish stars, including last year's X Factor winner Leon Jackson, joining in.

In a typical downtrodden, IM Jolly-fashion, Mr Salmond began by saying: "Hullo. It has been a helluva year ... gloom, despondency, despair, foreboding, and a great wailing of national teeth. But enough about Scotland's World Cup campaign.

"Personally things haven't been too bad. I was of course promoted to the ministry, into this broad church of Scotland as I like to call it.

"Even when I was at university studying for this ministry I realised I would go down in history. Then I went down in geography, maths, French ..."

He continued: "I would like to pay tribute to the previous incumbent of the first ministership, the Right Reverend Jack McConnell. And I would also like to thank him for the present of fish he left me in Bute House ...under the floorboards.

"Moira (Mr Salmond's wife) and I had a great time too, replacing all the light bulbs he had taken with him."

By 11pm last night, this year's UK appeal was standing at £14m.