He may have left the spotlight of frontline politics, but former First Minister Alex Salmond has turned out to be the hottest ticket at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe.
The dumped MP and former SNP leader has sold out his entire run of 15 shows at one of the Fringe’s liveliest venues.
With 5,250 tickets now gone, he is said to be looking at how he can squeeze even more seats into his 350-seat capacity Assembly Rooms shows.
Alex Salmond Unleashed has been billed as “a festival of fun, friends and freedom”, with the offer to Fringe audiences to enjoy finding out what he “really thinks”.
According to the Edinburgh Fringe programme, the show is to include “light-hearted banter and a few behind the scenes revelations about his time in power”.
For £22.50 per ticket, audience members are to be treated to Mr Salmond, 62, chatting with a surprise celebrity guest from politics, showbusiness or sport.
It’s expected Mr Salmond will use the opportunity to share anecdotes of his high-profile run-in with Donald Trump.
The former First Minister was a surprise casualty of the General Election, losing his Gordon constituency seat to Conservative candidate Colin Clark. The result brought to an end 30 years in the spotlight of Scottish politics.
Before tickets went on sale, Mr Salmond said: “I have always fancied a spot at the Edinburgh Fringe and this is going to be lots of fun.
“Obviously in the show there will be lots about politics but the emphasis will be very much on the lighter side.
“Among the invited guests there is already plenty of excitement and quite a few surprises. I suspect some people might be taken aback at the range of friends whom I invite along.”
Mr Salmond follows in the footsteps of another unlikely Fringe star. In 2014, Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman’s one-man show quickly sold out its eight performances.
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