Brian Cox, the star of TV show Succession, has admitted he thought the SNP were irrelevant.

“I used to think the Scots Nats were a joke party," he said, in an interview in tomorrow's Herald Magazine.

Cox had voiced Labour election broadcasts in 1997, the year Tony Blair came to power but was appalled by Blair’s decision to invade Iraq. He switched to supporting independence to put 'Scotland first' – partly due to the direction Labour took.

He said: 'I now I think the only place that social democracy seems to be functioning is my home country. So perhaps that’s where my allegiance lies.”

Talking about COP26, the 75-year-old admitted he took many flights but criticised the Australian government's stance on mining coal. He said: "I’m also intolerant of America when it comes to coal, because it doesn’t make any sense. The government is behaving like frat night in a minor university."

The actor also talked about his Succession co-stars and his surprising affection for received pronunciation. Read the full interview tomorrow.

The Herald: