Exclusive:Hollywood actor Brian Cox to play key role in Alex Salmond's Edinburgh Festival Fringe show

Cox will appear in the show over two nights next month

The award-winning Hollywood actor Brian Cox is to play a key role in Alex Salmond's new Edinburgh Festival Fringe show.

Mr Cox, who is now best known for his portrayal of media mogul Logan Roy in the HBO series Succession, will appear in ‘The Ayes Have It! The Ayes Have It!’ over two nights next month.

The political debate show will see two teams led by Mr Salmond and Conservative MP David Davis go head-to-head on a range of issues, including Scottish independence, in front of a 450-capacity audience in the Assembly Spiegeltent in George Square.

Members of the audience can intervene, and a chair will take on the role of Commons speaker or Holyrood presiding officer to keep a “watchful eye over the proceedings”. This will be filled by former Commons speaker John Bercow initially, before Mr Cox takes over for two nights. He will then hand over to former first minister Henry McLeish, who will later be replaced by STV’s Bernard Ponsonby and then Dame Eleanor Laing, the current principal deputy speaker of the Commons.

"I've known Brian for many years and I've always been an admirer of his work as well,” Mr Salmond told The Scotsman. “Now he's a superstar, of course, but I knew him when he was just a very, very fine actor winning Laurence Olivier Awards. Now he wins Emmys. I just think it's fantastic.

"I think his characterisation of Logan Roy is one of the great performances of the recent television era. It's just an extraordinary performance over the series. The last character in television who had the impact of Logan Roy was JR Ewing [from Dallas], I think. It's a brilliant performance, absolutely brilliant."

Mr Salmond insisted "Logan Roy is going to impose order in the Spiegeltent”, adding: "You take your life in your hands if you intervene with Bercow in the chair and get out of line, but with Cox in the chair – by God."

The former first minister said the main topics for debate will be Scottish independence, Brexit and republicanism. "The idea is, each night David and I, our teams have a set-to,” he said. “I'll be backed up by a bunch of Scottish MSPs and MPs, and David will be backed up by a bunch of Westminster MPs.”

Politicians set to take part include SNP MSP and former minister Fergus Ewing, ex-Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable, former SNP leadership contender Kate Forbes and SNP MSP Michelle Thomson. There will be one hour of debate with "short, sharp speeches", before the audience decides who wins.

Mr Salmond said he expects it to be “boisterous”, adding: "It'll be like an arena – it'll be like the Colosseum.” He said: "That's what it's designed for. It's designed for debate, obviously, sharp-witted political interchange certainly – but boisterous as well. It's meant to be kind of replicating a parliamentary atmosphere."

Mr Salmond, who now leads the pro-independence Alba Party, previously fronted a show at the Fringe in 2017, which led to his controversial programme on Russian TV channel RT.

The new show will be directed by former SNP MP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, and is being produced in association with Cahoots Theatre Company. It will run from August 4 to 13 at 7.50pm.