Cigarette-smoking Nicola Sturgeon parody used in Netflix series with indyref2 plot point

A cigarette-puffing parody of Nicola Sturgeon has been portrayed in a Netflix spy drama that places Scottish independence at the centre of a crucial plot point.

The second season of The Diplomat, a spy drama saga, has landed on Netflix - with episode four, entitled ‘The Other Army’, placing the fictional first minister of Scotland at the centre of a diplomatic stand-off between the UK and United States governments.

Pictured is Scottish First Minister Jemma Doud played by Clare Burt | Netflix

The plot centres around an apparent British attack on a British aircraft carrier, which the fictional UK government wants to cover up as it would play into the hands of those wanting Scottish independence - with ending the Union firmly back on the agenda. 

In the show, when asked about the incident, Celia Imrie, who plays UK government adviser Margaret Roylin, warns US ambassador Kate Wyler, played by Keri Russell, that “Scotland is still in play”, adding: “This is all they’d need to revive the secession movement”.

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She adds: “The United Kingdom should not tumble for it.”

The episode culminates in a summit at a Scottish castle, filmed at Inveraray Castle, where Scotland’s fictional first minister Jemma Doud, played by Clare Burt, is lobbied not to ask for a second referendum.

But the familiar scenario comes complete with a toe-curlingly bad Scottish accent handed to the first minister, who is sporting a 2014-era Nicola Sturgeon haircut and is seen wearing a green suit.

Rufus Sewell as Hal Wyler in episode 204 of The Diplomat | COURTESY OF NETFLIX

The female first minister is also seen smoking out of the window of Inveraray Castle as she meets the US ambassador. It is not known if Ms Sturgeon ever smoked a cigarette out of a Scottish landmark window, but it is unlikely.

Although not directly based on Ms Sturgeon, the first minister says “after the PM speaks, we’ll all be unconscious” in remarks that would be unsurprising coming from the Glasgow Southside MSP.

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The first minister in the Netflix programme is then told by the US ambassador that “we’d rather not revisit the secession”, to which she replies: “These are the conditions under which we’ll agree to cancel a referendum for independence”.

In response, the ambassador says: “You don’t have my country’s support for that. And sadly, you don’t have yours either. If you thought the vote would pass, you would call it.”

There are also shots of Inveraray featured in the episode. In her speech later in the episode, the first minister does what she is told and does not bring up independence.

Instead, she compliments the fictional prime minister, Nicol Trowbridge, and instead points the finger at Russia.

She says: “They expected thin skin, damp hands, a great deal of whinging. What they got must have shocked the teeth out of them.

“Those of us who share sea lanes with the Russians are glad to know that from now on, Moscow will think twice and slowly before tangling with Nicol Trowbridge.”

But the warm words aren’t reciprocated.

As the episode concludes, the PM says: “She should resign. She promised independence to her woolly tribe. Barring that, she’s nothing to offer.”