Sturgeon and Gove to team up for reality TV 'wargame'

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon is to team up with ex-Conservative minister Michael Gove in a new reality television show.

Sturgeon will serve as deputy prime minister, with Gove as prime minister, at the head of a fictional UK government at war with Russia.

The four-part Sky TV show, The Wargame, will also feature former Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy as foreign secretary and ex-Tory MP Dame Penny Mordaunt as defence secretary.

The cross-party cabinet will hold Cobra-style emergency meetings following a fictional Russian attack on UK soil.

Sky's Phil Edgar-Jones said the show would "challenge some of the most experienced political and military minds in the country to imagine how they might respond under threat of war".

He added: "At a time when we are facing increasing threats from all sides, this series couldn't be more timely."

Sturgeon's appearance on the show has been announced following her estranged husband's admission that he embezzled more than £400,000 from the SNP - prompting criticism from political opponents.

Peter Murrell, who served as SNP chief executive for more than 20 years, is due to be sentenced on Tuesday after pleading guilty to using the funds to buy goods including cars, a motorhome and cosmetics.

Sturgeon has denied any knowledge of his crimes and said she was "deceived, betrayed and lied to" by Murrell.

Tory Douglas Lumsden, the newly elected Aberdeen South MP, said: "Eyebrows will be raised at Nicola Sturgeon's decision to cash in on a lucrative TV show while her ex-husband awaits sentencing for defrauding SNP members out of at least £400k.

"This new series claims to put the sharpest political minds to the test. Let's just hope they don't ask contestants to spot a giant motorhome parked a few feet away – or the former SNP leader could be heading for an early exit."

Scottish Labour's deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: "This bizarre career move won't distract anyone from the unanswered questions Nicola Sturgeon has to answer about her husband's theft."

Sturgeon has been asked to comment.

The Wargame - to be aired in September - will also feature Labour's Baroness Harriet Harman as home secretary, Tory Baroness Sayeeda Warsi as attorney general and Labour Baroness Ayesha Hazarika as director of communications.

Retired British Army general Sir Richard Barrons will serve as chief of defence staff and former diplomat Lord Kim Darroch will feature as national security adviser.

The UK cabinet will be opposed by a team of Russia experts, led by British writer Keir Giles.

There will also be international roles with Anthony Scaramucci playing the US secretary of state and Lord George Robertson as Nato secretary general.