Nicola Sturgeon’s sister has blasted BBC Scotland after the ex-SNP leader was mocked on a “shocking” new sketch show.
Two characters closely resembling the former first minister and her husband Peter Murrell were among those featured on Queen of the New Year.
The comedy special also made fun of other famous faces in the news including Prince Andrew and Michael Buble.
But it was a scene involving a couple shown speeding off in a campervan that provoked most reaction from viewers.
In the sketch, the duo call each other “Pumpkin” and “Honey Bunny” – a reference to the legendary Quentin Tarantino movie Pulp Fiction. The nicknames are used by Amanda Plummer and Tim Roth’s characters before they attempt to rob a diner.
At the end of the clip, the male character’s card is declined at a remote Highland shop and the couple flee in a motor home pursued by police cars with sirens blaring.
Gillian Sturgeon suggested the BBC was mocking the involvement of her sister and brother-in-law in the ongoing police investigation into SNP finances.
In a Facebook post, she claimed the scene had left her “livid”. She added: “Shocking what I’ve just watched on BBC. Making comedy out of a farce of a police investigation that real people are suffering from.”
Queen of the New Year was written by Rab Florence and Greg Hemphill, two of the biggest names in Scottish TV comedy.
Operation Branchform was launched in 2021 following complaints over how £600,000 of donations to fight an IndyRef2 were ultimately spent by the Nationalists.
The investigation ramped up in April this year when Murrell, the former SNP chief executive, was charged in connection with the embezzlement of funds from the party.
He was previously arrested as a suspect in April 2023 before being released without charge, while the house he shared with his wife was searched by officers for two days.
The former first minister was arrested and questioned by detectives in June 2023. She was released without charge and has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Colin Beattie, a former SNP treasurer, was also arrested and questioned in 2023 before being released without charge.
Police Scotland has said it had presented the findings of its investigation to the Crown Office and was now awaiting direction from prosecutors.
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