Nicola Sturgeon, the former Scottish National Party leader who campaigned for decades to remove Scotland from the United Kingdom, is appearing in a new Sky One television drama called The Wargame where she plays the deputy prime minister and defends UK security. This has prompted criticism from political rivals who argue she has compromised her principles for a television role.

In The Wargame, a four-part simulation airing from 21 September, Sturgeon is filmed at a podium flanked by Union flags stating that UK security is her government's first responsibility. The show features other prominent political and military figures including Penny Mordaunt, Sayeeda Warsi and Harriet Harman, who roleplay responses to a hypothetical Russian attack. Sturgeon's participation draws particular criticism because she previously campaigned for removal of the Trident nuclear deterrent from the UK naval base at Faslane, and comes three months after her estranged husband Peter Murrell received a five-year-three-month prison sentence for embezzling over £400,000 from the SNP.