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Alison Rowat

Alison Rowat

Herald Scotland

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Taggart made Glasgow world famous, but it did the city no favours

Taggart made Glasgow world famous, but it did the city no favours

Actor of the moment James Nelson-Joyce has been applauding the portrayal of his home town of Liverpool in This City Is Ours.  “Of course it shows...

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Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Nicola Sturgeon, Michael Gove and a Russian invasion: what could go wrong?

Do you want the bad news or the bad news? First, the nights are fair drawing in. Second, Nicola Sturgeon will soon be in your living room. Not on the...

03.09.2026 30

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

The loss of the Edinburgh TV Festival is the least of Scotland's broadcasting worries

Well done, Edinburgh. Unaccustomed as this Glaswegian is to tipping her hat to the capital, I must hand it to you. I’ve had a week of struggling...

26.08.2026 40

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

What has the BBC Scotland channel ever done for us?

This article appears as part of the Unspun: Scottish Politics newsletter. Hello and welcome to Funding Challenges, a new show with a terrible title...

31.07.2026 50

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Nicola Sturgeon's vest, Farage's strop, Burnham's silence - all cries for media help

This article appears as part of the Unspun: Scottish Politicsnewsletter. Time was when politicians took a break in the summer. Not any more. Today’s...

09.07.2026 60

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Why is politics on TV proving such a turn-off for viewers?

Another quiet week in the sleepy hollow that is UK politics. Just the one prime ministerial defenestration, followed by the jailing of a former First...

27.06.2026 40

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

How a Scottish accent can save the world from a computer takeover

Alison Rowat considers the upsides and downsides of Artificial Intelligence and wonders what comes next Trade in end-of-the-world scenarios is...

23.10.2025 40

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

'I was a panellist on Shereen - here's why BBC Scotland bosses axed it'

As part of our series on The Future of Scotland on Screen, Alison Rowat looks at the winners and losers at BBC Scotland as it seeks to make programmes...

08.10.2025 50

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

'If this is the best he can do, maybe it is Starmer who is at a fork in the road'

Alison Rowat reports on Sir Keir Starmer's speech to the Labour conference in Liverpool. Did his long and winding address eventually reach the right...

01.10.2025 40

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Is it a bird, a plane, a giant orange baby? Only one hero can save Starmer now

As President Trump begins an unprecedented second state visit to the UK, a familiar crisis continues to play out in Westminster that could claim the...

18.09.2025 50

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

The real reason behind John Swinney's surprise mission to the US

Scotland's First Minister John Swinney embarked on a flying visit to the US to push for lower whisky tariffs. But there was more to this transatlantic...

11.09.2025 40

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

How long before Jim Murphy puts an axe through No 10's door shouting 'Here’s Jimmy!'

Tim Allan, Executive Director of Communications, 10 Downing Street, is the latest Blairite to make a comeback under Keir Starmer. Is this a New Labour...

04.09.2025 60

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

If Nicola Sturgeon had been more like Angela Rayner how different things might be

She has been accused of not paying the correct tax on the sale of her home, of using her legs to distract the Prime Minister at the despatch box, and...

28.08.2025 40

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Nicola Sturgeon: How I ruined her night - and her referendum campaign

Before we do anything else, a word of thanks to Nicola Sturgeon, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Unless you are festivalling in Edinburgh, August is...

21.08.2025 40

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat

Don't cry for Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's Evita - she is a woman with a plan

It is always the little people who suffer: them, and Kirsty Wark. Consider the plight of the thousands turning up to the Edinburgh International Book...

13.08.2025 50

Herald Scotland

Alison Rowat