SNP leadership contest: Who is Ash Regan?

Following Nicola Sturgeon's decision to step down, Ash Regan confirmed she would be standing in the contest to become both the next SNP leader and Scotland's first minister.

Despite having been a government minister for four years, Ash Regan was little known outside of the Holyrood bubble until she quit as community safety minister over plans to allow people to self-identify their gender.

Ms Regan had been a long-standing critic of the proposals and was one of the senior SNP politicians - including her leadership rival Kate Forbes - who signed an open letter to the first minister raising their concerns.

She is seen as being the outsider in the leadership contest, trailing behind Ms Forbes and Humza Yousaf in the few polls that have been carried out since Nicola Sturgeon announced she was standing down.

But she has insisted she is "in it to win it" - pointing to the large number of apparently undecided SNP members who will choose the next leader.

She has accused her opponents of being "wishy washy" on independence, and has pledged to unite the various Yes groups and political parties through an Independence Convention if she does manage to upset the odds and win the SNP leadership.

BBC Scotland sat down with Ms Regan ahead of voting opening in the leadership race.