Salmond's first Fringe show guest is Brexit minister David Davis

Mr Salmond said David Davis was "the acceptable face of the Brexiteers"

Alex Salmond opened his first Edinburgh Fringe chat show by welcoming to the stage his "good pal" - Brexit minister David Davis.

The former first minister surprised the crowd of 350 at Edinburgh's Assembly Rooms with his choice of guest.

He introduced Mr Davis as "the next prime minister of the United Kingdom, perhaps the last prime minister of the United Kingdom".

Mr Salmond will perform 18 sold-out shows at the Fringe.

He has promised light-hearted banter and a few behind-the-scenes-revelations from his time in office.

As he kicked off his first show, the former SNP leader jokingly warned the audience: "Remember, all the guests are my pals so watch how you treat them."

Mr Salmond said the subject of his first show was Scotland In Europe and after talking about William Wallace and the country's European history, he introduced Mr Davis.

The former first minister will stage 18 sold-out shows

In a light-hearted discussion, Mr Davis was pushed on cabinet divisions and the timescale for Brexit and replied Mr Salmond was "trying to make me lose my job".

Mr Salmond told how they had worked together to try to impeach Tony Blair over the war in Iraq but Mr Davis had to remove his name from the motion when he was appointed to Cabinet.

Questioned about his leadership ambitions should Prime Minister Theresa May step down, Mr Davis laughed and said: "I am really a very, very bad leadership candidate."

Mr Salmond said his friend was "the acceptable face of the Brexiteers and certainly the one who knows what he's talking about".

Questioned by the audience, Mr Salmond said Nelson Mandela was the most impressive politician he had seen and that the only time he was nervous was the first time he met Sir Sean Connery.

He ended the show by raising £1,000 for charity with a member of the audience paying to have lunch with Mr Salmond and Mr Davis in Edinburgh.