Former SNP MP Mhairi Black is swapping Westminster for television after securing her first acting role in a forthcoming BBC legal drama.
Black will play Detective Inspector Bridges in Counsels, an eight-part series set in Glasgow. She is due to appear in four episodes of the programme, which will be shown on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
A precise transmission date has not yet been announced, although the BBC has said the drama is coming in 2026.
Black takes on her first television acting role
Counsels follows five ambitious young lawyers who trained together at a prestigious Scottish law school before finding themselves working on opposing sides of cases across Glasgow.
The programme is described as a high-stakes legal drama in which the lawyers' professional rivalries, friendships and personal lives become increasingly entangled. It was created by Bryan Elsley, who co-created Skins, and Scottish writer Gillian McCormack.
Black said she had enjoyed trying different things since leaving politics and welcomed the opportunity to work on a production set and filmed in Glasgow.
“This is my first TV acting role and I really enjoyed auditioning for the part.”
The former politician had already moved into entertainment before accepting the role. Her stage show, Politics Isn't For Me, was taken on tour after appearing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, while a BBC documentary followed her adjustment to life outside Westminster.
A remarkable rise through the SNP
Black's move into acting follows one of the most striking parliamentary careers of her generation.
She was elected as the SNP MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South at the 2015 general election, defeating Labour's then shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander. Aged 20, she became the youngest person elected to the House of Commons since 1832.
Her maiden speech, in which she attacked austerity and criticised the treatment of people relying on the welfare system, attracted millions of views online and rapidly established her as one of the SNP's most recognisable Westminster figures.
Black was re-elected in 2017 and 2019. During her time in Parliament she spoke frequently about poverty, welfare reform, state pensions and Scottish independence. She became the SNP's Scotland spokesperson at Westminster in 2020 and was appointed deputy leader of the party's Commons group in December 2022.
Leaving Westminster—and later the SNP
In July 2023, Black announced that she would not contest the following general election. She described Westminster as a toxic and unhealthy working environment and said she wanted to pursue new opportunities outside Parliament.
Her Commons career formally ended in May 2024, shortly before the general election. Parliamentary records show that she represented Paisley and Renfrewshire South for just over nine years and was elected three times.
Black subsequently went further by leaving the SNP itself. She confirmed in July 2025 that she was no longer a party member, criticising its direction and arguing that it was no longer sufficiently left-wing. She also identified disagreements over transgender rights and the party's position on Palestine.
Her departure brought to an end an association with the SNP which had taken her from student politics to the party's deputy leadership at Westminster. Black has nevertheless continued to support the principle of Scottish independence.
A very different stage
Black has previously suggested that performing stand-up comedy can be more intimidating than speaking in Parliament. Her part in Counsels now takes that post-political career in another direction.
The role is not a guest appearance as herself or a conventional political cameo. Instead, Black has auditioned for and secured a fictional acting part alongside an ensemble cast in a major BBC drama.
Viewers will be able to judge her transition from the Commons chamber to the television screen when Counsels arrives on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
You can read more about the new drama on the BBC website.