HOT or not lists are staples of Sunday supplements. If there was such a register for current affairs, Scottish politics would feature near the top.

With the Salmond saga regularly leading the UK television news bulletins, and the Financial Times weekend edition splashing on the former First Minister’s launch of the Alba Party, yesterday’s Sunday shows had to get in on the action.

Sky News’ Ridge on Sunday had interviews with SNP MP Kenny MacAskill, now defected to Alba, and Douglas Ross, leader of the Scottish Conservatives.

The Andrew Marr Show covered the Alba Party launch and Nicola Sturgeon’s reaction in the newspaper review, and there was a one-to-one interview with Lorna Slater, co-leader of the Scottish Greens.

Ms Slater brushed aside any notion that the arrival of Alba and Alex Salmond at its helm was bad news for the Greens.

READ MORE: Parties squabble over Alba response 

“This new party has been thrown together at the last minute by a man who is less popular in Scotland than Boris Johnson,” she said.

Devolution and the Union turned up in Marr’s interview with Mark Drakeford, the Labour First Minister of Wales.

Mr Drakeford said the UK had to be “fundamentally reformed” if it was to survive, adding that it was “in greater peril today than it has been at any time in my political lifetime”.

Scotland also made it into Marr's interview with Oliver Dowden, the UK Culture Secretary. The Hertsmere MP appeared unsure when the Scottish independence referendum had taken place, starting at “four or five years ago” before settling correctly on seven. Maybe not the subject the Minister should choose if he ever finds himself on Celebrity Mastermind.

All this before BBC Scotland's The Sunday Show rocked up at 10am with a running order that included an interview with Willie Rennie, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, an item on vaccine passports, and an overview of the campaign so far from reporter Andrew Kerr.

This was slim pickings compared to the other shows. Perhaps the shelves were empty by the time producers submitted interview bids.

That said, the radio part of the programme had the always value for money Professor John Curtice, whose analysis of Alba’s electoral impact had featured on heraldscotland.com the day before.

READ MORE: Iain Macwhirter on Salmond comeback 

Whether in newspapers, radio and television, Scotland is having a “moment” in coverage, the likes of which it has not had since the independence referendum. It is easy to see why. The Salmond/Sturgeon row, as personal as it is political, would be a great story at any time. Add an election campaign that could usher in an independent Scotland and the break-up of the UK, and this is the stuff of which news editors dreams are made.

Scotland is one story in a crowded news landscape that also includes Covid, Brexit, and, increasingly, China. With so much going on it is the ideal time, one might think, to launch a brand new outlet such as GB News, led by Andrew Neil.

Early reports suggested the channel, dubbed "Britain's answer to Fox News" by its critics – a label GB News rejects – would go on air by the end of March.

But the launch has now been pushed back till summer at least. In the meantime, Neil’s channel is trying to drum up interest by announcing a series of new signings.

The most high profile of these to date has been BBC News’ Simon McCoy, whose departure from Auntie was announced last week. A household name for witty asides delivered in deadpan style, McCoy will helm an afternoon show to rival the one he anchored for the BBC.

Other appointments include Apprentice winner and former pro-Brexit candidate Michelle Dewberry, Tom Harwood, a reporter for the Guido Fawkes website, and Dan Wootton, ex-executive editor of the Sun. Andrew Neil will have his own prime time show four nights a week.

READ MORE: New party hit by data leak

Speculation has long centred on Piers Morgan as the next big signing. The former Daily Mirror editor has been uncharacteristically quiet since storming off the set of GMTV after saying he did not believe Meghan Markle’s claims in her Oprah interview. That changed yesterday when Morgan returned to the fray via diary extracts published in The Mail on Sunday.

As the row over his comments raged, and the number of complaints to Ofcom passed a record 57,000, Morgan noted: “ITV’s share price has plunged by five per cent since news of my departure from GMB broke, valuing me at £250 million, which is £52 million more than the world’s most expensive footballer, Neymar. That should come in handy in my future contract negotiations!”

Morgan maintains he has no idea what he will do next, save for carrying on with his interview show, Life Stories, for ITV.

As for who will take his spot beside co-anchor Susanna Reid on GMTV, he was amused to hear that it took 17 minutes for someone to offer their services as a replacement.

“I’m only surprised it took that long; television is full of happy, smiling fakes who pretend to be your biggest fan to your face but who’d dance the tango on your grave if they thought it would give them more airtime.”

Surely not?