An episode of BBC telly quiz Pointless was pulled after celebrity guest Alex Salmond was embroiled in a misconduct investigation.
The former first minister took part in filming a special version of the hit show but it has now been canned by BBC bosses after the probe came to light.
The episode was recorded in February 2018 with Salmond appearing alongside Channel 4 news presenter Cathy Newman, Labour MP Jess Phillips and BBC journalist Nick Robinson.
A source said Salmond was on the winning side but the media and politics special was never shown.
Previous Celebrity Pointless contestants include TV presenters Timmy Mallett and Michaela Strachan, ex-children’s telly host Andy Crane, comedian Eddie Izzard and actress Denise Van Outen.
In August 2018, it emerged Salmond was being investigated for misconduct by the Government he used to lead.
But he blasted the probe and a judge ruled last January that it had been unlawful and “tainted by apparent bias”. The Government’s defeat cost the taxpayer at least £500,000.
Salmond was subsequently charged over a series of alleged sexual offences.
The 65-year-old is accused of carrying out offences against 10 women as first minister, including allegations of attempting to rape a woman at his then offical residence Bute House during the independence referendum campaign.
Court papers allege he placed a woman’s legs over his, repeatedly kissed her face and neck, groped her then blocked her path.
He is alleged to have pinned her against a wall, pulled at her clothes and stripped himself naked before trying to rape her on a bed.
Salmond denies the allegations and the trial is due to begin in March. He had two stints as SNP leader spanning nearly two decades, the second of which led to his party entering Government for the first time in 2007.
The Nats won a historic majority at the 2011 election and he secured an agreement with the UK Government for an IndyRef three years later.
He resigned as First Minister and SNP leader after voters rejected independence.
A spokesman for the BBC said: “A celebrity episode of Pointless was recorded with Alex Salmond prior to any charges made against him.”
Hosted by Alexander Armstrong, Pointless was first broadcast 11 years ago and has enjoyed peak audience figures of 7million.
The aim of the tea-time show is for contestants to give answers no one can think of to general knowledge questions.
It is on its 22nd series for normal punters and 12 celebrity rounds have also been aired.
Our sister paper the Sunday Mail revealed in December that Channel 4 pulled an episode of Gogglebox over fears it could have jeopardised the Salmond trial.
The episode featured a Derby-based family making comments about Salmond while discussing his performance and that of Nicola Sturgeon during leaders debate.
