On yer bike!: Could Kate Forbes and Humza Yousaf have a leadership 'race'?
Speaking to Magic the candidates reveal what they get up to in their down time
Last updated 31st Mar 2023
Magic sat down with all three leadership candidates hoping to replace Nicola Sturgeon as Scotland's First Minister and Leader of the SNP.
Our Political Editor Alan Smith sat down with Ash Regan, Humza Yousaf and Kate Forbes, who told us how they' would fix Scotland's roads, schools and tackle the drugs deaths crisis.
We also got an insight into what the candidates get up to in their time away from Holyrood and their guilty pleasures outside of politics.
READ MORE: SNP Leadership: Your questions answered
Could we be set for an actual SNP leadership race between Humza Yousaf and Kate Forbes?
Away from the political race to become SNP leader, what do the candidates get up to in their spare time?
Humza Yousaf told us: "I love to spend time with the kids, and I love a kick-about, I haven't since the Achilles injury, had too much of a kick-about, but I'd love to get back into Fives if I can.
"Though being First Minister, I think there may be some choppy tackles towards me, if I start playing Fives again."
Mr Yousaf added:He adds: "The third thing I'd love to do, do not tell my wife, but I'd love to buy a motorbike again. I sold mine a while back and I miss being back on the bike.
"So maybe as a treat to myself, I might just buy myself a new bike."
It turns out a love of motorbikes is something the Health Secretary shares with his leadership rival, Kates Forbes.
Ms Forbs told us: "I got my motorbike licence long before I ever could drive a car. So I used to go down to my Saturday job on my wee 150 little motorbike, and it was great."
With both the Health Secretary and Finance Minister sharing a love for motorbikes, it was only right we asked Kate Forbes if we would ever see a leadership race on bikes between herself and Humza Yousaf.
"I'd be well up for that" she said, "I'd be happy to take Humza on, on a bike."
And what's Ash Regan's guilty pleasure...?
In her downtime, Ash Regan tells Magic "I'm perfectly normal, I do all the same things everyone else does."
Ms Regan said: "I love going out for drinks and meals with my friends and family. I like watching good TV, I also sometimes watch quite a lot crap TV, and quite enjoy that as well.
"And I do read, although I don't read as much as I did before I got into politics, because I think once you're in politics, you spend a lot of time reading briefings, and documents and papers. And so reading for pleasure doesn't seem as much fun as it used to be. But I still try to do that when I'm on holiday"
She added: "I love to travel. So I like to get away, you know, go and visit different places, whether it's in Scotland or elsewhere. So I really enjoy doing that. And I like walking. I love going walking somewhere like maybe by the sea or in the hills with my dog."
And when asked what her guilty pleasure TV show would be, the former Community Safety secretary said: "Something like Bridgerton you know, so it's very colourful. But ultimately, you know, probably a bit silly."