Sir Sean Connery (centre) showed his support for the new leadership

Mr Salmond, who had been leader until 2000, was speaking on BBC One's Breakfast with Frost programme two days after he won the SNP's leadership race.

He said independence was "as inevitable as anything can be in politics".

He said he was attracted to making a return to frontline politics because the SNP was under a "team leadership".

"This time I am back and I am back as a team player," he added.

"It is a novelty for me but it will be even better."

The realistic way towards Scottish independence is to form an administration in the Scottish parliament and ask the people in a democratic referendum whether they would like to move on to Scottish independence Alex Salmond

Mr Salmond, the MP for Banff and Buchan, was elected on Friday when he won more than 75% of the party vote.

His newly elected deputy Nicola Sturgeon will lead the SNP in the Scottish parliament.

He added: "The SNP's had a few knocks. But we're still the second party in Scottish politics. Our task is to become the first party.

"Hopefully, we can make progress at next year's general election and we can win the Scottish elections in 2007.

"The realistic way towards Scottish independence is to form an administration in the Scottish parliament and ask the people in a democratic referendum whether they would like to move on to Scottish independence."

Holyrood 'disaster'

Speaking about the new Holyrood parliament building which cost �431m, he said: "It was the wrong site, the wrong architects, the wrong choice.

"The parliament was misled. If it had been told then what the real costs were and that they were totally out of control then this whole disaster would not have happened."

Mr Salmond also told the programme the "time had come" for a smoking ban in public places.