Who is Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Tory leader who just saved her party from oblivion?

Ruth Davidson, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, helped Theresa May secure 13 seats north of the border, which is arguably a pivotal reason why the Prime Minister has been able to hold on to power.

The huge improvement by the party and Ms Davidson in particular has been a rare shining light for an otherwise bleak campaign for the Tories.

The party did so well that both Alex Salmond, the former Scottish First Minister, and Angus Robertson, the Scottish National Party's leader in Westminster, lost their seats to Conservative candidates.

Ms Davidson stood alongside the Prime Minister as they addressed a crowd in Edinburgh during the election campaign and her charisma and natural charm shone through as she encouraged the crowd and got them on their feet before Ms May spoke.

Aged 38, Ms Davidson's background differs greatly to those of the Etonians who overwhelmingly populate her party: she grew up in a working-class family, spending most of her adult life in Glasgow.

She worked as a BBC journalist and signaller in the Territorial Army (before becoming an Army Reservist) and went on to study at Glasgow University, eventually entering politics in 2009.

She began her political career by unsuccessfully standing in the Glasgow North East by-election in 2009. She came third with only 5.2 per cent of the vote.

She then went on to work as an aide to Annabel Goldie, the former leader of the Scottish Conservatives, before being elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2011.

She was the youngest ever party leader and has used her age in interviews to distance herself from the legacy set by Margaret Thatcher, who was in power while she was still a baby.

She would be elected as leader later that year, going on to increase the party's seats in the Scottish Parliament to 31.

It meant they replaced Labour as the second largest party in Holyrood.

Like Mhairi Black and the Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale, she is openly gay and speaks publicly about her relationship with her partner, Jen Wilson.

Her background, sexuality, and openness form part of her broad appeal and she has gone out of her way to present herself as the politician everyday people can relate to.

The self-described “tough old bird” has used her steely disposition and dedication to tackling abuse and homophobia to set herself apart from her peers.

However, as a practising Christian, she struggled with her sexuality for years before eventually deciding not to "live a lie".

“I thought I was destined for the big white wedding and the chap on my arm and all the rest of it, and then it wasn't to be,” she told BBC Radio Scotland’s Stark Talk last year. “I didn't come out until my mid twenties. I'd known for a few years before that."

Although she is not a sitting MP in Westminster after her performance during the general election campaign, as well as a series of successful media appearances, she is being touted as a potential future leader of the main party.