Hannah Waddingham and Ncuti Gatwa have been announced as the two hosts who will bring the first series of Saturday Night Live UK to a close, as it airs its remaining two episodes.
Upcoming Episodes
Next weekend, BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning actress Hannah, 51, who will also soon return to screens in Ted Lasso's fourth series, will be joined by singer-songwriter and BRIT Award winner Myles Smith for the penultimate episode. She will be followed by fellow BAFTA winner Doctor Who and Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa, who will appear on May 16 alongside indie-pop singer Holly Humberstone.
This coming Saturday (May 2), actress Aimee Lou Wood will take up the duty of hosting, and will be joined by singer-songwriter and record producer MNEK.
Series Highlights
Aired live from London at 10pm on Saturdays on Sky and NOW, the episodes have so far featured the likes of Tina Fey, Jamie Dornan, Jack Whitehall and Nicola Coughlan. Artists including Wet Leg, Wolf Alice, Kasabian, Jorja Smith and Foo Fighters have already taken to the stage to perform as part of the series.
The cast of the UK show includes Hammed Animashaun, Ayoade Bamgboye, Larry Dean, Celeste Dring, George Fouracres, Ania Magliano, Annabel Marlow, Al Nash, Jack Shep, Emma Sidi and Paddy Young.
Early Doubts and Fan Reactions
Earlier this year, SNL UK was dealt a blow when bookies revealed it was predicted 1-2 odds for it to be scrapped before the first series had even aired. Coral's John Hill said: 'We are not optimistic about Saturday Night Live UK lasting very long. We make it odds-on to be scrapped after just one series.'
Nonetheless, fans were thrilled by it taking to the UK and took to X, formerly Twitter, to celebrate its arrival, with one saying: 'UK SNL? FINALLY.' 'I genuinely think SNL UK has the potential to actually be way better than the yank version,' a second said, while a third added: 'Wait SNL UK sounds fire.'
Background
Saturday Night Live, created by Lorne Michaels, is an American late-night sketch show that has aired on US channel NBC since 1975. There were over 1,000 episodes across 51 seasons in the US before Sky and NOW launched the UK version of the series.
Earlier this month, Saturday Night Live UK poked fun at Kanye West's ban from the UK with a sketch featuring host Jack Whitehall. The rapper, 48, who goes by the name Ye, had his visa application cancelled by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood in early April. She banned him from entering Britain to perform at Wireless Festival in July on the grounds his presence would 'not be conducive to the public good'. Sir Keir Starmer insisted he 'should never have been invited to headline Wireless' and said he 'stands firmly with the Jewish community' against anti-Semitism. Following the decision, the organisers of Wireless announced this year's festival has now been cancelled. Poking fun at the situation, producers of SNL UK were quick to turnaround a humorous video on social media as they promoted a new episode. In the clip, host Jack could be seen looking at a corkboard which was packed with cards to keep track of each week's hosts and musical guest. The comedian, 37, spotted Ye on the board as both the presenter and performer before he quickly pulls both cards from the board.
Saturday Night Live UK is available to stream live on Sky and streaming service NOW from 10pm on Saturday.
