Saturday Night Live UK’s first series is almost over, with Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa hosting the finale this Saturday. The show has already been renewed for a 12-week autumn run, proving Sky’s investment has paid off. Despite early fears of embarrassment, the spin-off has largely succeeded, though opening monologues remain overly American and Keir Starmer parodies have fallen flat.
Among the standout sketches is a spoof advert for anti-ageing cream that makes users look so young everyone thinks their husband should be arrested. Another sketch imagines the internet’s decline as the work of hyper-caffeinated developers who don’t get paid. A parody of foodie social media features Scottish brothers running a baked bean truck, whose sales pitch descends into a meditation on hereditary evil.
The Traitors gets a fresh take, focusing on how contestants of colour are often banished first, with Riz Ahmed playing the unfairly suspected party. The Prince Andrew Plan cold open suggests the royal family’s recent scandals were an MI5 conspiracy to make King Charles look good. A dating app sketch for finding a new dad takes an unexpected twist, proving spoof adverts remain a winning format.
