The first series of Saturday Night Live UK ended with its lowest audience figures, as the finale faced stiff competition from the Eurovision Song Contest. The episode, hosted by Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa, attracted just 86,420 viewers at 10pm, a 28 per cent drop from the previous low of 120,000 for Jack Whitehall's episode in April.
Gatwa's viewership was less than half of the 197,000 who watched Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham host the previous week. Meanwhile, the BBC's Eurovision broadcast averaged 5.2 million viewers, peaking at 5.9 million, according to BARB data.
The series has received mixed reviews since its March launch, with some calling it “promising” and others dismissing it as “cringe”. One social media user described it as “even bigger garbage” than the US version, while another praised it as “live comedy on a Saturday night” that the UK needed.
Despite the ratings dip, Sky has confirmed a second series of 12 episodes, scheduled for autumn. Creator Lorne Michaels said the UK version “keeps getting better every week”. Comedian Nick Mohammed called it “the best thing that's happened to British comedy since The Office”.
