Posted in: Peacock, Sky One, TV | Tagged: snl, SNL UK

SNL UK Returns Tonight with Jack Whitehall & Jorja Smith: Our Preview

Sky and NOW's SNL UK returns tonight, with Jack Whitehall (The 'Burbs) as host and modern soul icon Jorja Smith as the musical guest.

Welcome back to the second weekend in a row where NBC's Saturday Night Live and Sky & NOW's Saturday Night Live UK are both running shows on the same day. Before Colman Domingo and Anitta take to the stages of NYC's Studio 8H, award-winning comedian and actor Jack Whitehall (The 'Burbs, Jungle Cruise) and modern soul icon Jorja Smith are hoping to help the SNL UK cast and writers send the show onto its one-week break (returning on April 25th) on a strong note. With that in mind, here's our updated preview for tonight's SNL UK, including a new teaser that sees Whitehall and actor/comedian/musician Jack Black comparing notes…

SNL UK: This Week with Jack Whitehall & Jorja Smith!

This week's SNL UK Midweek Sketch turned into a cue card lovefest between Whitehall and cast member Jack Shep (the reference at the end to Shep's Princess Diana impression was a nice touch). But what hit our radar was the little knife twist the sketch snuck in at the start of the sketch. If you haven't heard, SNL UK is taking a break after this weekend, returning on April 25th. Well, it seems that SNL UK already had its host and musical act set for the return show – until today.

In the sketch below, Whitehall smiles as he looks over the season's host/musical guest board, where he sees none other than Kanye West listed as pulling double duty on April 25th. Whitehall's expression changes as we see him take down the cards with West's name and throw them away. Earlier this week, West was officially blocked from traveling to London to perform at the Wireless Festival. The decision came after increased pushback to West being booked for the event after years of repeated antisemitic and other hate-related remarks. Though West has made efforts to apologize and explain his actions, major sponsors such as Pepsi and Diego pulled out from the festival, with the groyp behind the Wireless Festival announcing that the event has been cancelled.

Here's a look back at Whitehall and some of the SNL UK cast members as they continued working on this weekend's show:

And here's a look at the two latest teaser promos, including one from earlier today, where recent SNL host Jack Black checks in with Whitehall to wish him luck and make sure he and Shep are aware of the importance of having as many "Jacks" on SNL as possible:

SNL UK: A Look Back at Last Weekend…

In case you need a reminder of what went down last week with SNL UK host Riz Ahmed and musical guest Kasabian, here's a look at a rundown of the Cold Open, followed by other video highlights from the show:

Sky and NOW's SNL UK kept its Cold Open focused on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, played once again by George Fouracres. Between fears of war and economic downslides, the nation isn't doing well, and Starmer knows he's not the one for the job when it comes to inspiring the masses ("Look, I know I'm not inspiring. When I applied to join the Samaritans, I brought the vibe down so much that the interviewer called the Samaritans"). That means calling in a team comprised of some of the nation's most noteworthy names: soccer star Harry Kane (Al Nash), actor Olivia Colman (Emma Sidi), and cartoon character Peppa Pig (Annabel Marlow).

After looking to Kane for one of those "rousing team talks", it was time for Oscar-sporting Colman to take to the mic. Introduced as "a Briton with a smile that could light up a room, which could be useful when the power runs out," Colman tried to look at the bright side of an energy shortage in light of Donald Trump's war with Iran. "Hello, gosh, this is a bit sexy, isn't it, flirting with Iran and playing with oil? Next thing you know, then there's an energy shortage, the power is off, and we're snogging in the dark. Aren't I naughty?" Colman noted (with Sidi nailing it). Of course, when all else fails, you can never go wrong going to an adorable animated pig.

After Starmer noted that Peppa Pig represents a combination of "two of my greatest interests, outstanding British television and pork, the animated powerhouse wanted to make sure that the dark days don't last. "Thank you, Daddy Keir. Life is hell, but it doesn't last long, and soon the sadness will end," was Peppa's silver lining. Unfortunately, the energy crisis hit the event at exactly the wrong time. With the power cutting out, Starmer shifted into panic mode, yelling, "Fend for yourselves, everyone! Olivia Colman's trying to kiss me" (after Colman dove into him). From there, Fouracres, Nash, Sidi, and Marlow launched in the opening line: "Live from London, it's Saturday Night!"

Saturday Night Live UK: Meet The SNL UK Cast & Writers!

Live from London at 10 pm every Saturday night, each 75-minute episode will feature a unique host and musical guest, and will include sketches staged before a live studio audience, along with live music, an opening monologue, and the UK's version of "Weekend Update." And don't forget that on April 4th, host Riz Ahmed (Bait, Hamlet) will be joined by musical guest Kasabian. Shortly before the series premiered this past weekend, Sky announced that SNL UK had been picked up for two additional shows, bringing the total to eight.

Now, here's a chance to get to know the SNL UK cast: Hammed Animashaun, Ayoade Bamgboye, Larry Dean, Celeste Dring, George Fouracres, Ania Magliano, Annabel Marlow, Al Nash, Jack Shep, Emma Sidi, and Paddy Young:

Hammed Animashaun

Hometown: East London

Credits: Black Ops (BBC), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Bridge Theatre)

Comedy heroes: Lenny Henry, Gina Yashere, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock

Why did you want to be part of the SNL UK cast?

It's the prestige of Saturday Night Live, to be part of something so popular and historic is a privilege. I don't think there's another show like it that's been running as long. It would've been weird to have said no!

What is your background in live performance or sketch comedy?  

I think of myself as an actor first and foremost. I've done a lot of theatre. That's my first love so I feel very much at home on the stage and performing live. Transferring that experience over to live comedy is something I'm really excited for.

Ayoade Bamgboye 

Hometown: London and Lagos

Credits: Swings and Roundabouts (Edinburgh Fringe), Rise and Shine with Channel 9 (Channel 4)

Comedy heroes: Julio Torres, Jamali Maddix, Patti Harrison, Kristen Wiig, Chris Morris and Zainab Johnson.

Why did you want to be part of the SNL UK cast? There's no better training ground. I'm maybe three, four years into comedy, and it just feels like the perfect place to accelerate my learning. Having a steep learning curve like this gives me so much bandwidth to try many different things in a short space of time.

What's your background in live performance or sketch comedy? I was in advertising, and I decided to quit my job and try comedy for a year. My journey in comedy since then has been such a series of blessings and serendipitous moments, it's been a domino effect of doing lots of different comedy nights and meeting different comedians. I've felt so empowered watching them, it's made me try lots of different things. I went to Edinburgh Fringe for the first time and won Best Newcomer, it snowballed from there and now I'm on Saturday Night Live.

Larry Dean

Hometown: Glasgow

Credits: The Royal Variety Performance 2024 (ITV), Live at the Apollo (BBC)

Comedy heroes: Richard Pryor, Jim Carrey

Why did you want to be part of the SNL UK cast? I just love sketch comedy. There have been so many people who have appeared on Saturday Night Live, either as hosts or part of the cast that are my comedy heroes like Jim Carrey, Richard Pryor, Mike Myers, Dana Carvey. It's always been my dream to do acting and stand-up, so this is exactly what I want to be doing.

What is your background in live performance or sketch comedy? I did a couple of series of The Stand Up Sketch Show (ITV), which was a bit different to the usual format as you're miming other comedians' stand-up routines. But my background is really in stand-up which I love, performing all over and releasing a few specials.

Celeste Dring

Hometown: Wolverhampton

Credits: Lazy Susan (BBC), This Country (BBC)

Comedy heroes: Kristen Wiig, Julia Davis, and everyone from Smack the Pony and Big Train.

Why did you want to be part of the SNL UK cast? It was a no-brainer really. I just love the idea of being creative with a group of brilliantly talented and funny people and the chance to do something new.

What is your background in live performance or sketch comedy? I'd done a lot of more serious plays at uni but I was always a lover of comedy and decided to give it a crack after I left. Freya Parker and I started performing as a double act, Lazy Susan, going to Edinburgh Fringe and doing shows there. And from there we got our own radio show and eventually sketch comedy show on TV.

George Fouracres

Hometown: Willenhall, Wolverhampton

Credits: Hamlet (Shakespeare's Globe), Steve (Netflix)

Comedy hero: Martin Short, Roberto Benigni, Steve Carrell

Why did you want to be part of the SNL UK cast? I've been in love with Saturday Night Live since forever. It was my dream job when I was younger because my favourite thing is playing lots of very intense, insane characters, and I love the glamour of late night live TV. Seeing clips of SNL in the US I always thought "I wish we had that. Why don't we have something like that?" So the fact that we do now, and I get to be part of it, blows my tiny mind.

What is your background in live performance or sketch comedy? My career has mainly been performing at Shakespeare's Globe in London where I'm an Associate Artist (last year I did my seventh show there), but I started in the industry acting and writing in a sketch group called Daphne with my friends Jason Forbes and Phil Wang. We gigged together for four years and wrote three Edinburgh Fringe shows and two series of a BBC Radio 4 show. In 2019 I did my first (and only!) solo stand-up show, Gentlemon. Most recently in the comedy world I performed in Flo & Joan's award-winning show One Man Musical in the UK and Australia. These days I also occasionally co-host the podcast Budpod with my best friend Pierre Novellie.

Ania Magliano 

Hometown: Buckinghamshire

Credits: Taskmaster (Channel 4), Live at the Apollo (BBC)

Comedy hero: Ross from Friends

Why did you want to be part of the SNL UK cast? I love performing stand-up, but the chance to work collaboratively with other amazing comedians was a huge draw for me. And honestly, being part of SNL UK is just incredibly cool. SNL is a major comedy institution that I never expected to be a part of, so the idea that I get to go live on Saturday nights is mad – I can't wait.

What is your background in live performance or sketch comedy? I did my first gig when I was 18, so it's pretty surreal that it's been nearly 10 years now. Since then, I've performed sold out tours, filmed a stand-up special, and taken shows to Edinburgh. It's through stand-up that I really found my voice. I feel very lucky to have performed for audiences who genuinely want to see me, and I'm excited to bring that background into sketch comedy. Some of my favourite comedy moments are sketch so I'm looking forward to getting stuck into it!

Annabel Marlow 

Hometown: Henley- on-Thames

Credits: Six The Musical (Edinburgh Fringe), Muriel's Wedding (Leicester Curve)

Comedy hero: Kristen Wiig

Why did you want to be part of the SNL UK cast? I'm a huge fan of the show, I actually have an old fan account from 2016 I used to run on social media that was dedicated to being obsessed with Saturday Night Live. SNL combines everything I love. I'm excited to create characters and hopefully write some music as well.

What is your background in live performance or sketch comedy? I wrote and performed a one woman show at Edinburgh Fringe in 2023 called Is This Okay??, that was an hour of comedy songs and pop songs, with bits of stand-up. My background is stand-up and musical comedy, and all my acting jobs have been musical theatre.

Al Nash 

Hometown: Buckinghamshire

Credits: Michael McIntyre's Big Show (BBC), Instagram heartthrob

Comedy hero: John Candy

Why did you want to be part of the SNL UK cast? I think it's a really exciting opportunity for the UK comedy industry in general. For it to be a new sketch format in the UK, but also one of the biggest sketch comedy formats in the world, it's got so much potential. As someone who is sketch comedy obsessed, I'm just so happy to be a part of the cast.

What is your background in live performance or sketch comedy? I started the comedy society at the University of Sussex, which birthed a sketch group that I wrote and directed multiple Edinburgh Fringe shows for. I then started performing live myself in 2018, and have made online sketches since 2020.

Jack Shep 

Hometown: Bedfordshire

Credits: Wanting To Be Cool, Having To Be Funny (Comedy Night), Big Boys (Channel 4)

Comedy heroes: Tim Robinson and Patti Harrison

Why did you want to be part of the SNL UK cast? It's just a completely unique show. To make a finished show in a week and then start all over again the next week is amazing. Being able to be in a room full of comedians being stupid and funny like this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

What is your background in live performance or sketch comedy? I'd describe myself as a comic rather than a stand-up comedian. I do a bit of acting and writing too but basically, I'm always doing stupid shit which I think makes me primed for SNL.

Emma Sidi

Hometown: Woking

Credits: Starstruck (BBC), Alan Partridge Live: Stratagem (Amazon)

Comedy heroes: Maria Bamford, Victoria Wood, French & Saunders, the cast of Seinfeld

Why did you want to be part of the SNL UK cast? I love comedy and character comedy especially, and I think there isn't that much character comedy on TV in the UK right now. My favourite comedies to watch growing up were French & Saunders,The Fast Show, Reeves and Mortimer, all those pioneering shows from the alt comedy scene. Saturday Night Live is a huge opportunity to get that kind of comedy back on TV and online.

What's your background in live performance or sketch comedy? I've been doing sketch, character comedy and improv since university. There's nothing like the thrill that comes from live comedy, and it's where I have met my best friends. I've found that I've specialised in character comedy, and have done the Edinburgh Fringe multiple times, and toured the UK, Melbourne and New York. I loved touring my recent show, Emma Sidi Is Sue Gray, in which I played the former civil servant Sue Gray – because someone had to do it. That show was a real manifesto of my taste. A bit left-field and very cheeky.

Paddy Young 

Hometown: Scarborough

Credits: Everyone Else Burns (Channel 4) Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping (Channel 4)

Comedy hero: Vic & Bob, Norm Macdonald, Viz

Why did you want to be part of the SNL UK cast? It feels like the most exciting thing that's happened in comedy in this country for a long time, even more than Reels. The scale of it is quackers: 11 in the cast, 18 writers, and the catering is world class.

What is your background in live performance or sketch comedy? I was very lucky because Scarborough had an amazing theatre – the Stephen Joseph Theatre –  which I practically grew up in. I was completely obsessed with comedy but had no idea how to do it. By the time I went to drama school in Manchester I found myself constantly sneaking away to watch stand-up, though it took me a long time to actually do it.

Jonno Johnson, Head Writer, had this to say about the show's writing team: "The number of funny, talented writers we have got to work on 'SNL UK' is ludicrous. Some of them have been doing this for years, some of them it's their first-ever writing job. All of them make me giddy to come to work each day. Could not imaginably feel luckier that we get to make this show together." With comedy writer and journalist Charlie Skelton (10 O'Clock Live; 8 Out of 10 Cats) serving as the head writer for "Weekend Update," here's a rundown of the SNL UK writers:

• Al Roberts (Stath Lets Flats; Starstruck)
• Ayo Adenekan (ISH Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer for Black Mediocrity)
• Bella Hull (Have I Got News For You; Stand Up Sketch Show)
• Celya AB (Live At The Apollo; James Acaster's Springleaf)
• Charlie Skelton (10 O'Clock Live; 8 Out of 10 Cats)
• Chris Cantrill (Icklewick FM; Alma's Not Normal)
• Ellie Fulcher; (Dramaturg on Eat The Rich (but maybe not me mates x) for Soho Theatre)
• Gráinne Maguire (The Last Leg; Late Night Mash)
• Hari Kanth (The Now Show; Horrible Science)
• Humphrey Ker (Mythic Quest; Welcome to Wrexham)
• James Farmer (The Last Leg; 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown)
• Jonno Johnson (Co-creator of Year Friends; Writer on Parlement)
• Joseph Moore (Guy Montgomery's Guy-Mont Spelling Bee; Two Hearts)
• Keith Akushie (The Franchise; Siblings)
• Laura Claxton (Never Mind The Buzzcocks; Have I Got News For You)
• Lorna Rose Treen (BBC Radio 4's Time of the Week; Chortle's Best Sketch Act Award)
• Louis Waymouth (The Late Late Show with James Corden; The Armstrong & Miller Show)
• Nathan Foad (Newark, Newark; Our Flag Means Death)
• Omar Badawy (So You Think You're Funny winner)
• Omodara Olatunji (Say! Less!)

SNL UK will be produced by Universal Television Alternative Studio's UK production team and Broadway Video for Sky and NOW. Lorne Michaels is executive producing, James Longman will serve as Lead Producer, Liz Clare will serve as Director, and Daran Jonno Johnson will serve as Head Writer. UTAS UK Productions is overseen by Managing Director Helen Kruger Bratt. Shanna Baynard will serve as Executive in Charge of Production; Andy Charles Smith is the Lead Producer for UTAS UK Productions alongside Sam Salter, Production Executive. SNL UK was commissioned by Phil Edgar-Jones, Executive Director of Unscripted Originals and Lisa Clark, Commissioning Executive at Sky, for Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of Sky Studios & Chief Content Officer for Sky.

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