Last week, Sky revealed the definitive cast list for the long-awaited British edition of Saturday Night Live, set to premiere next month. The cast is as followed:
Hammed Animashaun, Ayoade Bamgboye, Larry Dean, Celeste Dring, George Fouracres, Ania Magliano, Annabel Marlow, Al Nash, Jack Shep, Emma Sidi and Paddy Young.
It remains to be seen how this adaptation will play out and how similar it will be to the original show, however we do know it will follow a familiar format to NBC’s SNL, featuring weekly hosts and musical guests, opening monologues, and even its own version of Weekend Update.
The cast offers a variety of talent, with members such as Animashaun and Fouracres boasting theatrical experience, whereas Dean and Mangliano are well seasoned stand-up comics, both having appeared on Live at the Apollo. Many members have performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, with Bamgboye winning the festival’s ‘Best Newcomer’ prize in 2025, and Dring being nominated in 2014.
James Longman has been announced as Lead Producer for the show. His past work includes both American television, such as The Late Late Show with James Corden as well as British interview and panel shows, like Alan Carr: Chatty Man and Never Mind the Buzzcocks. Lorne Michaels, the creator of SNL, will executively produce the show.
When asked about their comedic inspiration, the cast gave a range of answers, from SNL veterans such as Kristen Wiig and Norm MacDonald, to younger, more experimental comics like Tim Robinson and Patti Harrison. British comics, such as Chris Morris and Lenny Henry, were also mentioned as sources of influence.
This diverse mix of influence hopefully means we can expect to see flavours of the original SNL with a unique British sense of humour shining through, as well as a contemporary twist, especially given some of the cast, such as Nash and Young, have experience in social media content creation, which is increasingly overtaking the comedy landscape.
SNL UK will be streaming on Sky One and NOW on 21 March.
“Lorne Michaels and the cast of Saturday Night Live at the 68th Annual Peabody Awards for Political Satire 2008” by The Peabody Awards is licensed under CC BY 2.0.