First Saturday Night Live UK celebrity host confirmed for this week – and no, it’s not a Brit

The first Saturday Night Live UK show will be this weekend (Picture: Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

Saturday Night Live is heading to our fair isles imminently and we now know who will be hosting the show’s debut show. 

Stateside, the show has been the launching pad for a raft of household names, including Will Ferrell, Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson.

Now it’s time for a new generation of British comic talent to take the reins, as part of a six-episode live run kicking off on March 21, when we will finally hear the words: ‘Live from London, it’s Saturday Night Live’.

Much like the format presided over by longtime boss Lorne Michaels, the UK version of SNL will again be hosted by a different celebrity with each new show, who will take part in that week’s sketches.

The weekend show will also feature an episodic musical guest for a change of flavour in between the breakneck sketches.

So who exactly will be that inaugural host and what do we know about the cast members? Read on…

The comedy sketch series has already announced the full cast list (Picture: Sky UK)

Who is hosting SNL UK?

In hugely exciting news for SNL fans and comedy lovers alike, Rockefeller Plaza alum Tina Fey has been tapped for the launch host spot.

Fey may be promoting the upcoming second season of The Four Seasons (which will, presumably, be treated to four seasons of its own on Netflix), set to arrive on the streamer in May – or perhaps she’s just doing it for the love of the game. 

On the second Saturday of the show’s inaugural run, it will be The Tourist star Jamie Dornan stepping into the hot seat. It’s your guess what project Dornan will be promoting on the show, since none of his projects has release dates at present. 

SNL alum Tina Fey is helming the first UK show (Picture: John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images) Riz Ahmed’s hosting stint will come around the time of his upcoming show Bait (Picture: Amazon Prime Video)

Our guess for now is it’s an extended piece of razzmatazz for Diet Coke.

Dornan will be followed the week after by Riz Ahmed, ahead of his meta Amazon Prime Video show Bait, in which he plays an actor going up for the role of James Bond, only for his audition to be leaked.

Who are the music guests?

Alongside a trio of hosts, we’ve also had a trio of musical guests announced by Sky TV, with Wet Leg up first, followed by Wolf Alice the week after and then Kasabian the week after that.

Sadly, Harry Styles just fulfilled his hosting and musical guest duties in New York last week, so we’ll have to rule him out.

Wet Leg will be the inaugural music guests on SNL UK (Picture: Alan West/Hogan Media/Shutterstock)

What channel is SNL UK going to be on?

The brand-new UK version of SNL will be coming to Sky and streaming service NOW on March 21. Set your calendars/alarms/sundials!

Phil Edgar Jones OBE, executive director of unscripted originals at Sky, said in the cast announcement: ‘We all need a laugh like never before, so we’re beyond excited to bring Saturday Night Live to the UK, only 50 short years after it first launched in the US.

‘The show’s long-standing legacy of discovering and nurturing outstanding comedy talent speaks for itself, and this UK version will build on that legacy with the support of Lorne Michaels, a brilliant local production team, and an exciting new generation of voices. Saturday nights are looking bright!’

Saturday Night Live UK comes to Sky and streaming service NOW on 21 March 2026.

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