Saturday Night Live UK has gone starry with its next two hosts.
Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan and White Lotus actor Aimee Lou Wood will take the reins of the next two eps after the hiatus, with Coughlan helming on April 25 and Wood presenting on May 2. They will be joined by Foo Fighters and MEEK as musical guests respectively.
The pair are starry picks. Coughlan has gained global acclaim for her role as Penelope Bridgerton in the Netflix royal smash. Wood broke out in Sex Education, for which she won a BAFTA, and The White Lotus. They are two of the most talented young female comics out there and both have comedy chops.
Coughlan’s hosting was trailed in a sense as she appeared in the first ep alongside that week’s guest host Tina Fey and in a sketch with George Fouracres.
Wood has a knotty history with SNL. She previously called the American version “mean and unfunny” after a sketch in which Sarah Sherman made fun of her teeth in a White Lotus parody. Sherman later apologized.
The announcement was made this morning but the pair’s eps won’t air for another 11 days as SNL UK takes a break.
The first four eps have gone down well, although ratings have been declining.
The first four hosts were Tina Fey, Jamie Dornan, Riz Ahmed and Jack Whitehall.
Whitehall’s ep saw SNL UK’s most American cold open yet, taking aim at Melania Trump, who was played by Emma Sidi in a sketch in which she reassured BBQers in a borough of south London that she definitely isn’t buddies with disgraced pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. In an echo of the First Lady’s unexpected press statement this week, Sidi mimicked: “Never have I ever been friends with billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.” The south London BBQers were confused.
Whitehall’s opening monologue included jokes about his upcoming wedding (to model partner Roxy Horner), largely lamenting the cost and need to socialize with so many people. “It’s like planning a royal wedding,” Whitehall quipped. “The whole thing could be ruined if my uncle turned up.”
Whitehall was joined by musical guest Jorja Smith.