Jeff Goldblum has been announced as the first host of Saturday Night Live UK series two, as the live sketch show returns following the surprise success of its initial run. Amassing a swell of support from the British public and comedy industry during its first series, SNL UK was renewed for a second season back in May, with the show's return planned for 12 September. A second series was confirmed in May, with the show returning to our screens on 12 September, and Sky now confirming the line-up for the first episode.
While the original cast – Hammed Animashaun, Ayoade Bamgboye, Larry Dean, Celeste Dring, George Fouracres, Ania Magliano, Annabel Marlow, Al Nash, Jack Shep, Emma Sidi and Paddy Young – will all be returning, the show is following in the tradition of series one and having an American star host the series premiere. Just as SNL stalwart Tina Fey presented the series one opener, American Jurassic Park and Wicked star Goldblum, 73, will be at the helm as the latest run of episodes kicks off, with Irish singer CMAT appearing as the musical guest. Hosts on the UK and US shows deliver an opening monologue to the live studio audience, while also starring in pre-recorded and live sketches.
Other guest hosts on the first series included Jamie Dornan, Riz Ahmed, Hannah Waddingham and Ncuti Gatwa. First airing back in March, the UK version of the long-standing and popular NBC comedy series was written off by sceptics before it even started, so much so that writer Bella Hull told The Independent that people were ”frothing at the mouth for it to fail”. The first episode was met with mostly positive reviews, with The Independent's Nick Hilton writing that the opener was in line with “the famously hit-and-miss format of SNL”.
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For the most part, the show's viewers chose to give the show time to breathe rather than writing it off, and the positive reaction only grew, with the first series being extended from a six-episode run to eight. In an interview with The Independent, comedian Nick Mohammed branded the show “the best thing that’s happened to British comedy” since Ricky Gervais’s sitcom The Office premiered in 2001. Series two was confirmed in May, with the show returning for 12 episodes in total.
Lorne Michaels, the creator and producer behind the SNL franchise, celebrated the news, saying that the UK version “keeps getting better every week”. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
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