Meet the Saturday Night Live UK cast

The verdict’s in: Saturday Night Live UK cast knocked it out the park. Despite naysayers’ predictions that our attempt to recreate America’s legendary late-night comedy show would inevitably flop, the British lineup proved that humour is one of our nation’s greatest strengths – in fact, some might say we do it better.

The inaugural episode, which aired Saturday, 21st March, was outrageous, slightly bonkers and, most importantly, genuinely funny, giving us a taste of what’s to come over the rest of the series. Sure, we had some help from across the pond, with SNL legend Tina Fey joining as the first guest host. But she didn’t overshadow the main cast. From a laugh-out-loud Weekend Update segment, to a sketch about an anti-ageing cream “that works so well, everyone will think your husband is a nonce”, the gags were constant and fired squarely at the right targets. Oh, and let’s not forget an unforgettable Princess Diana impression, which might possibly be the best interpretation we’ve seen of her on screen (sorry, Kristen Stewart).

Time for a nationwide round of applause, we reckon. And while you wait for this weekend’s episode, it wouldn’t hurt to properly acquaint yourselves with the cast. Trust us, these guys are about to go stratospheric.

Who’s in the SNL UK cast?

When we say these guys are a cut above the rest, we mean it: the Saturday Night Live UK cast beat 1,800 applicants during the audition process, which included real-life standup shows where they had to prove their funny bones in front of a live audience, who were totally unaware of the stakes. Here’s everything you need to know about our new late-night comedy TV heroes.

Jack Shep

Charlotte Rutherford/Sky

The man behind that Lady Di impression, Jack Shep has already graced our screens with appearances in Channel 4’s Big Boys, Netflix’s One Day and Alan Carr’s Changing Ends. But the SNL stage is giving the Bedfordshire-born comedian a place to showcase his true talents. “Basically, I’m always doing stupid shit, which I think makes me primed for SNL,” he said in a pre-launch interview. His words, not ours.

What else can we expect to see from Shep? Well, given that his first SNL UK outing also delivered performances as an attention-seeking baby in the womb and an East London-ified Shakespeare, we’re putting our money on more Socks House Meeting-coded chaos. Case in point: after the first show aired last Saturday, Shep ended the night in Morley’s.