Saturday Night Live UK took its boldest gamble yet with finale – it paid off

Ncuti Gatwa fronted Saturday Night Live UK in a stellar end to the British spin-off’s first series.

With The Eurovision Song Contest airing over on BBC One, the former Doctor Who star, 33, joined the cast of SNL UK as it drew the debut season to a close.

Coming hot on the heels of Nicola Coughlan and Hannah Waddingham’s terrific one-two punch of episodes, Ncuti had big shoes to fill.

Thankfully, he and the cast were more than up to the job, delivering an out-of-this world run of sketches throughout the evening.

In an episode that leaned heavily into the show’s core Britishness, the Sex Education actor poked fun at his role as the Fifteenth Doctor, joking: ‘About 12 of you watched me watched me in Doctor Who. Maybe that’s why I kept crying!’

Between the Doctor Who gags and unexpected, scene-stealing cameos, it was the most unashamedly British episode yet… and all the better for it.

The episode kicked off with an energetic cold open set inside No.10 Downing Street, featuring Jack Shep as Wes Streeting and Annabel Marlow as Liz Truss.

Paddy Young also took some time out from hosting Weekend Update to play Andy Burnham, throwing his name into the hat for the Labour leadership race.

The sketch marked a possible send-off for George Fouracres’ Keir Starmer – whose leadership of the country may well be a thing of the past by the time SNL UK next emerges.

‘Maybe you’re right. Maybe I should step down,’ squeaked Starmer. ‘Two years is pretty good going for a Prime Minister these days.’

‘That’s like 24 me’s!’ remarked Liz Truss, in the episode’s best line – seconds before being shooed back into her cupboard by Emma Sidi.

Cold open ticked off, Ncuti emerged on the stage as the show’s ‘first Black, queer and openly Scottish’ host.

Elsewhere in the routine, he took aim at the Doctor’s regeneration into Billie Piper (‘I don’t understand it either’), and reunited with Sex Education star Aimee Lou Wood.

The night’s first sketch proper focused on a gospel choir group in the UK, wryly commenting on appealing to white sensibilities to make business boom.

‘We’re basically Deliveroo for gospel choirs,’ said Ncuti’s Musical Director as the segment began.

‘White guilt is quite lucrative,’ he continued, as the show drew a line from Harry and Meghan’s wedding to Trump’s re-election.

Next, Ncuti played Thomas the Tank Engine in a spoof which starred Al Nash as the Fat Controller… in, yes, a skit about workplace bullying.

A somewhat obvious conceit, but this did net us a Fouracres impression of Ringo Starr… a fun coincidence, given that Sir Paul McCartney was across the pond that same night, as the musical act on the show’s USA finale.

Next up, another impression, with Larry Dean appearing as Louis Theroux in a sketch lampooning the documentarian.

Its single joke quickly ran thin, enlivened by Larry’s spot-on Louis Theroux voice, and a cameo from the man himself.

The best sketch of the night turned Mr Blobby into a horror movie villain in a chilling mockumentary, which shed terrifying new light on the 1980s mine closures.

Warning of the army of Blobbies lurking underground, it was an enjoyably sinister work of found footage/newsreel horror, and one which could have used a little more room to breathe.

It was reminiscent of its own recent British Pork sketch, proving that the writers aren’t afraid of alienating viewers by going too… well, British.

Following the musical act, Weekend Update continued to mock the state of our politics, amid challenges faced by Keir Starmer in the wake of last week’s local elections.

After being utterly broken by Paddy Young’s hilarious beatbox tribute to Eric Morecambe, Ania Magliano addressed the elephant in the other room… Eurovision, via an amusing interview with Al Nash’s European judge.

Between Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis, Theroux, and the proliferation of Blobby, the UK edition showed little mercy to any American viewers who might have tuned in to see the show’s British counterpart.

No, SNL UK was as British as it gets, and all the stronger for it.

Next, Ncuti appeared as himself in a sketch critiquing cinema’s habit of turning Black actors green (Cynthia Erivo in Wicked; Zoe Saldana in Guardians of the Galaxy).

This, they achieved by dressing him up as Shrek and having him do a Mike Myers impression, opposite Donkey’s Q, The Gingerbread M and Larry Dean as Pinocchio – slash Blofield.

With Ncuti turning in his License to Kill, the production team were left to fall back on the only Black actor who might play Bond without backlash… Alison Hammond.

SNL wouldn’t be SNL without a dud or two though, and it was only the enthusiasm of Ncuti and Jack Shep that carried its overlong Wine Mom dance sketch.

Still, its cosmic horror twist had its own kind of internal logic, feeling like it could have been the premise of a Doctor Who episode in its own right.

They can’t all be winners, but not even this clunkier skit could bring down what must be the spin-off’s best episode yet.

Throughout the episode, SNL UK leaned into its unabashed Britishness, from the political cold open to its country-specific in-jokes and relatively niche cameos.

Blending fun guest stars and inspired one-liners with classic SNL absurdism (say what you will about the Wine Moms, the gun in the air fryer was a great bit), the show was firing on all cylinders.

In all, this marked a triumphant end to the UK edition’s first series.

While it didn’t always hit the mark, its highs vastly outnumbered the lows, introducing sure-to-be breakout stars in George Fouracres and Jack Shep.

Had SNL UK not been renewed, then we’d at least have Jack’s Princess Diana impression to cherish for posterity, along with the wonderful 45 Seconds With Fouracres and Peter Stefanowicz’s Nigel Farage.

Thankfully, it’s been confirmed that the show will regenerate for a second series – here’s hoping it lives longer than Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor.

Saturday Night Live UK is currently streaming on NOW.

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