The Cast of Saturday Night Live UK: Here Are the Show's 11 Rising Comedy Stars
The 11 performers in the spinoff sketch series share the stage with Tina Fey, Jamie Dornan and to-be-announced hosts.
On March 21, 2026, 11 young performers will experience something the seven Not Ready for Prime Time Players did on a New York City stage almost 51 years ago. They, too, will do it in real time. Unlike their predecessors, they're launching a live sketch show in the era of next-day streaming. And they'll wrap their cold opens with, "Live from London, it's Saturday Night!"
You may know some of the fresh faces in the cast of Saturday Night Live UK, whether they've popped up in your Instagram feed or you've seen them on streaming British series. After the show's six-episode debut on Sky and next-day on Peacock in the U.S., they'll all be more recognizable than ever before. They've even flown to 30 Rock to see firsthand how they do it every week in Studio 8H, as part of their preparation.
Ahead of the first episode with Tina Fey and Musical Guest Wet Leg, get to know the cast of SNL UK below.
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The full cast of Saturday Night Live UK
Hammed Animashaun
East London-raised actor Hammed Animashaun cites Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock among his comedy heroes. Science fiction fans may recognize Animashaun from roles in 2024's Time Bandits series, where he recurred as Mansa Musa, and The Wheel of Time, in which he donned serious prosthetic makeup to play Loial. He also costars with The Paper's Gbemisola Ikumelo in the BBC series Black Ops.
Ayoade Bamgboyea
Hailing from both London and Lagos, Ayoade Bamgboyea has a great, bold backstory: "I was in advertising, and I decided to quit my job and try comedy for a year," she told Sky. Four years later, the Nigerian and British comedian has won a Best Newcomer honor from the Edinburgh Fringe festival, and she's creator and cohost of England's Channel 4 series Rise and Shine with Channel 9.
Larry Dean
Like several of his Season 51 cast contemporaries across the pond such as Marcello Hernández and Kam Patterson, Larry Dean comes to SNL UK as an established stand-up comedian. Dean is from Glasgow, Scotland, and you can check out his stand-up specials here.
Celeste Dring
If you're a fan of British TV, you might've seen Celeste Dring playing Princess Eugenie on royal family parody series The Windsors. She's also starred plenty of sketches with comedy partner Freya Parker as the duo Lazy Susan. Of why she's excited to join the experiment that is SNL UK, Dring told Sky, "I just love the idea of being creative with a group of brilliantly talented and funny people and the chance to do something new."
George Fouracres
British actor George Fouracres has a background that sounds more serious than you might expect from an SNL cast member: He's an Associate Artist treading the boards at Shakespeare's Globe theater in London. But he's also pursued sketch comedy in a group with friends Jason Forbes and Phil Wang, and debuted his stand-up show, Gentlemon, in 2019.
Ania Magliano
British comedian Ania Magliano gained new fans through her turn on Series 20 of Taskmaster, England's cult-favorite comedy competition series (watch a clip here). She's been doing stand-up since she was 18, and she has performed on BBC's Live at the Apollo.
Annabel Marlow
Once upon a time, Annabel Marlow had an SNL fan account online; now, she's helping bring the show to England. Marlow brings her musical talent to the cast: Her stage experience includes originating the role of Katherine Howard in Six The Musical at the Edinburgh Fringe festival before it hit Broadway. Her debut solo comedy special, Is This Okay?, features funny original songs she's written.
Al Nash
Al Nash began doing sketch comedy in college, and he's made sketch comedy online since 2020. But you may know that already, if you've stumbled upon his popular Instagram videos.
Jack Shep
Actor and comedian Jack Shep has appeared in British series Big Boys and Changing Ends, but SNL UK marks his first major TV credit. He told Sky that he's most excited about the creative challenge of the show's fast-paced format. "To make a finished show in a week and then start all over again the next week is amazing," Shep said. "Being able to be in a room full of comedians being stupid and funny like this is a once in a lifetime opportunity."
Emma Sidi
Emma Sidi has been performing live comedy, including sketch and improv, since her days at university. Like Ania Magliano, she's been on Taskmaster. She played Kate on the TV series Starstruck from 2021 to 2023; she also played Adriané Americano in Glen Powell's movie The Running Man in 2025.
In 2024, Sidi debuted her one-woman stage show Emma Sidi is Sue Gray, playing a fictional version of the real British civil servant.
Paddy Young
Paddy Young has appeared on British TV series Everyone Else Burns and Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping. He is both an actor and a stand-up comedian, having done both since his drama school days in Manchester. Check out his stand-up here.
