SNL UK Ratings Steady Before Upcoming Break
Ratings for SNL UK showed signs of stabilization during Saturday night’s broadcast. The fourth episode of the inaugural British version of the iconic show attracted 120,000 viewers, capturing a 1.6% share of the television audience in the UK at that time.
This figure reflects a slight drop of 10,000 viewers compared to the previous week. However, in the context of British ratings, it represents a plateau, likely bringing a sense of relief to the SNL UK creative team and executives at Sky. The audience had previously experienced a significant decline of almost 40%, plummeting to a low of 130,000 viewers.
Despite the minor decrease, SNL UK continues to exceed the average ratings for Sky in the late Saturday slot and outperforms the original U.S. version of the sketch series aired on Sky Comedy, which is also available on Peacock in the United States.
This week’s episode was hosted by British comedian and Malice actor Jack Whitehall. The cold open was characterized as SNL UK’s most American yet, featuring a sketch with Emma Sidi portraying Melania Trump. In a humorous twist, Sidi reassured a group of BBQ enthusiasts in South London that she was not friends with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, echoing a recent press statement from the First Lady.
During his opening monologue, Whitehall drew laughs with jokes about his impending wedding to model Roxy Horner, lamenting the associated costs and social obligations. “It’s like planning a royal wedding,” he joked, adding that the entire event could be derailed by an unexpected appearance from his uncle.
The episode’s satire did not shy away from political figures; Keir Starmer, Peter Mandelson, Donald Trump, Rishi Sunak, and others were all targets of crosshairs during the show. The musical guest featured was Jorja Smith.
SNL UK is scheduled to take a break this Saturday before returning the following week with four additional episodes to conclude its first season.
