Nicola Coughlan hosting Saturday Night Live UK was always going to be a moment, but she still managed to exceed expectations.
Back on the show after appearing in its very first episode, the Bridgerton and Derry Girls star stepped into the role like she’d been waiting for it, which, judging by her monologue, she pretty much had. Coughlan joked that she had been waiting her whole life for something like this, and honestly, it showed in the best way. Her opening monologue was already landing well before Jimmy Fallon suddenly appeared to remind her that SNL is, in fact, live. “It’s SNL royalty Jimmy Fallon,” she laughed, playing up the shock, before he dragged her into a full-on tour of the studio to demonstrate the “power” of being host. “You can do whatever you want… you can go wherever you want,” he told her,as they wandered straight into the audience, messed about with unsuspecting guests and even met “Sir Paul McCartney”, who was very much not Sir Paul McCartney. At one point she tried to regain control with, “Can I just get back to hosting?”, only for Fallon to double down on the chaos. It was silly, fast and genuinely funny, and she matched him the whole way through.
Coughlan also managed to make a new best friend along the way. Spotting Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, who was there as the musical guest, she asked, “Mr. Dave Grohl, will you be my best friend?” He casually agreed, replying, “Sure, why not.” We’re absolutely not jealous. At all… although, for the record, we also want to be Nicola Coughlan’s bestie.
That sense of play carried into the sketches, with Coughlan throwing herself into everything, from a Take A Break!-style agony aunt casually confessing to having sex with her neighbour’s ghost to a hilarious flight attendant sketch. After Coughlan’s monologue, the show moved straight into a spoof of The Magical Faraway Tree, the film she stars in, which was released in UK cinemas on 27 March 2026. In the sketch, she pitches a promotional rap and music video to a group of very confused studio executives, only for it to quickly become far more explicit than anyone was expecting. It leans into the contrast between the wholesome source material and the completely inappropriate promo, and Coughlan commits to it so fully that it ends up being one of the funniest moments of the night.
Alongside Coughlan, the SNL UK cast were on top form, giving the episode plenty of momentum beyond the host sketches. Weekend Update was particularly strong, with Emma Sidi’s segment as a “woman who can’t be ignored” getting some of the biggest laughs of the night. Asked how other women could avoid being ignored, her advice involved wearing big hats and doing “loud farts”, which she delivered with total commitment. Ania Magliano and Paddy Young were also great value, taking on heavier topics without making the segment feel awkward or strained. It was one of their most entertaining runs of the series so far.
The standout sketch, though, had to be the plane crash landing scenario, where every man on board is convinced he can land it. It is such a painfully accurate idea that the joke practically writes itself, but the sketch keeps pushing it further, with George Fouracres getting some of the biggest reactions of the night thanks to a brilliantly ridiculous twist. Totally hilarious, and definitely one of the episode’s best bits.
No sketch dragged, no one felt like they were trying too hard to steal focus, and the whole thing had the kind of rhythm that can be hard to pull off on a live sketch show. Coughlan brought such a fun, fearless energy as host, and with the excellent cast around her, the whole episode became proper comedy gold.
For CultureCues, this is exactly what you want from a host. Nicola Coughlan was completely up for it, clearly having a great time, and it made the whole episode better for it. Fans absolutely loved it too, with social media full of people saying they were laughing from start to finish and calling for Coughlan to come back and do it all again. Honestly, same. I was in stitches the whole way through, which, for a comedy show, says everything it needs to.
SNL UK continues next week, with Aimee Lou Wood set to host the next episode.
Nikki Murray is a UK-based writer, screenwriter and founder & editor of CultureCues, covering film, television, music and pop culture. Her work focuses on storytelling, emerging voices and the cultural moments shaping modern entertainment.