Cast and writers who helped make the British transfer such a hit

Continuing our series of preview pieces for the Edinburgh Fringe, here are ten shows from comedians who helped make Sky’s Saturday Night Live UK such an against-the-odds success – on screen or off.

Jonno: Here Comes Mr Funny

Who’s Jonno? Only the head writer of SNL UK, that’s all. Though you might have seen the comic known as Daran Johnson to HMRC as part of the acclaimed Sheeps triple act alongside Liam Williams and Al Roberts. This is his first solo show (after a three-night preview at last year’s Fringe), so expectations are high… 

Monkey Barrel 2, 7.10pm

Paddy Young: Will Sir Be Laughing Alone?

The co-host of the Weekend Update section of SNL’s topical gags, Young  pictured, makes good use of his sad puppy-dog eyes, that could also come into play in this stand-up show about his romantic history. ‘I’ve fallen in love more times than you’ve had hot dinners and I’ve fumbled every single one of them’, he says in the show’s blurb. Young was previously nominated for best newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards in 2023. He’s also promising a chaotic ‘Night With The Stars’ late-night show on August 12.  

Monkey Barrel 1, 9pm

Ania Magliano: Peach Fuzz

Young’s deskman for the newsy section of SNL returns to the Fringe with ‘fresh gossip about her own body, floatation tanks, Sabrina Carpenter and the Suffragettes’.  As well as SNL, she was also in series 20 of Taskmaster, tying for first place with Maisie Adam and Phil Ellis until a high-stakes tiebreaker secured her second position. She launched this show at the Soho Theatre last month – read our review here.

Monkey Barrel 3, 1.35pm

Bella Hull: Mad Cow Disease

One of the writers on SNL UK, Hull is also becoming a TV face in her own right, not least thanks to breakout performances on Have I Got News For You. Indeed, that show’s production company, Hat Trick, is one of the producers of her Edinburgh show.

Monkey Barrel 1, 12.30pm

Celya AB: We Must Stop Meeting Like This 

Chortle reviewer Tim Harding once called Celya AB ‘one of the most gifted joke writers of her age,’ so no wonder she got a gig in the writers' room of SNL. As also seen on Live at the Apollo, the British-based French comic returns to the Fringe with a show promising the vaguest premise of ‘jokes and sharp observations’.

Monkey Barrel 1, 6.10pm

Chris Cantrill: Rewinding

As well as being a writer for SNL UK, Chris Cantrill is co-creator of Radio 4's Icklewick FM and is a triple Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee – for his solo show in 2024, and as part of the Delightful Sausage double act with Amy Gledhill in 2019 and 2022. His 2026 offering promises ‘a tale of community, justice and mushrooms’.

Monkey Barrel Comedy At O’Neill’s (The Tron), 12.10pm

Ayo Adenenjan: Homeland Insecurity

Before joining the big-budget TV show, Ayo Adenenjan had already made the final of the BBC New Comedy Awards and won plenty of acclaim for his debut show at Edinburgh last year, Black Mediocrity, which was joint winner of best newcomer at the ISH award. This time, he promises a romantic new hour as he tells of a summer fling that spirals into something messier. 

Monkey Barrel at Cabaret Voltaire, 1.30pm

Larry Dean: Hellbent

The comedian who probably had the most established career before joining the SNL cast, Scottish comic Larry Dean is back at the fringe with Hellbent, a show about being recently married but emotionally feral... An hour that, he says, is about 'refusing to grow up'. After this run at the Pleasance –  shockingly breaking the run of SNL acts at Monkey Barrel – he takes Hellbent on tour this autumn. 

Pleasance Courtyard, 6.30pm

Ayoade Bamgboye: Swings and Roundabouts 

Ayoade Bamgboye had a big 2025, not only landing herself a place in the cast of SNL, but also scooping best newcomer at the  Edinburgh Comedy Awards. No wonder she's taking it easier this year, with just three performances of the show that got her the gong last year. She's also doing a more relaxed work-in-progress with Q&A.

Pleasance Courtyard, 10pm. WIPs at Monkey Barrel 2 at 12.05, Aug 16 to 20 

Lorna Rose Treen: Now That's What I Call Characters

Given her skills as a character comedian, it was something of a surprise not to see Lorna Rose Treen as part of the SNL cast - though her quirky imagination put her in demand for the writer's room. She's back for a short run of greatest hits and a work in progress this year. 

Pleasance Courtyard, 9.30pm, Aug 17-23 only. WIPs at Monkey Barrel 2 at 12.05 from Aug 26 to 30.

• For completeness, another SNL writer, Omar Badawy is debuting with Golden Detour at Pleasance Courtyard at 16.35.

Published: 10 Jul 2026