Reports suggest she will...

Saturday Night Live veteran Tina Fey has been tipped to host the first UK edition of the show.

The comic has a long relationship with the US original, having joined as a writer in 1997 and rising to become the show's first female head writer two years later – a landmark achievement in the historically male-dominated writers' room.

She moved in front of the camera, becoming co-anchor of the Weekend Update segment  and remaining with the show until 2006 when she left to create 30 Rock, the hit comedy based on her time at SNL. 

However, she memorably returned to portray Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin  and has hosted the programme six times.

Now The Sun reports that she is in line to host the first British version, which airs on Sky on March 21 and – like the 51-year-old original – will feature guest hosts and musical contributors each week.

The newspaper’s TV Biz column quotes an unnamed industry insider saying: ‘There’s a sense that the American show is handing the baton on to Britain by having Tina hosting the launch. Plus she’s a massive icon in the world of comedy and proof of how huge someone can become through appearing on SNL.’

The source added that they expected future hosts in the six-week run to be from the UK.

Fey– who also wrote Mean Girls and created the Netflix comedy Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt  – has even been tipped as a future showrunner for the US show when creator Lorne Michaels steps down. Michaels, 81, was also an executive producer on 30 Rock, and will also be overseeing  the British SNL remake. 

The cast has previously been announced as Emma Sidi, Ania Magliano, Larry Dean, Ayoade Bamgboye, Paddy Young, Celeste Dring, Annabel Marlow, George Fouracres, Hammed Animashaun, Al Nash and Jack Shep.

Show producer James Longman said: "The UK is absolutely packed with incredible comedy talent right now and this cast represents the freshest voices we have."

The writing team has yet to be announced while Sky has been tight-lipped about any SNL UK presenters.

Published: 2 Mar 2026