Jamie Dornan was ‘terrified’ ahead of hosting Saturday Night Live UK
By Pierra Willix, Press Association Senior Entertainment Reporter
Jamie Dornan was “terrified” before hosting Saturday Night Live UK, show bosses have said.
The UK version of the long-running US sketch comedy series launched in March, with the Northern Irish actor hosting the second episode.
The show’s lead producer James Longman has now revealed Dornan, 44, was on edge ahead of his hosting debut.
Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Friday, Longman said: “The first time he was on stage for the hostage sketch and was reading the cue cards for the first time, he was like ‘I’m not sure I can do this show’.
“He was terrified by it, and then by Saturday night he absolutely nailed it and loved it and was brilliant.”
Previously speaking to Esquire, Dornan said working on SNL was both “the most stressful week of my life but also ultimately really rewarding”.
He said: “As soon as I admitted to the cast how scared I was – and they told me how scared they were – it was much easier. I was like, ‘It’s going to be okay.’
“Then the moment I really knew it was going to be okay was the dress rehearsal with the live audience.
“Because by the end of the week, you’re doing these jokes for people who work there who have heard them a million times, and they’re not laughing. You’re thinking… is this funny? Is any of this good?
“Then you get an audience and it’s a totally different experience. They’re laughing and you feed off it; it becomes fizzy and exciting. I mean, it’s two hours before the show, but I was like, ‘Oh right, okay, it’s going to be okay. It’s funny.’”
I remember standing in front of a mirror and taking a photo and thinking that would be the most scared I would ever be in my life
The series debuted with SNL veteran Tina Fey hosting, followed by Dornan, Bait star Riz Ahmed, comedian Jack Whitehall, Derry Girls actress Nicola Coughlan, Sex Education’s Aimee Lou Wood, Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham, and Doctor Who’s Ncuti Gatwa.
Speaking at the festival on Friday, Longman added: “Every host we had for season one took a chance on us, and we are certainly grateful for them.”
Also during the panel event, comedian and SNL UK cast member Jack Shep said he was convinced he was not going to be selected for show, so did some “mental things” in his audition tape.
Nearly 2,000 people applied to be on the cast of the live sketch comedy variety show.
Shep said that ahead of the show’s launch, there were questions on whether the long-running American format would translate for a UK audience.
He described the first episode as “probably the most stressful thing I will ever do”.
He added: “I remember standing in front of a mirror and taking a photo and thinking that would be the most scared I would ever be in my life.”
The show received mixed reviews from critics and viewers following its premiere.
Shep said: “It can’t be underestimated the impact of going on your phone and seeing comments saying you should kill yourself essentially… for doing a live sketch show.”
However he added: “I thought it was punk to work on something everything thought would be shit.”
It was confirmed in May that SNL UK will return for a second series, with the first episode to be broadcast on Saturday September 12.
All 11 members of the inaugural cast are returning, and along with Shep they are: Hammed Animashaun, Ayoade Bamgboye, Larry Dean, Celeste Dring, George Fouracres, Ania Magliano, Annabel Marlow, Al Nash, Emma Sidi and Paddy Young.
Broadcast live each week, the show will again welcome a different celebrity host and musical guest for every episode, and will feature topical sketches, live music performances and a British take on the Weekend Update segment.
Saturday Night Live creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels previously said he was “incredibly proud” of the team and the show, which “keeps getting better every week”.
The show’s US version has been running since 1975 and is responsible for launching the careers of the likes of Fey, Bill Murray and Eddie Murphy.
