When Saturday Night Live UK debuted, it inherited a format that thrives on chaos—and nowhere is that more evident than in the cold open. The show's writers and cast have just days to craft a sketch that responds to the week's biggest news, often before the news has even settled. But according to co-head writer Jonno Johnson and cast member Emma Sidi, that breakneck pace isn't a bug—it's the whole point.
Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival's SNL UK Masterclass, part of the Funny Business strand, Johnson explained that the cold open writing typically begins Thursday evening with a small team. "We want it to be as relevant as possible," he said. Blocking is set for Friday at 8 p.m., with cue cards due three hours earlier—leaving almost no room for rewrites or second-guessing. It's a process Johnson likened to "pulling off a heist."
Why the rush works
The compressed timeline means the show can pounce on stories while they're still hot. Recent examples include Prince Harry and Meghan's rumored return to the UK, Ed Sheeran's tour controversy over his comments on Palestine, and even Prince William's appearance on The Graham Norton Show—which aired just the night before it was spoofed. "You'll have nothing at all, and then somebody will say something, and you just suddenly have to go, 'I guess it's that then,'" Johnson said of the moment a cold open takes shape.
That unpredictability can be terrifying for the cast. Sidi recalled being told she'd play Melania Trump in Season 1's standout cold open—a sketch that lampooned Trump's press conference about her connection to Jeffrey Epstein. "And then they were like, 'Right upstairs, Emma's playing Melania.' And we were like, 'Great, it's tomorrow. The show's tomorrow,'" she remembered. Lead producer James Longman even had to coordinate with the US SNL team, who were also planning a Melania sketch that same night. "I spoke to [them], I said, 'We're going to do Melania, is that all right?' And they were like, 'Of course you can do Melania.'"
Pressure makes diamonds
The live-performance adrenaline extends to the entire cast. Ayoade Bamgboye, who portrayed Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch in a Season 1 cold open opposite Peter Serafinowicz's Nigel Farage, called the experience "electric." Jack Shep admitted he once went home and cried from stress, but on show day, he found himself "flying through it because it's just so balls to the wall."
In a landscape where late-night comedy often feels pre-packaged, SNL UK's willingness to gamble on fresh material gives it an edge. The show may only know how it will begin two days before broadcast, but that's precisely what makes those first five minutes so thrilling—and so uniquely alive.
