‘SNL UK’ Adds Comedian & ‘Big Boys’ Actor Freddie Meredith To Season 2 Cast
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Saturday Night Live UK has confirmed comedian and actor Freddie Meredith, known for Such Brave Girls and Big Boys, as a new addition to the cast for the show's second season. The move comes shortly after Meredith's Edinburgh Fringe debut show, Need a Light?, earned him a Best Newcomer Award nomination, and follows earlier confirmation that season two would launch with Jeff Goldblum hosting. Meredith described joining as a "no brainer", calling SNL UK "the most iconic comedy show" and saying it would "undoubtedly inform everything I do" for the rest of his career.
He joins an ensemble of eleven other cast members: Hammed Animashaun, Ayoade Bamgboye, Larry Dean, Celeste Dring, George Fouracres, Ania Magliano, Annabel Marlow, Al Nash, Jack Shep, Emma Sidi and Paddy Young. Season two premieres on Sky on Saturday 12 September, with Jeff Goldblum hosting and CMAT as musical guest, followed by five further weekly episodes until 24 October before a break and a return in early 2027. Season one was hosted by figures including Tina Fey, Hannah Waddingham and Nicola Coughlan, and Sky's unscripted chief Phil Edgar-Jones has said the British remake, produced by Universal Television Alternative Studio with Lorne Michaels as executive producer, is expected to continue beyond this second run.
- Freddie Meredith joins SNL UK's season two cast
- Season two starts 12 September on Sky, hosted by Jeff Goldblum
- Sky says the show could continue beyond season two
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Freddie Meredith has been announced as the newest cast member of Saturday Night Live UK, the British version of the long-running American sketch comedy show, ahead of its second season. He is a comedian and actor best known for roles in the British sitcoms Such Brave Girls and Big Boys, and has recently performed his own stand-up show at the Edinburgh Fringe festival.
Saturday Night Live UK is broadcast on Sky and follows the same format as its American counterpart, with a rotating guest host and musical guest each week, alongside a regular ensemble of comic performers. The show's first season introduced the format to British audiences and featured well-known hosts, and its return for a second run is being closely watched to see whether it can build on that reception.
Meredith joins an ensemble cast of eleven other comedians and actors who make up the show's regular company. His addition is part of the broader build-up to the new season, which involves confirming the cast, host and musical guest for each episode in the weeks before broadcast.
Full account
Saturday Night Live UK has confirmed a further addition to the line-up for its second season, announcing that comedian and actor Freddie Meredith is joining the cast ahead of the show's return this month. Meredith becomes the latest name to be folded into the returning ensemble, which already features Hammed Animashaun, Ayoade Bamgboye, Larry Dean, Celeste Dring, George Fouracres, Ania Magliano, Annabel Marlow, Al Nash, Jack Shep, Emma Sidi and Paddy Young.
Meredith arrives with a growing profile in British comedy and drama. He is best known to television audiences for Channel 4's Big Boys and for his role as Seb, the clingy and oblivious husband of the character Josie, in Kat Sadler's BBC comedy Such Brave Girls. Alongside his acting work he has built a stand-up career, most recently taking his debut hour, Need a Light?, to the Edinburgh Fringe, where it earned a nomination for the Best Newcomer Award. He has described his path into comedy as a gradual shift from theatre training and stage acting towards stand-up and, eventually, sketch writing online, citing influences that include Tina Fey, Steve Coogan and Julia Davis among others. Reacting to his casting, Meredith said the show would shape the rest of his career and that he was eager for the experience, having earlier called joining the programme an obvious decision given its status as a landmark of comedy television.
The announcement comes as SNL UK prepares to launch its new run on Sky, with Jeff Goldblum hosting the opening episode on 12 September and CMAT providing the musical performance. The format will continue in its established style, mixing a rotating celebrity host and musical guest each week with topical sketches and a British version of the Weekend Update segment. A further five episodes are expected to air weekly before a break, with the season resuming in early 2027. The first run drew hosts including Tina Fey, Jamie Dornan, Riz Ahmed, Jack Whitehall, Nicola Coughlan, Aimee Lou Wood, Hannah Waddingham and Ncuti Gatwa, with the Fey-fronted debut reportedly reaching an audience of more than 220,000 viewers.
The show remains under the stewardship of Lorne Michaels, the creator of the original US franchise, who serves as executive producer, with James Longman as lead producer; production is handled by Universal Television Alternative Studio's UK arm alongside Broadway Video. Sky's head of unscripted programming, Phil Edgar-Jones, has signalled confidence in the format's longevity, telling the Edinburgh Television Festival that the broadcaster intends to keep the show running well beyond its second season and noting satisfaction at having confounded early scepticism from commentators who had predicted the British adaptation would struggle to find an audience.
Where outlets differ
Source 1 (Deadline) focuses more on the business and scheduling side — it gives the specific run of episodes, the October 24 date, the early 2027 return, and includes Phil Edgar-Jones's Edinburgh TV Festival comments about the show's long-term future and proving critics wrong; Source 2 (The Hollywood Reporter) omits the Edgar-Jones comments and scheduling detail beyond the premiere date.
Source 2 gives considerably more biographical and character detail on Meredith, including his role as Seb in Such Brave Girls, his list of comedy influences, and a quote about his career path from drama school into stand-up; Source 1 mentions his credits only briefly and does not include this quote.
Source 1 includes an additional quote from Meredith calling SNL UK 'the most iconic comedy show' and joining a 'no brainer', which does not appear in Source 2.
Source 2 provides a fuller list of season one hosts (adding Jamie Dornan, Riz Ahmed, Jack Whitehall, Aimee Lou Wood and Ncuti Gatwa, plus the 220,000 viewership figure for the Tina Fey premiere), whereas Source 1 names only three season one hosts.
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