Stath Lets Flats’ Al Roberts among 20-strong room led by Jonno Johnson
Saturday Night Live UK’s writing team has been revealed, with Stath Lets Flats’ Al Roberts among the 20-strong room for splashy import.
The writers team blends stand-up comics with established and emerging TV scribes from across the UK and further afield, with comedy writer and journalist Charlie Skelton (10 O’Clock Live, 8 Out of 10 Cats) taking on head writer duties for regular segment Weekend Update.
Stath Lets Flats and Everybody Else Burns actor Roberts is the most high-profile name among the writers, and he is joined by stand-up Celya AB (Live at the Apollo), Chris Cantrill (Alma’s Not Normal) and Nathan Foad (Our Flag Means Death).
Others joining SNL UK’s inaugural writers’ room are: Ayo Adenekan, Bella Hull, Ellie Fulcher, Gráinne Maguire, Hari Kanth, Humphrey Ker, James Farmer, Joseph Moore, Keith Akushie, Laura Claxton, Lorna Rose Treen, Louis Waymouth, Omar Badawy and Omodara Olatunji.
The team will be led by head writer Jonno Johnson, part of the top creative team unveiled in November, who said: “The number of funny, talented writers we have got to work on SNL UK is ludicrous.
“Some of them have been doing this for years, some of them it’s their first ever writing job. All of them make me giddy to come to work each day. Could not imaginably feel luckier that we get to make this show together.”
The cast of the live sketch comedy series was revealed last month and includes Hammed Animashaun (Black Ops), Emma Sidi (Starstruck) and Ania Magliano (Taskmaster).
SNL UK is produced by Universal Television Alternative Studio (UTAS)’ UK production team and Broadway Video and was commissioned by Phil Edgar Jones, executive director of unscripted originals, for Cécile Frot-Coutaz, chief exec of Sky Studios and chief content officer for Sky, with Lisa Clark serving as commissioning executive.
Creator Lorne Michaels is exec producing, with James Longman serving as lead producer and Liz Clare directing. UTAS UK is overseen by managing director Helen Kruger Bratt, with Shanna Baynard serving as executive in charge of production, Andy Charles Smith serving as the lead producer for UTAS UK, and Sam Salter is the production executive.
Edgar-Jones said: “As SNL UK races towards launch our brilliant team of writers are already hard at work crafting some sublime and (importantly) funny sketches for our equally brilliant cast to perform. I’ve been lucky enough to attend a couple of table reads and I am delighted to report I cried laughing. We cannot wait to share the fun with a wider audience.”
SNL UK launches on Sky and Now on 21 March.
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