SNL UK Cold Open: "Celebrity Traitors," Norton/Prince William & More
· BCPosted in: Sky One, TV | Tagged: SNL UK
SNL UK Cold Open: "Celebrity Traitors," Norton/Prince William & More
The final SNL UK cold open for 2026 tackled PM Burnham, "The Celebrity Traitors," Prince William on "The Graham Norton Show," and more.
Published Sun, 25 Oct 2026 05:37:09 -0500
by Ray Flook
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Article Summary
- SNL UK’s final 2026 cold open skewers Andy Burnham and Steven Rotheram with a Celebrity Gogglebox framing gag.
- SNL UK takes aim at The Celebrity Traitors, mocking a starry cast too famous to care whether they win.
- Prince William’s Graham Norton Show visit gets roasted, with SNL UK zeroing in on Harry and Meghan rumors.
- The SNL UK sketch also spoofs Bake Off and caps things with a future Burnham warning tied to the week’s cyberattack panic.
Unfortunately, this weekend brought the final Saturday Night Live UK for 2026, but host Cynthia Erivo, musical guest Blossoms, and the SNL UK cast and writers made sure to end the year on a strong note. Were we left wanting more? Definitely. Are we pissed that we won't be getting more SNL UK until 2027? And with an epic week of television over in the UK – the kind where pop culture and politics blended in some interesting (and cringy) ways – SNL UK's cold open offered a knife-twisting take on everything that went down. To kick things off, we have Prime Minister Andy Burnham (George Fouracres) and Liverpool Mayor Steven Rotheram (Emma Sidi) sharing their fave TV moments during an edition of Celebrity Gogglebox. "You know what my favorite program is, Andy?" Rotheram shared. "That 'Saturday Night Live UK.' You know, my dream is that one day they do an impression of me."
From there, we were treated to some great SNL UK takes on the week's big TV-related headline moments:
"The Celebrity Traitors": In an obvious slight at the current series and the Richard E. Grant situation, Celeste Dring's host, Claudia Winkleman, poses (and answers) the following question, "What happens when we take 22 celebrities who are too famous to play the game seriously, or care whether or not they win, and put them in a castle? The answer: not much, to be honest."
"The Graham Norton Show": Prince William's (Freddie Meredith) recent surprise visit to Graham Norton's (Jack Shep) talk show was also roasted. Though this version of Norton wasn't so concerned with William's love of Christopher Nolan films and The Celebrity Traitors," as much as he was about those Prince Harry-Meghan Markle reunion rumors. "Now, can I ask you a cheeky question?" Norton asks. "Oh, here we go. Come on then, Graham. I'm always a good sport, as you know," William responded (with Meredith hitting a perfectly lifeless laugh). But when Norton dropped, "Is it true that your brother Harry has reached out this week?" William let the emotions slip big-time: "Shut up!"
"The Great British Bake Off": Yes, even the long-running and beloved reality competition show could escape the SNL UK cold open, with Larry Dean giving a great take on "sleep paralysis demon" Noel Fielding, and Ayoade Bamgboye embodying Alison Hammond, aka "the only person everyone in the country likes."
Before the cold open wrapped, Burnham received a surprise visitor: a future version of himself (played by Paddy Young) – one who came with a dire warning. There's a cyberattack on the way – and the best thing Burnham can do is "tell the country to buy an extra can of beans" (yeah, that was actually a thing this week). In the end, it appears the future was changed – but to what end? "You've done it, shagger! You've changed the future … Hang on, is that Steve Rotheram? I loved it when they did that impression of you on 'SNL UK,'" Young's Future Burnham noted.
Sky and NOW's SNL UK Series 2 cast includes Hammed Animashaun, Ayoade Bamgboye, Larry Dean, Celeste Dring, George Fouracres, Ania Magliano, Annabel Marlow, Al Nash, Jack Shep, Emma Sidi, Paddy Young, and Freddie Meredith. SNL UK will return in early 2027 for six more shows – and hopefully, more than that.
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