SNL UK‘s first season came to a close on a bum note, ratings-wise.
Up against stiff competition from the Eurovision Song Contest on BBC One, Sky’s adaptation of the iconic NBC comedy drew its lowest audience of the series.
With Sex Education‘s Ncuti Gatwa guest presenting, Saturday Night Live UK was watched by 86,420 viewers at 10PM, which was around 28% down on its previous low of 120,000 viewers for the Jack Whitehall-fronted episode.
Gatwa’s rating was less than half that of the 197,200 audience Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham achieved last week. Check out the full breakdown below.
| ‘SNL UK’ Episode | Overnight Rating |
| 1 (Tina Fey) | 226,000 |
| 2 (Jamie Dornan) | 205,000 |
| 3 (Riz Ahmed) | 130,100 |
| 4 (Jack Whitehall) | 120,000 |
| 5 (Nicola Coughlan) | 129,970 |
| 6 (Aimee Lou Wood) | 143,730 |
| 7 (Hannah Waddingham) | 197,200 |
| 8 (Ncuti Gatwa) | 86,420 |
Over on the BBC, the Eurovision Song Contest was watched by an average of 5.2M viewers, with a peak of 5.9M, according to live BARB figures supplied by overnights.tv.
The singing competition, which crowned Bulgaria’s Dara as the winner with her song “Bangaranga,” comfortably beat all rivals, but its audience was well down on last year’s 6.7M average.
SNL UK‘s measure of success has always been about much more than overnight ratings. The show’s audience has generally tripled once catchup, streaming, and repeat viewing are captured. Sketches have also repeatedly gone viral, meaning the show is breaking through online.
The overall performance has been enough to convince Sky to renew SNL UK for a second season. The show will return in September.
SNL knew it would be up against tough competition on Saturday, with the show’s cold open depicting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Eurovision viewing party being gatecrashed by Labour leadership hopefuls. In the same show, Louis Theroux made a cameo, and Gatwa poked fun at his time as Doctor Who.
