In her opening monologue on Saturday Night Live UK, host Nicola Coughlan, with a little help from SNL legend Jimmy Fallon, rapped openly about her chaotic studio tour with the Bridgerton star and her new family film, The Magic Faraway Tree.
Coughlan teased his Bridgerton role, saying he “played an aristocrat who comes off as a nasty bitch who lives for drama,” and joked that he decided to channel the “magic” of the original ’70s SNL by taking “an incredible amount of cocaine.”
After Fallon appeared, Coughlan said, “It’s an honor to host. I feel like I’m the embodiment of that in some way. It’s like this place is magical.” “Because it is!” he said.
Fallon then revealed to Coughlan “SNL’s biggest secret.” “It’s actually live, which means you can do whatever you want and go anywhere. You’re the host. They won’t stop you.”
The pair then embarked on a chaotic studio tour, taking cameras behind the scenes to tease Weekend Update hosts Ania Mariano and Paddy Young, as well as cast members George Fouracres and Hamed Animashone. Fallon even dared Dave Grohl, a musical guest with his band Foo Fighters, to ask Coughlan to be his best friend. “He has to say yes because we’re live,” Fallon said.
“Dave Grohl, will you be my best friend?” Coughlan asked, to which Grohl replied, “Of course, why not!”
After Coughlan’s monologue, the show quickly launched into a digital short parodying her latest film, The Magic Faraway Tree, which is based on a children’s book. In the sketch, Coughlan tells studio executives that he wrote a rap song and recorded a music video to promote the film, which turns out to be very explicit.
“It’s a tree in the distance, and it’s magic as fuck,” Coughlan raps, wearing a big jacket and braids. “Thick leaves, Nicky C, and magical stems.”
Other lyrics include: “The critics agree, this movie is great. Who could eat my ass but the Times!”
Fallon appears in the video as a caterer on set, rapping, “My name is Keith/I catered on set/For when the cast and crew’s energy is wavering/Whatever they need, I’ll get it/Here you go, here’s my name in the credits.”
At the end of the sketch, Coughlan reveals that she and Keith “actually started dating in the movie, and I’ll tell you, it got pretty weird.”
Coughlan’s hosting will be the first episode of SNL UK since it went on hiatus mid-season. As well as Fey, previous hosts have also included Jamie Dornan, Riz Ahmed and Jack Whitehall.
