Nicola Coughlan is known for starring in Bridgerton
Nicola Coughlan, known best for her roles as Clare Devlin in Derry Girls and Penelope Featherington in the hit Shonda Rhimes-produced romance drama Bridgerton, is making her Saturday Night Live debut.On Tuesday, April 14, 2026, the 29-year-old Netflix star was announced as host of the upcoming April 25 episode of the British version of the long-running live sketch comedy series, alongside musical guest and SNL veterans, Foo Fighters.Fans of the Irish actress flocked to social media to express excitement about Nicola’s upcoming SNL UK hosting gig after she made a surprise cameo in the premiere episode, along with fellow Irishman Graham Norton.
The official SNL UK Instagram announced the hosts and musical guests for episodes 5 and 6 of the inaugural season on Tuesday, which featured White Lotus star Aimee Lou Wood as host week after Nicola on May 2, with musical guest Meek.The comments were buzzing with excitement, with one fan writing, “NICOLA COUGHLAN HOSTING SNL UK IN 11 DAYS IM GOING TO BE INSUFFERABLE,” as another echoed, “NICOLA COUGHLAN HOSTING IS EXACTLY WHAT THE FANS WANNA SEE.”
Other fans weighed in, with comments like “Omg!! @nicolacoughlan is gonna be amazing! This is PERFECT!” and “Can’t wait for Nicola Coughlan hosting SNL UK on the 25th!”Another penned a heartfelt response, writing, “Ever since the 1st show, I just knew this announcement was coming. I’m so insanely excited and proud of Nic. So beautiful getting to watch in real time one of her dream board moments. IcoNIC behavior!! Congratulations babes!!”Some viewers expressed disappointment that they would have to wait a week to watch Nicola’s SNL debut, with one commenting, “This is amazing. Huge name host, huge name musical guest. And week 6, too. SNL UK is already smashing it every week but honestly these next two shows could take it up to another level. Only a shame there’s a week off now!”
Nicola will host SNL UK on April 25
The inaugural episode of Saturday Night Live UK kicked off on March 21, 2026, with former SNL writer and cast member Tina Fey as host and indie rock band Wet Leg as the musical guest.During the Mean Girls star’s opening monologue, the camera panned over to Nicola in the audience, who wondered why an American was hosting instead of a “British icon” like David Beckham, Dame Judi Dench, or Shrek.Season 5 of Bridgerton is currently in production, with Nicola set to reprise her role as Penelope Featherington. Viewers in the United States can catch new episodes of SNL UK the following day on Peacock.For all the latest news straight to your inbox, sign up for our FREE newsletters here.For the latest local news and features on Irish America, visit our homepage here.