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Jamie Dornan was “terrified” before hosting Saturday Night Live UK, show bosses have said.
The UK version of the long-running US sketch comedy series launched in March, with the Northern Irish actor hosting the second episode.
The show’s lead producer James Longman has now revealed Dornan, 44, was on edge ahead of his hosting debut.
Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Friday, Longman said: “The first time he was on stage for the hostage sketch and was reading the cue cards for the first time, he was like ‘I’m not sure I can do this show’.
“He was terrified by it, and then by Saturday night he absolutely nailed it and loved it and was brilliant.”
Previously speaking to Esquire, Dornan said working on SNL was both “the most stressful week of my life but also ultimately really rewarding”.
He said: “As soon as I admitted to the cast how scared I was – and they told me how scared they were – it was much easier. I was like, ‘It’s going to be okay.’
“Then the moment I really knew it was going to be okay was the dress rehearsal with the live audience.
“Because by the end of the week, you’re doing these jokes for people who work there who have heard them a million times, and they’re not laughing. You’re thinking… is this funny? Is any of this good?
“Then you get an audience and it’s a totally different experience. They’re laughing and you feed off it; it becomes fizzy and exciting. I mean, it’s two hours before the show, but I was like, ‘Oh right, okay, it’s going to be okay. It’s funny.’”
The series debuted with SNL veteran Tina Fey hosting, followed by Dornan, Bait star Riz Ahmed, comedian Jack Whitehall, Derry Girls actress Nicola Coughlan, Sex Education’s Aimee Lou Wood, Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham, and Doctor Who’s Ncuti Gatwa.
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