Saturday Live (British TV programme)
Saturday Live is a British comedy and music TV show. It began on Channel 4 in 1985, was produced by London Weekend Television (LWT), and ran until 1988. It later returned for a brief revival on ITV in 1996.
The show was based on the American Saturday Night Live but was a distinct, UK version. It helped launch the careers of Ben Elton and Harry Enfield and featured early television appearances by stars such as Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Tracey Ullman, Craig Ferguson, and others. All episodes were broadcast live, with some material recorded beforehand; these live shows were later edited into compilation repeats called Saturday Almost Live.
In 1988 the series was renamed Friday Night Live when it moved to Fridays. The programme also appeared as a one-off segment for Red Nose Day in 1993. The 1996 ITV revival lasted eight episodes and was hosted by Lee Hurst, with performers like Harry Hill; it was canceled after that run.
A one-off revival, Saturday Live Again!, aired on 1 December 2007 on ITV, hosted by Marcus Brigstocke. Guests included Jimmy Carr, Lee Mack, Mitchell and Webb, and Jocelyn Jee Esien; Ben Elton also performed, and Bon Jovi and Hard-Fi sang.
In October 2022, Channel 4 revived Friday Night Live for its 40th anniversary, again fronted by Ben Elton. This special drew significant attention for transgender comedian Jordan Gray performing nude on stage.
Home releases followed, including Saturday Live: The Best of Series 1 (2007), Saturday Live: The Best of Series 2 (2008), The Very Best of Friday Night Live (2008), and Fry and Laurie, Harry Enfield and Ben Elton (2009).
This page was last edited on 29 January 2026, at 05:02 (CET).