SNL UK has a new leader, and it decided to treat him like a rock star who walks into a room full of strangers. The show’s latest cold open sends Prime Minister Andy Burnham into a decked-out Manchester satellite office, where he meets Liam and Noel — played by Jack Shep and Freddie Meredith — and hands over his personal information without a second thought. Then the joke lands: the pair are actually Russian spies.
Burnham, played by George Fouracres, is excited to help the lads, who arrive with a tablet in hand and a request for an “emergency axe-man.” He obliges, giving up his address, phone number and more. Only after he has signed everything do they reveal their true identities.
Even their biggest hit gets a twist. The pair explain that “Wonderwall” was originally a tribute to the Berlin Wall, called “Wonderful Wall.”
Burnham’s Decked-Out Office
The setup is classic SNL UK. Burnham enters a lavish, clearly Northern office in Manchester. He is proud and boisterous, exactly the kind of character the sketch leans into. Liam and Noel arrive unannounced.
Burnham, meanwhile, is oblivious. He thinks he is helping a pair of local heroes.
The Spy Reveal
The reveal is the point. Liam and Noel are not there to talk about their career. They are there to steal information. The sketch suggests that being forced to playact as the pair would explain their legendary irritability with each other. That is a clever meta touch — the show is making fun of itself while making fun of the government.
The sketch also plays with the idea of British identity. Liam and Noel are Mancunians, but they are also spies for a foreign power. The joke is that the Northern pride Burnham displays is meaningless next to a simple tablet asking for his details.
What This Sketch Says About SNL UK
The comparison to SNL’s season premiere, which mocked Donald Trump, is telling. Both shows are doing the same job — mocking their leaders — but the execution is very different. SNL uses a big name. SNL UK uses a YouTube host and two actors pretending to be the pair.
The joke is that Liam and Noel are the ones who are terrible. Burnham is the straight man, and he is the one who gets played. That is the point. The sketch is about how easily people in power can be fooled.
The Numbers
- Episode: SNL UK, third episode
- Sketch title: Unnamed
- PM: Andy Burnham, played by George Fouracres
- Pair: Jack Shep as Liam, Freddie Meredith as Noel
- Reveal: Russian spies
- Song origin: “Wonderwall” was originally “Wonderful Wall,” a tribute to the Berlin Wall
This is a good sketch. It is funny, pointed and culturally specific. It is the kind of thing that only SNL UK could produce.
It is also a warning. Trust no one, especially not men who walk into your office claiming to be from a famous band.
See the video the story is built around at The A.V. Club.
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