Andrew asked to befriend paedophile to make brother look good in SNL sketch

By Lauren Del Fabbro, Press Association Entertainment Reporter

Saturday Night Live UK has opened its second episode with a sketch of an MI5 plan that asked Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to befriend a “notorious paedophile” in order to make his brother look good.

Set in 1997, the sketch saw Jack Shep portray the disgraced royal during a meeting with MI5 officers – played by Celeste Dring, Ayoade Bamgboye and Hammed Animashaun – who devised a plan to increase support for King Charles by making everyone around him more unlikable.

The sketch began with one of the MI5 officers telling Andrew: “No-one knows better than us how charming, capable, fiercely intelligent and morally upstanding you are.”

“You are a credit to princes everywhere.”

The officers explained that in order to increase the likeability of the future king, they have to decrease the likeability of everyone around him.

Andrew replied: “I see, well, I love my brother, I love my country, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes.”

He was then handed a 29-year plan to which he asked if he had to do everything in it, including “the part about befriending a notorious paedophile”.

He added: “Before and after he’s convicted?”

The sketch went on to joke about the Prince of Wales and Duke of Sussex, adding that Harry will marry a woman “98% of the UK public will find impossible to have a normal conversation about”.

Andrew continued: “This all seems very high risk. God I’m sweating.”

To help him with the plan, they sent in Peter Mandelson, played by Larry Dean, who was described as “the most ethical politician we have”.

It comes after Mandelson, a political appointment rather than a career diplomat, was sacked from his Washington ambassador role in September last year over his links with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein – who died in 2019.

The sketch ended with Sarah Ferguson, portrayed by Emma Sidi, running into the meeting late, and promising to stay by Andrew’s side and “live with him without explanation” for the next 29 years.

The officers then offered Andrew a code word to help him out if he was ever in too deep, and said: “Pizza Express, Woking.”

Northern Irish actor Jamie Dornan, known for the Fifty Shades trilogy film adaptations, took on the hosting role for the second episode of the UK version of the US sketch comedy show, with Wolf Alice as its musical guest.

His opening monologue included a surprise appearance by comedian Chris O’Dowd.

The 75-minute long episode also included a sketch about The Fall, the hit series where Dornan played a serial killer, as well as a digital short making fun of British tourists who go on holiday abroad only to visit a British themed or Irish-themed pub.

The show follows on from its highly anticipated premiere last week which was hosted by comedian and US actress Tina Fey.

SNL UK returns on Sky and Now TV on April 4th with actor Riz Ahmed as the host and Kasabian as the musical guest.