Aimee Lou Wood Bites Back

Aimee Lou Wood is turning an awkward Saturday Night Live controversy into promotional material as she prepares to host Saturday Night Live UK this weekend.

The Sex Education and The White Lotus star, 32, appears in a new teaser for the UK version of the sketch institution, arriving one year after the American series drew criticism for a parody that targeted her appearance. The episode will air on 2 May, with British singer Meek serving as musical guest.

The controversy began last year when SNL cast member Sarah Sherman portrayed Wood’s White Lotus character Chelsea while wearing exaggerated prosthetic teeth. Wood later criticised the sketch on social media, calling it “unfunny and mean,” while making clear that her issue was with the concept rather than Sherman personally. SNL subsequently apologised, and Sherman sent Wood flowers.

The new SNL UK promo leans directly into that history. In the clip, Wood greets cast members Ayoade Bamgboye, Al Nash, Celeste Dring and Paddy Young, only to notice that most of them are covering their mouths. The setup appears to be heading toward another teeth gag before the group reveals the real punchline: they have grown, or attached, large moustaches in tribute to the online attention Young has received for his own facial hair.

Rather than ignoring the earlier backlash, the teaser reframes it as a piece of self-aware comedy. It is a sharp move for Wood, whose screen persona has often balanced openness with comic timing, from Laurie Nunn’s Netflix hit Sex Education to Mike White’s HBO ensemble drama The White Lotus, where she starred opposite Walton Goggins.

The moment also gives SNL UK a chance to define itself against its American predecessor. The British adaptation carries the weight of Lorne Michaels’s long-running format, but its success depends on whether it can translate the pace and topicality of SNL into a UK comedy environment without simply replicating the US version.

Wood will host the sixth episode of the first SNL UK series, following Nicola Coughlan, Jack Whitehall, Riz Ahmed, Jamie Dornan and Tina Fey. Her episode arrives with an unusually meta hook: a performer returning to the SNL brand not as the butt of the joke, but as the person controlling it.