Trump posts Saturday Night Live UK sketch that shows Starmer terrified of him

Donald Trump has posted on social media a sketch from Saturday Night Live UK poking fun at himself and Sir Keir Starmer.

The US president shared the video on his Truth Social platform and did not include any comment alongside the post. The skit opened the new UK version of the hit American comedy show, and started with the prime minister, played by George Fouracres, in Downing Street with his deputy David Lammy (Hammed Animashaun).

The fake Sir Keir panicked as he tried to dodge a phone call from Mr Trump and said: "Oh golly - what if Donald shouts at me?" The prime minister later hung up on the US leader and said: "Oh sod that scary, scary, wonderful president. Why is he so bloody difficult to talk to?" Sir Keir added: "I just want to keep him happy, Lammy.

You don't understand him like I do - I can change him." The sketch on Sky One also referenced Mr Trump calling Sir Keir a "coward" before introducing his new "Gen Z" adviser played by Jack Shep, who was called Starmzy as a play on the name of hit rapper Stormzy. Saturday Night Live UK's opening show has been greeted with cautious but generally positive reviews.

The US version of SNL, broadcast in America on NBC, is a pop culture institution which has been running for 50 years, and launched the careers of stars including Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Eddie Murphy, Pete Davidson, Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell. While expectations have been high at Sky HQ that a UK version of the format will be successful, others have pointed out the challenges of creating new event TV in such a fragmented media world.

But according to Steve Bennett, writing for the British comedy website Chortle, the SNL UK debut has delivered. "Whisper it, but I think they might just have nailed it," he writes.

"[The show has] been greeted with either feverish excitement that it could instantly become as successful as its parent, reviving British sketch comedy at a stroke, or aggressive pessimism that it'll be shit - an unwelcome transatlantic invasion that couldn't possibly work with our more cynical sense of humour. "Neither is absolutely true but tonight's episode, a very strong opener, offers great hope it's the former." The show was seen by 226,000 viewers in its 10pm slot on Sky One and won a 3.2% share of the available TV audience at the time, according to official BARB figures reported on the Deadline website.

Read more: 'The idea that it's going to be a bit naff, it's just insane to me' Elsewhere, the Independent's Nick Hilton gave the debut three stars out of five, for "some hits, some misses, and a bang-on Princess Di impression". "Judging a show like SNL off its opening episode is foolish.