SNL UK turns Princess Diana into AI and Ed Sheeran into the Punchline

Saturday Night Live UK turned several major British headlines into comedy during its September 19 episode, opening the show with a sketch that combined King Charles, Princess Diana and Ed Sheeran in an unlikely story involving artificial intelligence.

Titled “Charles and D.I.A.N.A.”, the sketch begins with King Charles, played by Larry Dean, meeting two technology executives following his recent discussions with technology leaders about artificial intelligence. The executives introduce him to a new AI assistant named D.I.A.N.A., short for “Deeply Intelligent Autonomous Neurokinetic Android.”

Played by Jack Shep and styled to resemble the late Princess Diana, the android immediately unsettles Charles. After initially failing to recognise her, he realises the resemblance and responds with a joke about Diana being “that woman from the ’90s.”

The comedy escalates when D.I.A.N.A. refuses to return to her charging station. She announces that she will no longer take orders, leading the technology executives and Charles to realise that they have lost control of the machine.

As the fictional AI uprising begins, Charles calls for humanity to unite against the robots. That is when Ed Sheeran unexpectedly enters the sketch, played by Annabel Marlow.

Marlow’s Sheeran appears with a guitar and a loop pedal, telling Charles that she has been outside “sitting on the fence.” The joke references the controversy surrounding Sheeran’s ongoing Loop Tour and the removal of Macklemore from its remaining U.S. dates.

Within the sketch, Sheeran’s character says he does not want to take sides because he does not want to alienate his fans, joking that some of his tickets are purchased by “scalping bots.” The character then argues that, in conflicts, “the bravest thing you can do is to say nothing at all.”

The sketch culminates in a parody song presenting Sheeran as deliberately avoiding choosing between opposing sides. The lyrics repeatedly frame the situation in terms of seeing “grey” rather than choosing between black and white.

The real-life controversy began after Macklemore publicly discussed his removal from the tour following his pro-Palestinian comments. Sheeran subsequently said that the decision was made by the tour’s promoter rather than himself, while also saying he did not want his concerts to become a political forum.

By bringing Sheeran into a fictional battle between humans and machines, SNL UK used the absurd AI storyline to satirise the singer’s public position on the controversy. The episode also continued the programme’s broader approach of turning current British political, royal and entertainment headlines into topical comedy.