SNL UK closed out spooky season with a pre-taped trailer sketch called The Cher Witch Project, a parody of the 1999 found-footage horror film The Blair Witch Project. The sketch aired during Season 2, Episode 6, which broadcast on Saturday 24 October 2026 on Sky One in the UK. Cynthia Erivo hosted the episode, with Blossoms as the musical guest. The parody replaces the Blair Witch with multiple versions of Cher, and by the end, the pop legend is the only one left standing.
The sketch plays on a long-running pop culture joke that only Cher and cockroaches will survive the end of the world. That idea has circulated for decades, appearing in a New York Times piece from March 1999 and in countless fan conversations since. SNL UK turned that joke into a five-minute horror-comedy trailer, and the result has become one of the most talked-about sketches of the season.
What Happens in The Cher Witch Project Sketch
The sketch follows the basic setup of The Blair Witch Project. A title card explains that in 1994, three filmmakers went into the woods and disappeared. Three days later, their footage was found. The three students walk through the forest with a camera, looking increasingly frightened as strange things appear around them.
The first unsettling discovery is a set of CDs hanging from trees, each labelled with the name of a Cher song. This mirrors the stick figures that hang from trees in the original film. The students then find Grammys scattered across the forest floor, a reference to Cher’s long music career.
The scares come from Cher impersonators rather than a supernatural force. Different cast members appear in glamorous Cher costumes, popping out from behind trees and singing her songs at random moments. One student shouts about “the eight key range” while another notes that “she’s had hits in every decade”. The students are both terrified and impressed, which is where much of the sketch’s humour comes from.
The parody version of Heather Donahue delivers the key line: “Scared of Cher in the woods. She’s a triple threat”. The sketch treats Cher’s talent as something close to a supernatural force, which fits the exaggerated tone of a horror trailer.
Cynthia Erivo Plays the Final Cher in the Back Seat
The sketch builds to a classic horror ending. The students believe they have understood what Cher wants and join her in singing. One of them is then killed by a Cher impersonator, and the remaining two try to escape in their car. Their attempt fails when another version of Cher, played by host Cynthia Erivo, appears in the back seat. The students scream, the screen goes black, and the trailer ends with Cher as the sole survivor.
Cynthia Erivo is an Emmy, Grammy and Tony award winner and a three-time Oscar nominee. Her appearance as the final Cher is a brief but memorable moment in the sketch. The episode also featured her in a separate Nigerian Wicked parody, which reimagined her Wicked character Glinda in a low-budget Nollywood style.
A Grammy Timeline Error That Sharp-Eyed Viewers Spotted
The sketch is set in 1994, and the students find Grammys in the woods as a sign that they are nearing the Cher Witch’s territory. Daniel Fienberg, a television critic, pointed out on social media that Cher did not win her first Grammy until 2000, when “Believe” won Best Dance Recording. That makes the Grammys in a 1994 setting historically inaccurate.
“Last night, ‘SNL UK’ did a (not hugely fresh) ‘Cher Witch Project’ sketch set in 1994, in which the filmmakers know they’re nearing The Cher Witch’s lair cuz they find Grammys scattered in the forest. Cher didn’t win her first Grammy until 2000. And that’s why I’m never watching ‘SNL UK’ again.”
The error did not stop the sketch from landing with most viewers. The Grammys serve as a visual gag about Cher’s stature in the music industry, even if the timeline does not line up with her actual award history. Cher received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2026, which adds another layer to the sketch’s use of Grammy imagery.
The Cher and Cockroaches Joke Behind the Sketch
The sketch’s ending is a direct nod to a saying that has followed Cher for years: after a nuclear apocalypse, only cockroaches and Cher will remain. The line has been attributed to people who work around Cher and has appeared in interviews and profiles of the singer. Cher herself has acknowledged the joke. In a 2018 interview, she repeated the line and said, “I don’t know who said it, but I find it amusing”.
The joke works because Cher’s career has lasted across decades, with hits in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. The sketch turns that durability into a horror-movie monster trait. Cher is not just a survivor in the parody; she is the reason everyone else does not survive.
“Happy Halloween! ‘SNL U.K.’ delivers again, though real Cher is probably scariest of all (complimentary).” — Pete Glow, social media user
The Cast Behind the Cher Impersonators
SNL UK did not feature the real Cher in the sketch. The Cher figures who appear in the woods are played by members of the show’s cast, each styled in a different glamorous look associated with the singer. The sketch’s comedy depends on the contrast between the low-fi, shaky-camera style of The Blair Witch Project and the high-glamour presence of the Cher impersonators.
The SNL UK cast includes Hammed Animashaun, Ayoade Bamgboye, Larry Dean, Celeste Dring, George Fouracres, Annabel Marlow, Al Nash, Jack Shep, Emma Sidi, Freddie Meredith, Ania Magliano and Paddy Young. The episode’s running order placed The Cher Witch Project second, after Cynthia Erivo’s monologue and before the Nigerian Wicked sketch.
How to Watch the Cher Witch Project Sketch
SNL UK airs on Sky One in the UK on Saturday nights at 10pm, with episodes running around 75 minutes. For viewers in the United States, episodes are available on Peacock the day after they air in the UK. The Cher Witch Project sketch comes from Season 2, Episode 6, which first broadcast on 24 October 2026.
Audiences in Canada, Australia and India can check their local Sky and Peacock partner platforms, as availability varies by region. The sketch has also circulated on social media and video platforms, where clips of the “Scared of Cher in the woods” line and the back-seat ending have drawn reactions from viewers.
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What the Sketch Says About Cher’s Place in Pop Culture
The parody treats Cher as a figure who cannot be defeated by a forest, a curse or a group of student filmmakers. That idea connects to the real Cher’s long career, which has moved through music, film, television and Las Vegas residencies. The sketch does not need the real singer to make its point. The impersonators carry the joke because Cher’s image is already larger than any single performance.
SNL UK has built a reputation for sharper, more topical comedy than some viewers expected from a British version of the American show. The Cher Witch Project sketch fits that pattern. It takes a familiar film format, fills it with a pop culture obsession and lets the absurdity carry the humour. The Grammys in the woods may not match Cher’s real awards timeline, but the sketch’s central idea, that Cher outlasts everyone, lands clearly.
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