Hugh, along with Stephen Fry and Ben Elton, was one of the regular featured performers in this live-broadcast comedy and music show inspired by the US hit, Saturday Night Live. There were two series of 10 episodes, broadcast in 1986 and 1987.  The BBC Comedy Guide has a full history of the program.

Although not a regular, Hugh was a guest performer on the followup series, Friday Night Live.

Fry and Laurie were among those featured when Channel Four's series First on Four aired a retrospective on the Saturday Live/Friday Night Live comedy showcases. Ben Elton said on the program: "I knew, always knew, that Hugh hated it and was always very nervous, but you would never know on stage, you couldn't believe it."