Dan Aykroyd missed the Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary special because he wanted to watch the show from home

Dan - who starred on the long-running comedy show between 1975 and 1979 - told Entertainment Weekly: "I wanted to be at home and I wanted to watch the show beginning to end.

"I knew if I was there, I'd be in a dressing room, I'd be working. I wanted to see it live. I'm a fan of the show today, and I watch it all the time.

"I love these new players; I think they're just great. I just wanted to see and live nostalgically with my family in my own home, eating my own popcorn."

Meanwhile, Molly Shannon recently tipped Kenan Thompson to replace Lorne Michaels on Saturday Night Live.

The TV comedy show was created by Lorne, 80, in the mid-70s, and Molly thinks he's done a remarkable job with Saturday Night Live.

Molly, 60 - who was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1995 until 2001 - told People: "It's his show, his vision.

"There's no one who could replace him. It would not be the same show. He's just a one-of-a-kind genius. Brilliant. Smart."

Despite this, Molly believes that Kenan - who has been a cast member on Saturday Night Live since 2003 - could potentially replace Lorne as the showrunner one day.

She said: "I love this idea. He's the greatest - I adore Kenan.

"[Kenan is] so talented. That's an excellent idea."

Kenan is widely seen as a central part of the Saturday Night Live cast - but he previously played down his own importance to the show.

He told NPR: "I'm tough with self-praise, I guess, but I am definitely an ensemble-minded individual. And if that echoes across, you know, in a way that people want to consider me as a glue, great, you know?

"But I just try to go out there and do my job and, you know, give showcase to these brilliant writers and brilliant minds and all of our departments - makeup and hair and directors and this, that and the other. You know what I mean?"