Jim Carrey is to join the cast of Saturday Night Live for its upcoming 46th season, it has been announced.

The sketch series is known for its caricatures of politicians, with Alec Baldwin memorably playing Donald Trump and Larry David impersonating Bernie Sanders in recent years.

The show is planning to air on five consecutive Saturday nights in October ahead of the election on Tuesday, November 3, and has enlisted comedy legend Carrey to portray Joe Biden.

The Democratic nominee is the bookies' favourite to win the election and will go up against Trump in a series of debates ahead of the poll, each of which is likely to be spoofed by Baldwin and Carrey.

SNL airs on Sunday nights in the UK on Sky Comedy.