NEW YORK, Nov 5 — South African comedian Trevor Noah, who hit the American big time when he replaced Jon Stewart as host of “The Daily Show”, has undergone an emergency appendectomy — but only gets one day off work.

Comedy Central, which broadcasts the late-night satirical take on the news, announced that Noah went under the knife early yesterday.

“We’re happy to report the procedure went well and he is currently recuperating from the surgery,” it said.

“’The Daily Show’ will air an encore tonight. We expect he and the show will be back with an original episode tomorrow,” it added.

The 31-year-old Noah replaced Stewart in September, winning largely positive reviews as he worked to fill the veteran satirist’s huge shoes.

During the first four weeks of Noah’s stewardship, audience figures rose 20 per cent among young adults aged 18-24. — AFP