This fictional California faculty left an indelible impression: it was the setting for early Nineties teen sitcom Saved by the Bell.

The series, which managed to tap into the hearts and minds of millions of preteens everywhere despite not actually being that funny, followed the antics of a class of 14-year-olds and their good-natured principal Mr Belding.

Such was its popularity, Jimmy Fallon, the host of The Tonight Show, has spent the past few years trying to stage a cast reunion. Last night he finally got his wish.

The nostalgic sketch saw Fallon enroll at Bayside High, where naturally his best friends are wise guy Zack Morris (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), jock AC Slater, cheerleader Kelly Kapowski (Tiffani Thiessen) and fashion-obsessed Jessie Spano (Elizabeth Berkley). Mr Belding (Dennis Haskins) also made an appearance.

The funniest line was handed out to Gosselaar's Zack. After hearing that Fallon is planning to move to New York to hopefully become a comedian and perhaps get a date with Nicole Kidman, he quipped: "Jimmy going on a date with Nicole Kidman is like Jessie becoming a stripper." (Berkley starred in the erotic 1995 film Showgirls.)

Sadly Dustin Diamond (Screech) didn't participate – unsurpising really, given that the actor, who starred in a self-directed, self-released sex tape and was recently arrested for possession of a switchblade knife, was less than complimentary about his fellow cast members in his autobiography.