Melissa McCarthy will host Saturday Night Live for the second time on April 6.

The Identity Thief star - whose weight recently came under fire by a US movie critic - will return to present the NBC comedy sketch show for the second time in two years after winning rave reviews for her series debut in October 2011.

The 42-year-old Emmy-winning actress - who began her career doing sketch comedy with the Los Angeles improv troupe Groundlings - previously reunited with her Bridesmaids co-star Kristen Wiig on the show for a hilarious skit about an inappropriate office worker who sexually harasses a co-worker played by Jason Sudeikis.

Melissa has kept a relatively low profile since veteran film critic Rex Reed trashed her role in Identity Thief last month calling her "cacophonous" and "tractor-sized" and blasting her as "a gimmick comedian who has devoted her short career to being obese and obnoxious with equal success."