Samantha Louise Baines (born 1987 in Southwark, London) is an English actress, author and comedian. She is best known for her appearances in ''Magic Mike Live London'', ''

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

'' (Netflix), '' Lee Nelson's Well Funny People'' (BBC Three), '' Hank Zipzer'' (CBBC) and ''

A Royal Night Out ''A Royal Night Out'' is a 2015 British romantic comedy-drama film directed by Julian Jarrold and written by Trevor de Silva and Kevin Hood. The film stars Sarah Gadon as the teenaged Princess Elizabeth, who, with younger sister Princess Marga ...

''.

Early life

Baines grew up in Bromley, where she attended Newstead Wood School for Girls. She was a member of the National Youth Theatre. She studied drama at

Exeter University , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

and trained in acting at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

. She was briefly married and divorced in 2020. She set up her own podcast about divorce to help others going through it called The Divorce Social.

Comedy career

From 2010 to 2014, Baines has been a member of all female sketch group Vinegar (formerly known as Vinegar Knickers), alongside Harriet Fisher and Katie Burnetts. Vinegar were finalists in the NATYS 2014. Vinegar took two comedy sketch shows to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2011 and 2012, and received four and five star reviews. In 2011, Baines played Clarissa Ankle in the online gaming sensation ''Behind the Bytes'', a sitcom based on the world of video games. The character of Clarissa Ankle proved so popular that she had her own spin-off series, ''Bytes Breaks''. In 2013, Baines played posh chav Steph, in ''Lee Nelson's Well Funny People'' (BBC Three) (for which she also voiced Sexy Woman), and receptionist Susan in ''Hank Zipzer'' (CBBC). Baines took the lead role of Kate in the play ''Blueprint'' (by Corinne Furness) in 2013, which she reprised in 2014 at the BikeShed Theatre. The role was an emotional look at the life of a woman dying of Leukaemia, for which Baines received positive reviews. Belinda Dillon of ''Exeunt Magazine'' stated that the role was "superbly played", and the festival publication ''Wildfire'' said, "Samantha Baines takes the lead, giving a performance of amazing honesty and courage, which compels the audience to take her to their hearts". She performed her first spot at

The Comedy Store The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Comedy S ...

in London in 2015. In 2015, Baines starred as Mary in UK cinema release ''A Royal Night Out'', directed by

Julian Jarrold Julian Edward Peter Jarrold (born 15 May 1960 in Norwich, Norfolk) is a BAFTA Award-nominated English film and television director. Early life Jarrold was born into the family which founded Jarrolds of Norwich in 1823. He was educated at Gresha ...

for

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

and

Ecosse Films Ecosse Films is a British film and television production company based in London. Ecosse Films produces programs for BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Showtime, Sky Atlantic, Starz Channel and WGBH. History The first production of Ecosse Films was the 1 ...

. Baines plays Mary in ''

'' also directed by Julian Jarrold. Baines writes comedy posts for the '' Huffington Post Comedy''. and Time Out. She also creates her own comic poetry which she posts via her personal blog and which she published as a book, ''Poentry: silly po-faced entries''. Baines took the role of the Female MC in Magic Mike Live London at the Hippodrome Casino in London's West End in 2018 until 2020, originating the role for the London show and collaborating with

Channing Tatum Channing Matthew Tatum (born April 26, 1980) is an American actor. Tatum made his film debut in the drama ''Coach Carter'' (2005), and had his breakthrough role in the 2006 dance film '' Step Up''. He gained wider attention for his leading rol ...

on the script. Magic Mike Live London is a show based on the

Magic Mike ''Magic Mike'' is a 2012 American comedy-drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, and Matthew McConaughey. The plot revolves around Adam, a 19-year-old who enters the wor ...

film franchise and is directed by Channing Tatum, it is featured in the film Magic Mike's Last Dance. WhatsOnStage stated Baines was "out and out hilarious", whilst ''The Independent'' commented on her "winning stage presence" in the role.

Books

''Harriet Versus the Galaxy''

In October 2019 her debut children's novel ''Harriet Versus the Galaxy'' was published by Knights Of, a book about a girl who wears a hearing aid (as does Baines). The book was reviewed in

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

: "with a hilarious heroine, this is a rip-roaring riot" and named one of the 'Best Children's Books of the year' by the paper. It was also selected as a BookTrust 'Book of the Month' and a Teachers pick on Amazon. ''Harriet Versus the Galaxy'' is also available on Audible also voiced by Baines.

''The Night the Moon Went Out''

Her second children's book ''The Night the Moon Went Out'' was published by Bloomsbury Publishing and is a short chapter book to encourage children to read independently. It was shortlisted for The People's Book Prize and longlisted for The Adrien Prize.https://twitter.com/AdrienPrize/status/1587491241947709441

''Living with Hearing Loss and Deafness: A guide to owning it and loving it''

Her debut non-fiction title ''Living with Hearing Loss and Deafness: a guide to owning it and loving it'' will be published by

Headline The headline or heading is the text indicating the content or nature of the article below it, typically by providing a form of brief summary of its contents. The large type ''front page headline'' did not come into use until the late 19th centur ...

in April 2023.

Radio/podcasts

In 2014, Baines co-hosted the show ''Ladies What Brunch'' on Hoxton Radio, with comedian Helen Sorren. Baines and Sorren starred in the "Busy Battle" sketch by production company Rubber Public, which went viral. From 2014 to 2015 Baines also hosted her own solo show on Wandsworth Radio as well as the popular Week on the Web segment for Soho Radio. From 2015 onwards she appeared on various radio shows reporting the alternative news, doing the paper review and offering her opinions – shows include

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by ...

on Radio 4, XFM ,

BBC 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station Broadcasting of sports events, covering sport in ...

BBC Radio Wales BBC Radio Wales is a Welsh radio station owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It began broadcasting on 13 November 1978, replacing the 'Radio 4 Wales' opt-out service (previously the Welsh Home Service). Radio Wales b ...

BBC Radio Ulster BBC Radio Ulster ( ga, BBC Raidió Uladh) is a Northern Irish radio station owned and operated by BBC Northern Ireland, a division of the BBC. It was established on New Year's Day 1975, replacing what had been an opt-out of BBC Radio 4. It is ...

, Absolute Radio and

BBC London 94.9 BBC Radio London is the BBC's local radio station serving Greater London and its surrounding areas. The station broadcasts across the area and beyond, on the 94.9 FM frequency, DAB, Virgin Media channel 937, Sky channel 0152 (in the Lond ...

. Baines hosted her own sho
Baines Plus One
on Hoxton Radio which was also available as a podcast on iTunes. Baines' started a new podcast in 2018 calle
Periods: Amazing Women in History
. Baines began presenting on BBC Radio London in 2017 and BBC Radio Kent in 2018. After her own divorce, Baines created and began hosting a new podcast: The Divorce Social (previously The Divorce Club). Guests include

Sarah Millican Sarah Jane Millican ( King; born 29 May 1975) is an English comedian, writer and presenter. Millican won the comedy award for Best Newcomer at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In February 2013 she was listed as one of the 100 most powerful ...

Rose McGowan Rósa Arianna "Rose" McGowan (born September 5, 1973) is an American actress. After her film debut in a brief role in the comedy '' Encino Man'' (1992), McGowan achieved wider recognition for her performance in the dark comedy ''The Doom Generat ...

, Karen Hauer,

Jacqui Smith Jacqueline Jill Smith (born 3 November 1962) is a British broadcaster, political commentator and former Labour Party politician. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Redditch from 1997 to 2010. She served as Home Secretary from 2007 to 2009 ...

and the podcast has been featured on Loose Women and chosen as The Times' Podcast of the Week. The podcast has also won two awards.

Recognitions

As host and creator of The Divorce Social podcast (previously The Divorce Club) Samantha won the 'Moment of Touching Honesty' Award at the International Women's Podcast Awards 2022 and the bronze award for 'Best Relationships Podcast' at the

British Podcast Awards The British Podcast Awards is an annual awards ceremony intended to celebrate outstanding content within the British podcast scene. The British Podcast Awards is owned and operated by Haymarket Media Group, which also owns several media businesses ...

2022. The podcast was also shortlisted for both awards in 2021. Samantha's debut children's novel Harriet Versus the Galaxy won the Coventry Inspiration Award 2021 and her second book The Night the Moon Went Out was longlisted for The Adrien Prize 2022. Samantha won the What the Frock! Best Newcomer Award in 2015. One year into her stand-up comedy career, Baines was a finalist in the Funny Women Awards 2014, as well as a semi-finalist in the Laughing Horse New Act Competition 2014. Baines was the first woman to appear in the UK Pun Championship Final 2017 and also appeared in the final in 2018. She also won a Best Actress Award in 24 Hour Film Race for the short film ''New Model''.

Filmography/TV appearances

References

External links

Samantha Baines Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baines, Samantha 1987 births Living people English women comedians Deaf writers British women children's writers English women non-fiction writers British women podcasters British podcasters English television actresses English film actresses HuffPost writers and columnists Alumni of the University of Exeter National Youth Theatre members People educated at Newstead Wood School American women columnists 21st-century American women Bisexual actresses People from Bromley