Louise Samantha Sanders (born 24 November 1978) is an English stand-up comedian, writer and actress. Since beginning her career in comedy, she has appeared regularly on panel shows, performed on '' Live at the Apollo'' and won the eighth series of '' Taskmaster'' in 2019. Since 2021, she has appeared as

Mel Giedroyc Melanie Clare Sophie Giedroyc ( , ; born 5 June 1968) is an English actress, comedian and television presenter. With Sue Perkins, she has co-hosted series including ''Light Lunch'' for Channel 4, '' The Great British Bake Off'' for the BBC an ...

's sidekick on the

Dave Dave may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the 1993 film * ''Dave'' (TV series), a 2020 American comedy series * ...

comedy series ''Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable'' and was a contestant on the sixteenth series of ''

Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series broadcast from 2006 to 2014 and then from 2018 to 2025. It was presented by Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern. Other previous hosts include Phillip Schofield and Christine Lampard. The series ...

'' in 2024.

Early life

Louise Samantha Sanders was born on 24 November 1978 in

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

to Margaret (''née'' Lang) and David Sanders. Her parents divorced when Sanders was two, and she and her older brother were raised in

Broadstairs Broadstairs () is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent, England, about east of London. It is part of the civil parish of Broadstairs and St Peter's, which includes St Peter's, and had a population in 2011 ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

by her mother and her stepfather, who was a history teacher. Her father was periodically present. Sanders moved out at the age of 15, and she later earned a degree in Communication and Cultural Studies from

London Metropolitan University London Metropolitan University, commonly known as London Met, is a public university, public research university in London, England. The University of North London and London Guildhall University merged in 2002 to create the university. The Un ...

Career

Before beginning her career in comedy, Sanders worked in administrative roles, including as an executive PA and complaints handler at

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-rang ...

. She took comedy classes from Logan Murray, and she was paid to write a comedic blog about '' The Apprentice''. As a live performer, Sanders performs regularly both in the UK and around the world. In 2018, her show ''Shame Pig'' was the joint winner of the Comedians' Choice Award for Best Show at the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

and she returned to the Festival in 2019 with her show ''Say Hello to Your New Step Mummy''. Sanders was declared the winner of the eighth series of '' Taskmaster'' in 2019; she has also appeared on television shows including '' QI'', '' Would I Lie to You?'', '' Travel Man'', ''

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown ''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown'' is a British comedy panel show on Channel 4. The show follows the game of '' Countdown'', but presented in a comedy panel show format seen on ''8 Out of 10 Cats'', with the show being a crossover of the two. ...

'', ''

Hypothetical A hypothesis (: hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. A scientific hypothesis must be based on observations and make a testable and reproducible prediction about reality, in a process beginning with an educated guess or tho ...

'', ''

The Russell Howard Hour ''The Russell Howard Hour'' is a British topical comedy news television series that premiered on Sky One on 21 September 2017. The series is hosted by Russell Howard where he gives his thoughts and opinions on current topics as well as featuring ...

'', '' Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier'', '' Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled'', ''

8 Out of 10 Cats ''8 Out of 10 Cats'' (stylised as ''8 out of 10 CATS'') is a British comedy panel show that aired from 3 June 2005 to 17 January 2021. It was first broadcast on Channel 4 from 2005 to 2015, then More4 from 2016 to 2017, and finally E4 from ...

'', '' Red Nose Day for Comic Relief'', ''

Russell Howard's Good News ''Russell Howard's Good News'' is a British comedy and topical news television show which was broadcast on BBC Three between 2009 and 2014, and on BBC Two between 2014 and 2015. Hosted by comedian Russell Howard, it offered his commentary on th ...

'', ''

Live at the Electric ''Live at the Electric'' is a British comedy series that aired on BBC Three between 31 May 2012 and 28 February 2014 and was hosted by Russell Kane who performed stand-up in between comedy sketches from a variety of performers such as Joe Wilk ...

'' and ''

Question Team ''Question Team'' is a British television comedy panel show presented by Richard Ayoade. The show features three different comedian guests each episode, who each present a round of their own questions. ''Question Team'' was first broadcast on Da ...

''. She has also acted in sitcoms including

Aisling Bea Aisling Clíodhnadh O'Sullivan (born 16 March 1984), known professionally as Aisling Bea ( ), is an Irish comedian, actress and screenwriter. She created, wrote and starred in the comedy series '' This Way Up'' on Channel 4. As a stand-up comedi ...

's '' This Way Up'' and

Karl Pilkington Karl Pilkington (born 23 September 1972) is an English presenter, actor, voice-artist, producer and author. After working with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as producer on their Xfm radio show, Pilkington became a co-host of '' The Ricky ...

's ''

Sick of It "Sick of It" is the first single from the 2013 album '' Rise'' from the Christian rock band Skillet. The single was released on SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. K ...

''. She is also a regular guest on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

's '' The Unbelievable Truth''. In 2019, Sanders appeared on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

's '' Live at the Apollo'' (series 15, episode 2). As a writer, Sanders wrote and starred in the short film ''Elderflower'' which co-starred

Sheila Reid Sheila Reid (born 21 December 1937) is a Scottish actress. An original member of the Royal National Theatre in 1963, she played Bianca in the National's 1965 film version of ''Othello'', with Laurence Olivier in the title role. Her other film a ...

, Tom Rosenthal and

Mike Wozniak Michael James Wozniak (born 8 November 1979) is a British comedian, writer, actor and former medical doctor. He portrays Brian in the Channel 4 sitcom '' Man Down'' and is a member of the team that makes ''Small Scenes'' for BBC Radio 4. Early l ...

. She has also written for ''8 Out of 10 Cats'', ''

Mock the Week ''Mock the Week'' is a topical satirical celebrity panel show, created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson. It was produced by Angst Productions for BBC Two, and was broadcast from 5 June 2005 to 4 November 2022. Presenter Dara Ó Briain and pan ...

'', '' Stand Up for the Week'' and

Miranda Hart Miranda Katherine Hart Dyke (born 14 December 1972) is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won three Royal Television Society awards, four British Comedy Awards, and four BAFTA nominations for her self-driven semi-autobiographical ...

. Sanders has been an occasional guest host on ''

Elis James and John Robins Elis James and John Robins is a weekly radio show and bi-weekly podcast presented by British comedians Elis James and John Robins. Formerly broadcast on commercial radio station Radio X, the show aired on BBC Radio 5 Live on Friday afternoons ...

'' on

BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts mainly news, sport, Talk show, discussion, interviews and phone-ins, and is on air 24 hours a day. It is the principal BBC radio station Broadca ...

. In February 2020, Sanders started hosting a podcast called ''Cuddle Club''. From February 2021, she has appeared in the

comedy panel show '' Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable''. From April 2022 until September 2023, Sanders hosted ''Taskmaster: The People's Podcast''. In August 2023, Sanders released her autobiography ''What's That Lady Doing?''. In 2024, Sanders appeared as a contestant on the sixteenth series of ''

''. She was paired with Brendyn Hatfield and they were the fifth couple to be eliminated. In March 2025, she starred in the first series of LOL: Last One Laughing UK, hosted by

Jimmy Carr James Anthony Patrick Carr (born 15 September 1972) is an Irish-British comedian, presenter, writer and actor. He is known for his rapid-fire deadpan delivery of One-line joke, one-liners. He began his comedy career in 1997, and he has regula ...

& Roisin Conaty, alongside

Richard Ayoade Richard Ayoade ( ; born 23 May 1977) is a British comedian, actor, writer, director and presenter. He played the role of socially awkward IT technician Maurice Moss in Channel 4 sitcom ''The IT Crowd'' (2006–2013), for which he won the 2014 Br ...

Sara Pascoe Sara Patricia Pascoe (born 22 May 1981) is an English comedian, actress, presenter and writer. She has appeared on television programmes including ''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown'' and ''Taskmaster (TV series), Taskmaster'' for Channel 4 and ...

Bob Mortimer Robert Renwick Mortimer (born 23 May 1959) is an English comedian, author, television presenter, writer and actor. He is one half of the comedy double act Reeves and Mortimer with Jim Moir, Vic Reeves, and appears in the ''Mortimer & Whitehouse ...

Rob Beckett Robert Anthony Beckett (born 2 January 1986) is an English comedian, actor, and presenter. He was a co-host on the ITV2 spin-off show '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW!'' from 2012 to 2014. Since 2016, Beckett has been a team captain ...

Judi Love Judi Love (born Judy Veronica Thomas; 4 June 1980) is an English stand-up comedian and presenter. She is a regular panellist on the ITV talk show ''Loose Women''. In 2020, Love appeared on the first all-black panel in the show's 25-year history, ...

Joe Wilkinson Joseph Roland Wilkinson (born 11 February 1975) is an English comedian, actor, and screenwriter. He began his comedy career in 2004 and has supported Alan Carr and Russell Howard on tour. In 2006, Wilkinson won the Hackney Empire New Act of ...

Joe Lycett Joe Harry Lycett (born 1988), also known by the self-given moniker "Mummy", and officially self-renamed briefly as Hugo Boss in 2020, is a British comedian, television presenter, and painter. He has appeared on many TV shows, including '' Live ...

Daisy May Cooper Daisy May Cooper (born 1 August 1986) is an English actress and writer. She won the 2018 BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance for playing Kerry Mucklowe in the BBC Three series '' This Country'', which she co-created and co-wrote w ...

& Harriet Kemsley.

Personal life

Sanders is a

teetotaler Teetotalism is the practice of voluntarily abstaining from the consumption of alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler (US) or teetotaller (UK), or said to be ...

and

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

Television

References

External links

* *
CV at agents' page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, Lou 1978 births Actors from Broadstairs English women writers English stand-up comedians Living people English women comedians Actresses from Kent Comedians from Kent Comedians from Devon Alumni of London Metropolitan University People from Barnstaple Actresses from Devon