Samantha Louise Baines (born 1987 in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, 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 a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

'' (Netflix), '' Lee Nelson's Well Funny People'' (BBC Three), '' Hank Zipzer'' (CBBC) and '' A Royal Night Out''.

Early life

Baines grew up in Bromley, where she attended Newstead Wood School for Girls. She was a member of the

National Youth Theatre The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and charity in London, created with the aim of developing young people's artistic skills via theatrical productions and other creative endeavours. Founded in 1956 as the world ...

. She studied drama at

Exeter University The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School o ...

and trained in acting at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school 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 ...

Personal life

Baines 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 (previously The Divorce Club). Famous podcast guests include

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

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

Karen Hauer Karen Hauer (formerly Clifton; born 20 April 1982) is a Venezuelan-American professional Latin dance specialist and World Mambo Champion, best known for her appearances on the British television series ''Strictly Come Dancing''. She is currently ...

Helen Lederer Helen Margaret Lederer (born 24 September 1954) is a British comedian, writer and actress who emerged as part of the alternative comedy boom at the beginning of the 1980s. Among her television credits are the BBC2 sketch series '' Naked Video'' ...

Carl Donnelly Carl Donnelly (born 13 January 1982 in Tooting, south London) is an English stand-up, dancer, comedian, and writer. He has performed 11 solo shows at the Edinburgh Festival, being nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Awards twice - once for best n ...

Shappi Khorsandi Shaparak Khorsandi (, ; born 8 June 1973), who previously performed as Shappi Khorsandi, is an Iranian-born British comedian and author. She is the daughter of the Iranian political satirist and poet Hadi Khorsandi. Her family left Iran for ...

and

Kerry Howard Kerry Elizabeth Howard (born 24 March 1982) is an English actress. She played Laura in the BBC Three comedy series '' Him & Her'' and Leanne in '' Witless''. She also appears in BBC Three "Feed My Funny" comedy sketches with Lu Corfield and act ...

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 ...

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 1961, Norwich) is a BAFTA-nominated British film and television director. Early life and family A scion of the Huguenot family originally from near Lyon in France, which founded Jarrolds of Norwich in 1823, ...

for

Lionsgate Lions Gate, Lion Gate or similar terms may refer to: Gates *Lion Gate at Mycenae in Greece *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the ancient Hittite city of Hattusa, now in Turkey *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the gardens of Hampton Court Pala ...

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 Ecosse Films was founded in November 1988 by D ...

. 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 and producer. He made his film debut in the drama ''Coach Carter'' (2005), and had his Breakthrough role, breakthrough with the sports comedy film ''She's the Man'' (2006) and t ...

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

Magic Mike ''Magic Mike'' is a 2012 American independent 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 ...

film franchise and is directed by Channing Tatum, it is featured in the film

Magic Mike's Last Dance ''Magic Mike's Last Dance'' is a 2023 American comedy drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh, written by Reid Carolin, and produced by Channing Tatum. It is the third and final installment in the ''Magic Mike'' trilogy, following ''Magic Mike ...

. 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 Knights Of, also known as Knights Of Media, is a London-based independent publishing house, specialising in publishing inclusive children's books. History Knights Of was founded in 2017 by Aimée Felone and David Stevens, who previously worked ...

, 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 publis ...

: "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 Bloomsbury Publishing plc is a British worldwide publishing house of fiction and non-fiction. Bloomsbury's head office is located on Bedford Square in Bloomsbury, an area of the London Borough of Camden. It has a US publishing office located in ...

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'' was published by

Headline The headline 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 century when incre ...

in April 2023. It was an Amazon bestseller and Adam Kay called it "highly informative, told with warmth and humour".

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 The first BBC programme for women was the programme cal ...

on Radio 4,

XFM Radio X is a British national commercial radio station focused on alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global. The station launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station named Q102, before being renamed Xfm in 1992. The station b ...

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

BBC Radio Wales BBC Radio Wales is a Wales, Welsh national radio station owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It began broadcasting on 13 November 1978, replacing the Welsh opt-out service of BBC Radio 4. As of August 2022, the stat ...

BBC Radio Ulster BBC Radio Ulster is a Northern Ireland, Northern Irish national 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. Acc ...

Absolute Radio Absolute Radio is a British digital radio station owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Absolute Radio Network. It broadcasts nationally across the UK via digital audio broadcasting. The station focuses on alternative ...

and

BBC London 94.9 BBC Radio London is the BBC's local radio station serving Greater London. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at Broadcasting House in Langham Place, London. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly au ...

. Baines hosted her own show ''Baines Plus One'' on Hoxton Radio which was also available as a podcast on iTunes. Baines' started a new podcast in 2018 called ''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

Jacqui Smith Jacqueline Jill Smith, Baroness Smith of Malvern (born 3 November 1962), is a British politician, broadcaster and life peer who has been serving as Minister of State for Skills since 2024. A member of the Labour Party, she was Member of Pa ...

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 businesse ...

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 the 24 Hour Film Race for the short film ''New Model''.

Filmography/TV appearances

References

External links

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