# Lou Sanders

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's sidekick on the Dave comedy series Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable and was a contestant on the sixteenth series of Dancing on Ice in 2024.

## Early life

Louise Samantha Sanders was born on 24 November 1978 in Barnstaple, Devon to Margaret (née Lang) and David Sanders. Her parents divorced when Sanders was two, and she and her older brother were raised in Broadstairs, Kent 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.

## Career

Before beginning her career in comedy, Sanders worked in administrative roles, including as an executive PA and complaints handler at Ofcom. 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 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, Hypothetical, The Russell Howard Hour, Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier, Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled, 8 Out of 10 Cats, Red Nose Day for Comic Relief, Russell Howard's Good News, Live at the Electric and Question Team. She has also acted in sitcoms including Aisling Bea's This Way Up and Karl Pilkington's Sick of It. She is also a regular guest on BBC Radio 4's The Unbelievable Truth. In 2019, Sanders appeared on BBC Two'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, Tom Rosenthal and Mike Wozniak. She has also written for 8 Out of 10 Cats, Mock the Week, Stand Up for the Week and Miranda Hart.
Sanders has been an occasional guest host on Elis James and John Robins on BBC Radio 5 Live. In February 2020, Sanders started hosting a podcast called Cuddle Club. From February 2021, she has appeared in the Dave 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 Dancing on Ice. She was paired with Brendyn Hatfield and they were the fifth couple to be eliminated.

## Personal life

Sanders is a teetotaler and vegan.

## Television

| Year | Programme | Channel | Notes |
| 2013 | Russell Howard's Good News | BBC Three | Series 8, episode 3 |
| 2016 | Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled | Dave | Series 4, episode 3: "A Penis Poking Through The Window" |
| 2017 | Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled | Dave | Series 5, episode 6: "Half of My Special Rose" |
| 2017 | Live from the BBC | BBC Three | Series 2, episode 2 |
| 2018 | Sick of It | Sky One | Series 1, episode 3: "Lonely People", as character Megan |
| 2018 | The Dog Ate My Homework | CBBC | Series 5, episode 4 |
| 2019 | Taskmaster | Dave | Winner, series 8 |
| 2019 | 8 Out of 10 Cats | Channel 4 | Series 21, episode 6 |
| 2019 | 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown | Channel 4 | Series 17, episode 1 |
| 2019 | Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier | Dave | Series 2, episode 4: "Health" |
| 2019 | The Russell Howard Hour | Sky Max | Series 2, episode 13 |
| 2019 | Hypothetical | Dave | Series 1, episode 3 |
| 2019 | Travel Man | Channel 4 | Series 9, episode 2: "Bergen" |
| 2019 | This Way Up | Channel 4, Hulu | Series 1, episode 3, as character Fran |
| 2019 | Live At the Apollo | BBC Two | Series 15, episode 2 |
| 2020 | QI | BBC Two | Series 17, episode 13: "Quills" |
| 2020 | Roast Battle | Comedy Central UK | Series 4, episode 5. With Luke McQueen |
| 2020 | Richard Osman's House of Games | BBC Two | Series 3, week 13 |
| 2020 | Hypothetical | Dave | Series 2, episode 5 |
| 2020 | Big Zuu's Big Eats | Dave | Series 1, episode 10 |
| 2020 | The Late Late Show with James Corden | CBS | Episode 732 |
| 2021 | Would I Lie To You? | BBC One | Series 14, episode 1 |
| 2021 | Question Team | Dave | Series 1, episode 7 |
| 2021 | Guessable | Comedy Central UK | Series 2, episode 3: "Alan and a Spread of Meat Loaf" |
| 2021 | Between the Covers | BBC | Series 3, episode 2. Chose the book Delicacy by Katy Wix |
| 2021 | Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled | Dave | Series 6, episode 9: "The Accuracy of a Pigeon" |
| 2021 | Outsiders | Dave | Contestant |
| 2021– | Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable | Dave | "Sidekick" to host Mel Giedroyc |
| 2022 | Would I Lie To You? | BBC One | Series 15, episode 4 |
| 2022 | Guessable | Comedy Central UK | Series 3, episode 11: "Sugar Puff Daddy" |
| 2022 | Married At First Sight: Unveiled | E4 | Episode 6 |
| 2022 | Question Team | Dave | Series 2, episode 8 |
| 2022 | CelebAbility | ITV2 | Series 6, episode 2 |
| 2023 | World's Most Dangerous Roads | Dave | Series 4, episode 5: "Iceland". With Ed Gamble |
| 2023 | The Weakest Link | BBC One | Series 2, episode 10 |
| 2023 | Guessable | Comedy Central UK | Series 4, episode 5: "I live and breathe Lou Bega" |
| 2024 | Dancing on Ice | ITV | Contestant, series 16 |