| Lou Sanders | |
| Birth Date: | [1] |
| Medium: | Stand-up, television, radio |
| Education: | London Metropolitan University (BA) |
| Website: | http://www.lousanders.com |
Lou Sanders (born [1]) is an English stand-up comedian, writer and actress. Since beginning her career in comedy, she has appeared regularly on panel shows and performed on Live at the Apollo. She also appeared as a sidekick on Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable and was a contestant on the sixteenth series of Dancing on Ice.
Sanders grew up in Broadstairs, Kent with her mother and her stepfather, a history teacher. Her father was periodically present. She moved out at the age of 15; she later earned a degree in communication and cultural studies from London Metropolitan University.[2]
Before beginning her career in comedy, Sanders worked in administrative roles, including as an executive PA and complaints handler at Ofcom.[3] 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 abroad. In 2018, her show Shame Pig was the joint winner of the Comedians' Choice Award for Best Show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe[4] and she returned to the Festival in 2019 with her show Say Hello to Your New Step Mummy.[5]
Sanders was the winner of the eighth series of Taskmaster in 2019.[6] 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, , , 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 a regular guest on BBC Radio 4's The Unbelievable Truth. In 2019, she appeared on BBC Two's Live at the Apollo (series 15, episode 2).[7] From February 2021, she has appeared in the Dave comedy panel show Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable.
As a writer, Sanders wrote and starred in Elderflower which co-starred Sheila Reid, Tom Rosenthal and Mike Wozniak.[8] She has also written for 8 Out of 10 Cats, Mock the Week, Stand Up for the Week and Miranda Hart. In 2023, she published a memoir, What’s That Lady Doing? False Starts and Happy Endings.[9]
Sanders has been an occasional guest host on Elis James and John Robins on BBC Radio 5 Live.[10] In February 2020, she started hosting a podcast called Cuddle Club. From April 2022 until September 2023, she hosted Taskmaster: The People's Podcast.[11]
In 2024, Sanders appeared as a contestant on the sixteenth series of Dancing on Ice. She was paired with Brendyn Hatfield and was fifth to be eliminated.[12]
Sanders is a teetotaler[13] and vegan.[14]
| 2013 | Russell Howard's Good News | BBC Three | Series 8, episode 3[15] | |
| 2016 | 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" | |
| 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[16] | |
| The Dog Ate My Homework | CBBC | Series 5, episode 4 | ||
| 2019 | Taskmaster | Dave | Winner, series 8 | |
| 8 Out of 10 Cats | Channel 4 | Series 21, episode 6 | ||
| 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown | Channel 4 | Series 17, episode 1[17] | ||
| Dave | Series 2, episode 4: "Health"[18] | |||
| The Russell Howard Hour | Sky Max | Series 2, episode 13 | ||
| Hypothetical | Dave | Series 1, episode 3 | ||
| Travel Man | Channel 4 | Series 9, episode 2: "Bergen"[19] | ||
| This Way Up | Channel 4, Hulu | Series 1, episode 3, as character Fran[20] | ||
| Live At the Apollo | BBC Two | Series 15, episode 2 | ||
| 2020 | QI | BBC Two | Series 17, episode 13: "Quills"[21] | |
| Roast Battle | Comedy Central UK | Series 4, episode 5. With Luke McQueen | ||
| Richard Osman's House of Games | BBC Two | Series 3, week 13 | ||
| Hypothetical | Dave | Series 2, episode 5 | ||
| Big Zuu's Big Eats | Dave | Series 1, episode 10 | ||
| The Late Late Show with James Corden | CBS | Episode 732 | ||
| 2021 | Would I Lie To You? | BBC One | Series 14, episode 1[22] | |
| Question Team | Dave | Series 1, episode 7 | ||
| Guessable | Comedy Central UK | Series 2, episode 3: "Alan and a Spread of Meat Loaf" | ||
| Between the Covers | BBC | Series 3, episode 2. Chose the book Delicacy by Katy Wix | ||
| Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled | Dave | Series 6, episode 9: "The Accuracy of a Pigeon" | ||
| Outsiders | Dave | Contestant | ||
| 2021– | Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable | Dave | "Sidekick" to host Mel Giedroyc[23] | |
| 2022 | Would I Lie To You? | BBC One | Series 15, episode 4[24] | |
| Guessable | Comedy Central UK | Series 3, episode 11: "Sugar Puff Daddy" | ||
| Married At First Sight: Unveiled | E4 | Episode 6 | ||
| Question Team | Dave | Series 2, episode 8 | ||
| CelebAbility | ITV2 | Series 6, episode 2 | ||
| 2023 | World's Most Dangerous Roads | Dave | Series 4, episode 5: "Iceland". With Ed Gamble | |
| The Weakest Link | BBC One | Series 2, episode 10[25] | ||
| Guessable | Comedy Central UK | Series 4, episode 5: "I live and breathe Lou Bega" | ||
| 2024 | Dancing on Ice | ITV | Contestant, series 16 |