Actor

1985-11-24 · United Kingdom · Female

35 series in the catalog

Louise 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. From 2021 to 2024 she was the co-presenter of the Dave panel show Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable, and she was a contestant on the sixteenth series of Dancing on Ice in 2024.

Early life

Louise 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 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 executive PA and complaints-handler at Ofcom. She took comedy classes from Logan Murray, and 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 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 teetotaller and a vegan.