Lou Sanders is one of the contestants on the next series of Dancing On Ice. 

She said in an interview wth Nihal Arthanayake on BBC Radio 5 announcing that she was joining the show, "this is my dream thing to do". During lockdown she regularly posted clips of herself park-skating going up and down ramps.

She added that "I like physical adventure...that sounds rude...whizzing around, spinning - there is so much to look forward to...I was sick on the waltzers once. My dance partner's got so much to look forward to."

Sanders was champion of series eight of Taskmaster and has also been seen on The Late Late Show with James Corden (CBS), Live at the Apollo (BBC), Would I Lie to You? (BBC) and as a co-host on Mel Giedroyc’s Unforgivable (DAVE).

She has recently published her autobiography, What's That Lady Doing?: False Starts and Happy Endings in which she charts her life from her early years growing up in Broadstairs in Kent. Buy it here.

She turned her life around when she stopped drinking. She can remember the precise moment when she decided that she had to stop. In December 2016 she was getting ready to perform at the Altitude Comedy Festival in Mayrhofen in Austria. “That was the last straw. I was abusing everyone and people were looking at me being an obstreperous, absolute pig.” This was offstage. She did not perform and flew home unpaid and in disgrace. “I’d worked so hard in comedy I realised I couldn’t destroy it all.”

On January 1 2017 she gave up alcohol and has stuck to her New Year’s resolution ever since.

She has her own podcast, Cuddle Club in which she talks to guests about their relationships, childhood and spiritual beliefs, all through the guise of cuddling. Previous guests include Katherine Ryan, David Cross, Judi Love, Marina Hyde, Jack Dee, John Robins and Self Esteem. 

She starts her Dancing on Ice training and meets the other contestants next week. 

Dancing On Ice will air on ITV in January 2024.

Picture: ITV