English actress
Emma Sidi
Sidi at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Born Emma Francesca Sidi
February 1991 (age 33)United States
Alma mater Emmanuel College, Cambridge Years active 2011–present
Emma Francesca Sidi ( SID -ee ,[ 1] born February 1991[ 2] ) is an English actress, comedian, and writer for radio, stage, and screen.[ 3]
Early life
Sidi was born to English parents in the United States. Her surname means “sir” in Arabic and comes via her Jewish grandfather. Her father Paul was working in banking at the time and played rugby union for Harlequins .[ 4] The family returned to the United Kingdom when Sidi was three years old, and after a career in the City , her father retrained as a physiotherapist in Chertsey, Surrey . Sidi was brought up and schooled near Woking , before studying French and Spanish at Emmanuel College, Cambridge , which included studying abroad in Tuxtla Gutiérrez , Mexico .[ 4]
Career
In 2016, Sidi appeared in James Acaster 's web series Sweet Home Lahnsteineringa alongside Jack Barry. The mockumentary received a £5,000 budget from crowdfunding and was filmed in Lahnstein , Germany.[ 5]
Stand-up
Sidi was a finalist for the NATYS: New Act of the Year Show in 2016.[ 6] Her solo shows have often included Sidi playing many different characters. Sidi's Edinburgh Festival Fringe show ‘Character Breakdown’, in 2015, saw her play six different roles, including a feminist professor who delivers a lecture entirely in Spanish. Sidi's 2016 show, ‘Telenovela’, a Mexican soap opera and a European woman who dreams of a life as a TV presenter . In 2018 her show '‘Faces of Grace'’ included an American fresh from a bizarre blind date and a tearful wannabe Love Island contestant. There was also an aspiring nurse described as having “a clench-jawed Katharine Hepburn style drawl”.[ 7] [ 8] [ 9]
In 2024, she performed a one-woman parody Sue Gray show Emma Sidi is Sue Gray at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival before touring the show nationwide.[ 10]
Television and radio
Sidi appeared in W1A and as Vlogger Millipede in BAFTA -nominated Pls Like .[ 11] Sidi's other television appearances include in Stath Lets Flats , Drunk History , King Gary , Ghosts and in Starstruck with real life housemate Rose Matafeo .[ 12] Sidi has also written and performed on The Now Show .[ 13] In June 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic Sidi released La Princesa de Woking , a web pilot based on a character from her 2016 Edinburgh Festival Fringe show in which a Spanish-language soap opera is set in a British cul-de-sac .[ 14] In July 2021 she appeared as Natalie, Secretary to ex-Prime Minister Henry Tobin, on the BBC radio comedy Party's Over .
Sidi competed in the eighteenth series of Taskmaster , alongside Andy Zaltzman , Babatunde Aléshé , Jack Dee and Rosie Jones . She won four episodes, finishing third overall behind Zaltzman and Dee.[ 15]
Personal life
Sidi was a member of the Cambridge Footlights .[ 16] She is married to Al Roberts, also her on-screen husband in TV series Starstruck .[ 17] [ 18]
Filmography
Film
Year
Title
Role
Notes
2011
The Pickle
Barbara
Short film
2014
Gregor
Ellen
2015
Pillow Talk
Liv
Short film
2019
Quiet Carriage
Misha
Short film
Whippersnap
Maxine
Short film
2020
La Princesa de Woking
Becky Hello
Short film
2022
My First Dick
Hannah Bills
Short film
2024
Paddington in Peru
Elderly Resident Bear #3
Voice Role
Television
Year
Title
Role
Notes
2016
Dave Talks
Dr. Beatriz Carranza
Series 1, Episode 3: "Dance Your Destiny"
Year Friends
Doctor Emma
Series 1, Episode 7: "July"
2017
Drunk History
Local Woman
Series 3, Episodes 2 & 5
Hospital People
Helena's aide
Series 1, Episode 5: "The New Ward"
Summer Comedy Shorts
Herself
Mini-series, Episode 7: "Emma Sidi's Summer: Last Resort"
W1A
Zoe
Series 3, Episodes 2, 3 & 6
2017–2018
Climaxed
Sian
Series 1, Episodes 2 & 6; Series 2, Episodes 1 & 6
2017–2020
Curious Under the Stars
Diane
Series 3–10 (34 episodes)
2017–2021
Pls Like
Millipede
Series 1–3 (16 episodes)
2018
News Crack
Various
Television film
2019
Stath Lets Flats
Esme
Series 2, Episode 5: "A Stressfully Date"
2020
Industry
Amy
Series 1, Episode 1: "Induction"
2020–2021
King Gary
Anne
Series 1 & 2 (4 episodes)
2021
Black Death
Spirit
Mini-series, Episode 1: "The Humble Fisherman"
2021–2023
Ghosts
Eleanor
Series 3, Episode 5: "Something to Share"; Series 5, Episode 3: "Pineapple Day"
Starstruck
Kate
Series 1–3 (15 episodes)
2022
Don't Hug Me I'm Scared
Bubble Bath Memory (voice)
Series 1, Episode 4: "Friendship"
Prince Andrew: The Musical
Emily Maitlis
TV Special
Red Flag
Various
Mini-series
2023
Extraordinary
Woman with kid
1 episode
Black Ops
Marsh Ranger
Series 1, Episodes 2 & 3
A Whole Lifetime with Jamie Demetriou
Faye
Series 1, Episode 1
2024
Death in Paradise
Amelia Templeton
Series 13, Episode 7
Taskmaster
Herself / Contestant
Series 18
Richard Osman's House of Games
Herself / Contestant
Season 8 Episodes 21-25
References
^ "Alex Horne Interviews EMMA SIDI - SERIES 18 - Taskmaster" on YouTube
^ Rahier, Julie (30 April 2023). "7 Inspiring Underdog Stories In Short Films" . Klipist . Retrieved 26 August 2023 .
^ "Emma Sidi" . British Comedy Guide . Retrieved 19 February 2022 .
^ a b Dessau, Bruce (7 February 2019). "Emma Sidi interview: 'My theory is that character comedy is less well regarded than stand-up' " . The Standard . Retrieved 8 October 2024 .
^ "James Acaster hits Germany" . Chortle . 13 May 2016. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023 .
^ Bennett, Steve (2 February 2016). "Naty New Act Of The Year final 2016" . Chortle . Retrieved 18 February 2022 .
^ Gilbey, Ryan (6 August 2018). "Emma Sidi: 'You can only fully write a character if you can love them' " . The Guardian . Retrieved 18 February 2022 .
^ Fleckney, Paul (18 August 2016). "Emma Sidi: Telenovela" . Chortle . Retrieved 18 February 2022 .
^ Bennett, Steve (17 August 2018). "Emma Sidi: Faces Of Grace" . Chortle . Retrieved 18 February 2022 .
^ Aroesti, Rachel (18 October 2024). " 'Oh god I'm Sue Gray – don't, I'm cringing': comic Emma Sidi brings the embattled civil servant to the stage" . The Guaridan . Retrieved 18 October 2024 .
^ Kalia, Ammar; Davies, Hannah J.; Virtue, Graeme; Harrison, Phil; Howlett, Paul (31 March 2021). "TV tonight: influencers attract ire in series three of Pls Like" . The Guardian . Retrieved 18 February 2022 .
^ Barr, Sabrina (20 April 2021). "BBC star recalls 'crazy' meeting with cut-throat LA exec who said to 'f*** your friends' on road to stardom" . Metro . Retrieved 18 February 2022 .
^ "The Now Show - Series 52 Episode 5" . BBC Radio 4 . 30 March 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2022 .
^ Gilbey, Ryan (10 January 2020). "La Princesa de Woking: Sex, Brexit and big hair in Emma Sidi's glorious spoof" . The Guardian . Retrieved 18 February 2022 .
^ Mensah, Katelyn (30 May 2024). "Taskmaster season 18 line-up confirmed: Rosie Jones, Jack Dee and more join cast" . Radio Times . Retrieved 31 May 2024 .
^ Bennett, Steve (18 August 2015). "Emma Sidi: Character Breakdown" . Chortle . Retrieved 19 February 2022 .
^ Aroesti, Rachel (28 August 2023). "Starstruck series three review – Rose Matafeo's romcom ditches the love story (and is better than ever)" . The Guardian . Retrieved 18 October 2023 .
^ Allfree, Claire (16 July 2024). "Emma Sidi: 'When I was at Cambridge, men kept telling me I hadn't found my voice' " . The Telegraph .
External links