Sandi Toksvig

Sandra Birgitte Toksvig (; ; born 3 May 1958) is a Danish-British broadcaster, comedian, presenter and writer on British radio, stage and television. She is also a political activist, having co-founded the now-defunct Women's Equality Party in 2015. She has written plays, novels and books for children. In 1994, she came out as a lesbian.

Toksvig took over from Stephen Fry as host of the BBC television quiz show QI in 2016 (series 'N'), having been a guest several times. She also spent ten years hosting The News Quiz on BBC Radio 4. From 2017 to 2020, she was co-presenter of The Great British Bake Off, alongside comedian Noel Fielding. In 2020, she stepped down and was replaced by Matt Lucas.

Toksvig was the president of the Women of the Year Lunch from 2015 to 2017.

Early life Toksvig was born in 1958 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her father, Claus Toksvig, was a Danish journalist, broadcaster and foreign correspondent; as a result, Toksvig spent most of her youth outside Denmark, mostly in New York City. Her mother, Julie Anne Toksvig (née Brett), is British. She has an older brother, Nick, who is a journalist, and a younger sister, Jenifer, a librettist, who was born when Sandi was 12. When Sandi was 24, she was appointed Jenifer's legal guardian. In 1969, her father covered the landing of the first man on the moon from mission control; she was holding the hand of Neil Armstrong's secretary during the landing. While her father was based in London, she attended Tormead School, an independent girls' school near Guildford. Her first job, at the age of 18, was as a follow spot operator for the musical Jesus Christ Superstar.

Toksvig is a graduate of Girton College, Cambridge, where she gained a first class honours degree in archaeology and anthropology, after changing from law after her Part I examinations. In 2019, Toksvig said in her memoirs that she was nearly expelled from her Cambridge college at the end of her first year, as the college council objected to her having another woman staying overnight in her room in college.

Career

Toksvig is the mother of two daughters and a son, born in 1988, 1990 and 1994. The children were carried by her partner, Peta Stewart, younger brother of the actor Roger Lloyd-Pack.

It was having three young children that made her decide to come out, because, to the best of her knowledge, there were no out lesbians in British public life, and she did not want her children to grow up ashamed of having two mothers. Toksvig was warned she might never work again, and the family faced death threats and had to go into hiding. with psychotherapist Debbie (now Debbie Toksvig), They renewed their vows on 29 March 2014, the day same-sex marriage was introduced in England and Wales, and in December 2014, their civil partnership was converted into a marriage.

Toksvig became a British citizen in 2013. She describes her "posh" accent as being the result of a deliberate attempt to copy the voice of Celia Johnson in the 1945 film Brief Encounter, after being ostracised at boarding school for having an American accent. On 6 December 2022, she announced that she had left hospital, but was still not well enough to travel. On 15 December 2022, it was reported that she had returned to the UK.

Honours and awards 1997 – The Grand Order of Water Rats Show Business Personality of the Year 2007 – Political Humourist of the Year at the Channel 4 Political Awards and 2007 – Radio Broadcaster of the Year by the Broadcasting Press Guild 2007 – Read it or Else Award from Coventry Inspiration Book Awards for Hitler's Canary 2008 – Broadcaster of the Year at the Stonewall Awards 2009 – Voice of the Listener & Viewer Award for Individual Contribution to Radio 2013 – Voice of the Listener & Viewer Award for Excellence in Broadcasting (Roberts Radio Special Award) 2017 – CoScan (Confederation of Scandinavian Societies) International Award 2025 – Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize (shortlisted) for Friends of Dorothy 2026 – Heinz Oberhummer Award

National honours

Decorations and medals Country Date Decoration Details United Kingdom 31 December 2013 Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) Civil Division Appointed in the 2014 New Years Honours List

Scholastic University degrees

Location Date School Degree United Kingdom Girton College, Cambridge First-class honours Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Archaeology and Anthropology

Chancellor, visitor, governor, rector and fellowships Location Date School Position United Kingdom 31 October 20122017 University of Portsmouth Chancellor United Kingdom 2012 Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge Honorary Fellowship United Kingdom 2016 Newnham College, Cambridge Honorary Fellowship United Kingdom 29 January 2019 Girton College, Cambridge Honorary Fellowship United Kingdom 6 October 2023 Christ's College, Cambridge Bye FellowQ+ fellowship

Honorary degrees

Location Date School Degree Gave commencement address United Kingdom 2010 University of Portsmouth Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) United Kingdom 2012 York St John University Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) United Kingdom 20 July 2012 University of Surrey Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) United Kingdom 2016 University of Westminster Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) United Kingdom 17 July 2018 University of Leicester Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) Yes