Emma Francesca Sidi ( , born February 1991) is a British-American actress and comedian.
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 worked in banking and played rugby union for Harlequins. 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 schooled at Guildford High School, a private girls' school in Guildford, before studying French and Spanish at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, which included studying abroad in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico.
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.
Stand-up Sidi was a finalist for the NATYS: New Act of the Year Show in 2016. 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", included 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".- -
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.
Television and radio Sidi appeared in W1A and as Vlogger Millipede in the BAFTA-nominated Pls Like. Sidi's other television appearances include in Stath Lets Flats, Drunk History, King Gary, Ghosts and in Starstruck with her real life housemate Rose Matafeo. Sidi has also written and performed on The Now Show. 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. 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 with Andy Zaltzman, Babatunde Aléshé, Jack Dee and Rosie Jones. She won four episodes, finishing third overall behind Zaltzman and Dee.
In February 2026, Sidi was announced as part of the inaugural Saturday Night Live UK cast.
Personal life Sidi was a member of the Cambridge Footlights. She is married to actor and comedian Al Roberts, also her on-screen husband in the TV series Starstruck. The couple have a son born 2025.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes2011The PickleBarbaraShort film2014GregorEllen2015Pillow TalkLivShort films2019Quiet CarriageMishaWhippersnapMaxine2020La Princesa de WokingBecky Hello2022My First DickHannah Bills2024Goblin SolutionsZoePaddington in PeruElderly Resident Bear #3 (voice)2025The Running ManAdriané AmericanoTBAFilming
Television Year Title Role Notes2016Dave TalksDr. Beatriz CarranzaSeries 1, episode 3: "Dance Your Destiny"Year FriendsDoctor EmmaSeries 1, episode 7: "July"2017Drunk HistoryLocal WomanSeries 3, episodes 2 & 5Hospital PeopleHelena's aideSeries 1, episode 5: "The New Ward"Summer Comedy ShortsHerselfMini-series, episode 7: "Emma Sidi's Summer: Last Resort". Also writerW1AZoeSeries 3, episodes 2, 3 & 62017–2018ClimaxedSianSeries 1, episodes 2 & 6; series 2, episodes 1 & 62017–2020Curious Under the StarsDianeSeries 3–10 (34 episodes)2017–2021Pls LikeMillipedeSeries 1–3 (16 episodes)2018News CrackVariousTelevision film2019Stath Lets FlatsEsmeSeries 2, episode 5: "A Stressfully Date"2020IndustryAmySeries 1, episode 1: "Induction"2020–2021King GaryAnneSeries 1 & 2 (4 episodes)2021Black DeathSpiritMini-series, episode 1: "The Humble Fisherman"2021–2023GhostsEleanorSeries 3, episode 5: "Something to Share?"; series 5, episode 3: "Pineapple Day"StarstruckKateSeries 1–3 (17 episodes)2022Don't Hug Me I'm ScaredBubble Bath Memory (voice)Series 1, episode 4: "Friendship"Prince Andrew: The MusicalEmily MaitlisTV specialRed FlagVariousMini-series2023ExtraordinaryWoman with kid1 episodeBlack OpsMarsh RangerSeries 1, episodes 2 & 3A Whole Lifetime with Jamie DemetriouFayeSeries 1, episode 12024Death in ParadiseAmelia TempletonSeries 13, episode 7Richard Osman's House of GamesHerself - ContestantSeries 8, episodes 21–25 (week 5)TaskmasterSeries 18, episodes 1–10Christmas University ChallengeSeries 14, episode 6: "Emmanuel College, Cambridge v Queens' College, Cambridge"2024-presentWe Might Regret ThisOliviaSupporting character, 2 series2025Brian and MaggieSue RichardsonEpisodes 1 & 2Big BoysCharity Shop PrueSeries 3, episode 3: "Thin Lips, Fat Lines & a Poem on Princess Di"2026Saturday Night Live UKVariousMain cast
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