Samantha Renke

broadcaster and disability consultant

Samantha Renke
Biography
Samantha Renke is an actress, presenter, speaker, writer and disability rights campaigner who was named as number 3 in The Shaw Trust Power 100 List of 2020 – a list of the UK’s most influential disabled people.
Her credits include Morning Live (BBC One), Sunday Morning Live (BBC One), Rip Off Britain (BBC One), Celebrity Antiques Road Trip (BBC Two), Loose Women (ITV), Good Morning Britain (ITV), How To Spend It Well At Christmas (ITV), How To Beat Ageing (Channel 4), Jeremy Vine on 5 (Channel 5), The Disability Paradox (BBC Four), Front Row (BBC Radio 4) and Word Of Mouth (BBC Radio 4). She has also been interviewed on ITV News, Channel 4 News, Channel 5 News, Sky News and BBC Radio 5 Live.
Samantha is a columnist for the Metro as well as having written for The Huffington Post and PosAbility magazine. She also featured in the highly successful series of adverts for Maltesers based on real-life experiences of disabled people and has collaborated with brands such as Amazon Prime Video.
She is an experienced speaker having spoken at events for companies and organisations such as the National Education Union, Viacom, Houses of Parliament, the British Red Cross, Retail Week and ASOS. She is also the disability lead for Paramount (formerly VIACOM).
Samantha is an ambassador for Scope and a patron of Head2Head Theatre. She was also in The Shaw Trust’s Power 100 Lists of 2018 and 2019 as well as being nominated as Campaigner of the Year in the 2019 European Diversity Awards and Celebrity of the Year in the 2020 National Diversity Awards.
She is a guest speaker in this year’s Happy Place Festival and her debut book, You Are The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread, will be published in July by Penguin Books under its Happy Place Books imprint which is curated by Fearne Cotton.

About You Are The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread-
Actress, broadcaster and activist Sam Renke brings you her no-holds-barred look at life and plenty of advice, which will inspire you to live boldly and follow your dreams.

'A powerful book on how to live boldly and love your fabulous self' Fearne Cotton
We are made to think that what makes us human - our flaws, failures, and heartaches - are things to keep hush-hush. Being unapologetically imperfect is seen as something we should be embarrassed by. But what I've learned is that we all experience the same insecurities. We just aren't talking about it. Well, I'm here to break the silence.
For starters, I have way too many nipple hairs. I prefer the company of my pets to other people. And repeatedly I question Am I normal? I was born with brittle bone condition and so far, I've broken my bones 200 times. But most of the hurdles I face don't come from my disability, they come from things we all experience.
In this book, I will share the lessons I have learned and why you should embrace your uniqueness as what makes you fabulous. We spend a lot of time living by others' expectations and it's only when you stop, that you start saying yes to life. Irrespective of who you are and the obstacles you might face, you can do whatever you want. Be free and unapologetically you.