Susan Elizabeth Perkins (born 22 September 1969) is an English broadcaster, comedian, actress, singer and writer. Originally coming to prominence through her comedy partnership with Mel Giedroyc in Mel and Sue, she progressed into radio and television presenting, notably of The Great British Bake Off (2010–2016), Insert Name Here (2016–2019) and Just a Minute (since 2021) on BBC Radio 4.
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Early life and education
Perkins was born on 22 September 1969 in Croydon, London, where she grew up with her two younger siblings and her parents. Her father worked for a local car dealership and her mother was employed as a secretary. She was privately educated at Croham Hurst School, a girls' school in South Croydon, at the same time as television presenter Susanna Reid.
She later studied English at the University of Cambridge, as an undergraduate at New Hall, Cambridge, graduating in 1991. While at Cambridge, she was a member of the Footlights, where she met Mel Giedroyc. She was Footlights president during the academic year 1990–91.
Mel and Sue
Perkins and creative partner Mel Giedroyc took their first steps into television under the name Mel and Sue. The duo began to gain success and were short-listed for the Daily Express Best Newcomers award at the Edinburgh Festival in 1993. After a few years writing for French & Saunders (and occasionally appearing on their BBC series), they co-hosted a lunchtime show on Channel 4 entitled Light Lunch, and an early evening version, Late Lunch, which ran from March 1998 to February 1999.
In January 2015, Giedroyc and Perkins began hosting their own daytime chat show on ITV called Mel and Sue. In August 2015, it was announced that Mel and Sue had been cancelled by ITV. On 23 July 2017, it was confirmed that they would host a new version of The Generation Game for BBC One.
Television
In 2002, Perkins appeared on the second UK series of Celebrity Big Brother in aid of four charities, Centrepoint, National Missing Persons Helpline, Rethink and Samaritans. During the series, she interacted with series winner Mark Owen from Take That, and TV presenter Les Dennis. Perkins was evicted from the house on Day 9.
She provided the voice for Messenger Bird in Dinotopia, produced for Hallmark Entertainment.
In 2003, Perkins joined Channel 4 morning television programme RI:SE. In the same year, Perkins also provided additional written material for BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous.
Perkins has appeared on several BBC shows including Have I Got News for You, Mock the Week, QI, Room 101, Celebrity Weakest Link, Question Time and Newsnight. She has made appearances as a field reporter for Armando Iannucci vehicle The Saturday Night Armistice.
Perkins hosted the second series of Good Evening, Rockall, a short-lived, news-oriented panel game shown on BBC Choice. In 2006, she appeared in BBC Four's vocabulary quiz show Never Mind the Full Stops. She was also a team captain on ITV's Win, Lose or Draw Late. During the same decade she made appearances on Celebrity MasterChef, Celebrity Poker and News Knight with Sir Trevor McDonald.
In April 2007, she participated in the television series, Edwardian Supersize Me for the BBC. She was joined by food critic Giles Coren. The series focused on spending a week eating the equivalent of a wealthy Edwardian couple's food, whilst wearing period clothing. Following the series, Perkins and Coren were commissioned to present a new series called, The Supersizers Go.... The premise of "Edwardian Supersize Me" was replicated and focused on other periods throughout history. In the first episode, they survived for a week on Second World War rations. It was re-commissioned for a second episode, Perkins and Coren covered the English Restoration period. The third episode covered the Victorian period, the fourth the 1970s, the fifth the Elizabethan period and the sixth the Regency period.
In August and September 2008, Perkins appeared in the reality television series Maestro on BBC Two. During the series, a group of eight celebrities attempted (until eliminated) to learn to conduct orchestral, choral and operatic music. During the series, Perkins conducted three pieces, two of them with soprano soloist Lesley Garrett. Perkins won the series. In 2008, Perkins narrated the series ....And Proud on Virgin 1.
Conducting
Following her success in Maestro in 2008, Perkins guest-conducted the London Gay Symphony Orchestra on 11 October 2009, at St Anne's Church Garden in Soho. She conducted two pieces, The Simpsons Theme by Danny Elfman, and the William Tell Overture by Rossini, the latter for the first time.
As part of A Band for Britain, Perkins conducted the Dinnington Colliery Band at the DW Stadium playing the National Anthem for a Four Nations rugby match, and also conducted them together with the Grimethorpe Colliery Band at Sheffield City Hall.
Perkins again conducted the BBC Concert Orchestra at the first Comedy Prom at the Royal Albert Hall during the 2011 Prom season.
Perkins is associate conductor for the Orion Orchestra, a London-based orchestra consisting of students and graduates of the Royal College of Music, Royal Academy of Music and Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Radio
Perkins is a panel member on Radio 4's The News Quiz and has made regular appearances on Radio 2's It's Been a Bad Week. She was also a frequent panellist on another popular Radio 4 show, Just a Minute: in the 2012 television version, she appeared in four out of the 10 episodes (more than any other panellist except Paul Merton, who appeared in all 10) and won on all four occasions. After original Just a Minute host Nicholas Parsons died in Aylesbury on 28 January 2020, Perkins was part of the roster of guest hosts for the series, and in July 2021, she was announced as the new permanent host, starting with the 87th series.
She was the chair of Radio 4's The 99p Challenge until the show finished in 2004. Perkins appeared every day in the last half-hour of Mark Radcliffe's afternoon radio show on Radio 2, when he sat in for Steve Wright.
Between 2006 and 2007, Perkins was a panellist on a Radio 4 show, The Personality Test, a quiz show about the host, presented by a different host each week. Past hosts include Gyles Brandreth and Rick Wakeman, and other panellists include Robin Ince, Lucy Porter and Will Smith. She also provided the voiceovers at the start and end of each programme.
Perkins is a regular cast member of Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show!
Perkins presented a Radio 4 documentary on the Lake District's competition the "World's Biggest Liar", which she won.
In December 2008, she was a guest on Private Passions, the biographical music discussion programme on BBC Radio 3.
Perkins was also chair of the Radio 4 panel game Dilemma, in which four humorous guests discussed moral conundrums she provided for them. The first series ran for six episodes on Sunday evenings from 13 November to 18 December 2011. Another series of this programme ran in February 2013.
On 9 July 2017 Perkins was the guest celebrity on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs.
Podcast
In 2025, Perkins and Giedroyc launched a podcast titled Mel and Sue: Should Know by Now on Audible.
Books
Perkins was a judge for the 2009 Man Booker Prize.
Her memoir, Spectacles, was published in October 2015. In October 2018, she released an autobiographical travel book East of Croydon: Blunderings Through India and South East Asia, which was shortlisted in the 'Autobiography of the Year' category at the 2018 National Book Awards.
Edinburgh Festival appearances
Perkins has performed two stand-up comedy solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival: Spectacle Wearer of the Year 2006 in 2005, and The Disappointing Second Show in 2006.
Personal life
In August 2012, Perkins appeared on Tatler's list of high-profile lesbians in London. She was outed as a lesbian in 2002 by her ex-girlfriend Rhona Cameron during Cameron's appearance on ITV's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! Perkins has said that "being a lesbian is only about the 47th most interesting thing about me".
In April 2015, Perkins was the victim of online harassment on Twitter after oddsmakers made her the favourite to fill the vacancy on the BBC's Top Gear programme left by the departure of Jeremy Clarkson, despite Perkins saying that rumours about her imminent appointment to the show were "fabricated".
In September 2015, Perkins revealed that she was diagnosed with prolactinoma, which is a benign growth on her pituitary gland. She had received the diagnosis eight years previously. The side effects prevent her from having children.
Perkins was brought up as a Roman Catholic. She lives between Dartmouth Park, north London and Penzance, Cornwall. Between 2014 and 2021, she was in a relationship with TV presenter Anna Richardson.
Perkins has both English and German ancestry including a great-grandmother who was an ethnic German from what is now Lithuania.