Sam Quek has joined the ITV racing team and the former Team GB hockey player famously won a Gold Medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
She also took part in Strictly Come Dancing 2024, dancing with Nikita Kuzmin. They were the sixth couple to leave the show. She's also appeared on I'm a Celebrity and Celebrity MasterChef. Plus she was a team captain on A Question of Sport.
But what else is there to know about Sam? Here we find out...
Sam got married on a racecourse
Yep, Sam loves horse racing so much she wed her husband Tom Mairs at a racecourse. "Our entire wedding was themed on racing," she told the Racing Post. "We even got married at Chester racecourse. When we were talking about potential venues, I said to Tom I wanted to get married on a perfect lawn on a sunny day.
"I loved the parade ring at Chester, so we got permission to do it there, but then four days out from the wedding, there was a forecast for torrential weather. At the last minute, we changed to a marquee at the racecourse and Tom put down artificial turf."
She almost became a footballer
Sam was a talented footballer growing up and played for Tranmere Rovers. However, luckily she decided to give up football to focus on hockey. She told The Guardian. "I played lacrosse, netball and football, but it came to a point where at about 16 I was playing a bit more hockey than football and I was never in the first team at Tranmere, always in the reserves, which was fair enough because there were two trainings a week but I would only go to one. I ended up playing a little more hockey and fell in love with it."
She helped present the Eurovision Song Contest
When Liverpool hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 2023 on behalf of Ukraine Sam was part of the BBC's presenting team. Sam, who grew up in the city, was there to give a Liverpool perspective.
She said at the time: “The fact that Eurovision has come to Liverpool is massive, this city has been home to me all my life and I just know we are going to put on a real spectacle for the world. Liverpool has always been a melting pot of cultures and ideas — I can’t wait to see how Ukrainian culture and creativity are woven in with our Scouse traditions! I'm very excited to bring you a Liverpudlian point of view straight from the Opening Ceremony.”
Sam got a huge shock when she checked her emails after I'm a Celeb
On leaving the jungle in 2016, Sam got a frantic call from her mum saying she needed to urgently check her emails. Sam then got the shock of her life as she discovered she'd been awarded an MBE for her gold medal win! "I welled up actually," she told the BBC. "I was so proud. It was shock, it was pride. I would just have never dreamt that I'd be Samantha Quek MBE."
Sam is a big American football fan
Sam loves American football and appeared on the BBC's The NFL show. She supports the Kansas City Chiefs, and she shared a funny video on Instagram when her team was smashed by the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl 2025.
Sam Quek's fact file
How old is Sam Quek?
Sam Quek is 36, she was born on October 18, 1988.
Is Sam Quek married?
Yes, she married her husband Tom Mairs, a property entrepreneur, in 2018.
Does Sam Quek have any children?
Yes, Sam has two children, Molly and Isaac.
Where was Sam Quek born?
Sam Quek was born in Liverpool.
How tall is Sam Quek?
Sam is 5 ft and 6.5 inches tall.
Instagram: @samquek13
Twitter/X: @SamanthaQuek
We work hard to ensure that all information is correct. Facts that change over time, such as age, will be correct, to the best of our knowledge, at the time of the last article update.
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