Sarah Sands is a British journalist and author. A former editor of the London Evening Standard, she became editor of the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 in 2017Sands was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, to parents in the Colonial Service. Sands is the younger sister of Kit Hesketh-Harvey (of musical duo Kit and The Widow). She was educated at Kent College, Pembury (then a Methodist, now interdenominational) independent day and boarding school for girls. She later attended Goldsmiths, University of London.
Sands trained on The Sevenoaks Chronicle as a news reporter, before moving to the Evening Standard, initially as editor of the Londoner's Diary, before taking further posts as features editor and associate editor. She joined The Daily Telegraph in 1996 as deputy editor, under Charles Moore, later assuming responsibility for the Saturday edition.
Sands was appointed the first female editor of The Sunday Telegraph in June 2005, succeeding Dominic Lawson.
In April 2006, Sands was appointed consultant editor on the Daily Mail.
In February 2008 she was appointed editor-in-chief of the UK edition of Reader's Digest. In February 2009 it was announced that she would be taking up the role of deputy editor on London Evening Standard. She became editor of the London Evening Standard following Geordie Greig's departure for the Mail on Sunday in March 2012.
In January 2017, she was appointed editor of the BBC Radio 4 Today programme and took up her appointment later in the year.
Sands has written three novels: Playing the Game (2003), Hothouse (2005) and The Villa (2006).
