Career: While still presenting, Brydon ventured into comedy, and made ends meet by providing voices for adverts and animations. A small role in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels inspired him to make a short film of his comic characters; series of Marion & Geoff, A Small Summer Party and The Keith Barret Show followed. Other credits include Director's Commentary, Human Remains, Supernova, A Cock and Bull Story, Little Britain, Annually Retentive and Gavin & Stacey. He's also hosted his own BBC chat show and has chaired the comedy panel show Would I Lie to You? since 2009. In 2010, he starred alongside Steve Coogan in the partially improvised BBC Two sitcom The Trip and has since appeared in its follow-up.

Career: His success as a stand-up was crowned when he won an award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He came to the attention of TV bosses after a stint on the radio. Lee was cast in The Sketch show alongside long-term collaborator Tim Vine. After a short-lived stint presenting They Think It's All Over, Mack and Vine began work on Not Going Out. The series revolves around two friends with opposite backgrounds and personalities, much like the two comics themselves. Mack has recently become a regular on comedy panel shows such as Would I Lie to You? and Have I Got News for You. He also has sell-out tours and best-selling DVDs to his name.

Career: After graduating, Mitchell worked an usher at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith. He and Webb took a number of shows to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival before being asked to write for Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller and for surreal comedy series Big Train. In 2001, they made their first sketch show, The Mitchell and Webb Situation, which ran for six episodes on the now-defunct cable channel Play UK. Their next project came in 2003, with the award-winning Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show. They've also worked together on That Mitchell and Webb Sound, That Mitchell and Webb Look and the film Magicians. Solo, Mitchell has appeared on 10 O'Clock Live and numerous panel shows, including Would I Lie to You?, where he's a regular team captain. His autobiography, Back Story: A Memoir, was published in 2012.

Career: Front's comedy career took off with the Radio 4 show The Bobo Girls, the second series of which was produced by Armando Iannucci, with whom she's worked with numerous times since, most notably on The Thick of It. Other comedy projects include On the Hour, The Day Today, Absolute Power, The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer, The Spa and various Alan Partridge projects. Front has also dabbled in drama, with roles in The Rotters' Club, Kavanagh QC, Lewis, Jonathan Creek, and Humans.

Career: During his gap year, Whitehall decided to pursue a career in stand-up comedy. He juggled studying the history of art at Manchester University with gigs. In June 2008, he presented the first week of Big Brother's Big Mouth on E4. He followed this up with appearances on Channel 4's 8 Out of 10 Cats and from then on, became a TV fixture. Whitehall dabbled with acting as a child (he appeared, age nine, in the series Noah's Ark and claims to have auditioned for Harry Potter), and returned to it as an adult with the sitcoms Fresh Meat and Bad Education. He's a regular competitor on Sky1's sports quiz A League of Their Own, appears on various panel game shows, and continues to do stand-up. He also co-hosts a chat show with his dad on BBC Three.

Career: Hewer and ex-Amstrad owner Alan Sugar became friends through their working relationship; and Hewer agreed to become one of Sugar's advisers in The Apprentice TV show in 2004. He stayed with the show for 10 years. Hewer's fame, generated by the series, has led to appearances on such panel shows Would I Lie to You?, Ask Rhod Gilbert, Have I Got News for You and Room 101. He is the current host of Channel 4 show Countdown, having replaced Jeff Stelling in 2012 and was the subject of Who Do You Think You Are? in 2013.

Career: Hart did a stint at the Edinburgh Festival and unsuccessfully tried to pitch a show to BBC executives in 2004. It was attended by Jennifer Saunders who loved her performance so much, she cast her in both French & Saunders and Absolutely Fabulous. Hart also had roles as various characters in sketch show Smack the Pony, and starred in BBC Three's Hyperdrive alongside Nick Frost, which was met with an indifferent response from critics. She was then cast as clumsy cleaner Barbara in Lee Mack's Not Going Out and as 'Tall Karen' in 2007's Monday Monday. After gaining further success with radio shows, she was given her own eponymous series by the BBC. It was to prove a hit with viewers who liked its retro and family-friendly style. She's also enjoyed dramatic acting success with Call the Midwife.