Career: Armstrong made his film and TV debuts in 1994 in There's No Business and A Breed of Heroes. He was introduced to Ben Miller in 1996 and their subsequent success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe led to their first sketch series in 1997; they've worked together a number of times since on various projects. Armstrong played the lead in short-lived sitcom Beast. He has also appeared in Birthday Girl (2001), I Saw You, TLC, Saxondale, Life Begins, The Trial of Tony Blair, Mutual Friends, Woody Allen's Match Point (2005) and Scoop (2006). Armstrong was the voice of supercomputer Mr Smith in The Sarah Jane Adventures, appeared in the 2011 Doctor Who Christmas Special and has presented the BBC game show Pointless since 2009. In recent years, he has also voiced Danger Mouse in the revival of the animated series and presented Rome's Invisible City, Land of the Midnight Sun and Don't Ask Me Ask Britain.

Career: Merton worked at the Tooting Employment Office while gaining experience at the London Comedy Store before moving onto the cabaret circuit. He made his TV debut in a small role in a 1984 episode of The Young Ones. After 10 years of performing, his TV career took off thanks to Whose Line Is It Anyway? He then wrote Paul Merton, the Series for Channel 4. Have I Got News For You made him a household name. He claims a highlight of his career was performing at the London Palladium. Merton also hosted Room 101 and is a regular on TV and radio. He has filmed travelogues to China and India for Channel 5 and presented various documentaries on the subject of comedy and silent film for the BBC.

Career: Hislop began submitting articles to Private Eye in 1980, eventually becoming deputy editor. When editor Richard Ingrams, one of the magazine's founders, quit in 1986, Cook offered him his job. Hislop has also regularly contributed to numerous publications, including The Listener, The Sunday Telegraph, The Spectator, Financial Times, The Guardian, The Literary Review and Time Out. Hislop's TV work began in 1983 with an appearance on Loose Talk and scripts for Spitting Image. He became a familiar face thanks to Have I Got News For You, which began its run in 1990. He also co-wrote family sitcom My Dad's the Prime Minister.