Have I Got a Bit More News for You

Adil Ray (Host)

Born: April 26, 1974 in Birmingham

Best Known For: Citizen Khan and being a radio host.

Early-life: Adil was born in Birmingham on April 26, 1974 to a Pakistani father and Kenyan mother. His father worked as a bus driver for almost 40 years, his mother worked for the Civil Service. His parents divorced when he was in his mid teens. Adil went on to study marketing at the University of Huddersfield. During his time at university, he worked as a host on a small Asian radio station in Birmingham before moving on to Choice FM. Other radio work followed at Galaxy 105, Century Radio, Aire FM Leeds and Ministry of Sound Radio.

Career: In 2002, Ray joined the BBC Asian Network to present the late night Adil Ray Show. He presented other slots on the station before leaving in June 2010. He has since been a regular on BBC Radio 5 Live. Since 2012, he has co-written and starred in the BBC sitcom Citizen Khan. He has also presented Desi DNA and Inside Out. In 2015, he guest presented three episodes of The One Show.

Quote: "It doesn't matter what religion you are or what background, we all have the same problems, highs and lows."

Trivia: As a keen cricketer, Ray represented West Bromwich Dartmouth during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He supports Aston Villa FC.

Paul Merton (Team captain)

Born: January 17, 1957 in London

Best Known For: Have I Got News For You.

Early-life: Born Paul James Martin in Parsons Green, London, on January 17, 1957. He grew up in Merton, South London, and took his stage name from the district because somebody else called Paul Martin was registered with Equity when he tried to join. His father was a guard on the Underground in Fulham, his mother was a nurse and he has a sister, Angela. Paul was inspired to become a comedian at the age of three following a trip to the circus. After failing his 11-plus he went to a Catholic comprehensive school where he gained two A-levels but decided against going to university.

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.

Quote: "I don't suffer from pre-show terror or anything like that. I assume if people have paid money to see me they already think I'm funny and that does give you confidence."

Trivia: In 2014, he published his autobiography, Only When I Laugh.

Ian Hislop (Team captain)

Born: July 13, 1960 in The Mumbles, Wales

Best Known For: Being a team captain on Have I Got News For You.

Early-life: Born July 13, 1960, in The Mumbles, Wales, but moved around a lot due to his father's job as a civil engineer. The family spent time in Nigeria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong. Hislop was educated at boarding school before studying English at Oxford, where he performed in revues and edited the magazine Passing Wind. During this time he met Peter Cook for the first time, who then owned satirical magazine Private Eye.

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.

Quote: "It is no longer acceptable in British politics to be fat or eccentric or religious."

Trivia: Hislop had a small role in the Greek TV series The Island, which was based on his wife's bestselling novel.

Jess Phillips (Panellist)

Richard Osman (Panellist)

Born: November 28, 1970 in Billericay

Best Known For: Pointless.

Early-life: Richard Thomas Osman was born in Billericay on November 28, 1970, but grew up in West Sussex. He was raised by his single mum after his father left home - they didn't see each other for 20 years. Richard studied politics and sociology at Trinity College, Cambridge, where his future Pointless colleague Alexander Armstrong was reading English literature. He claims that one of his proudest moments came when his mum and grandfather watched his graduation.

Career: Osman has worked behind the scenes as an executive producer on a number of TV programmes, including Deal or No Deal, 8 Out of 10 Cats, and 10 O'Clock Live. As the UK creative director of TV production company Endemol, he pitched the quiz Pointless to the BBC. As a way of explaining the rules, he played the co-host during a run-through. He was asked to do the role for real when the show was commissioned. Pointless started on BBC Two in 2009 and was an immediate hit. It quickly made the switch to BBC One. Since being in the spotlight on Pointless, he has made guest appearances on QI, Have I Got News for You and Would I Lie to You? He also guest presented an episode of The One Show alongside Alex Jones.

Quote: "Whenever I turn up to pub quizzes now, I see people going: ‘Urgh, that's the guy who knows everything.'"

Trivia: He is the younger brother of Mat Osman, bassist with Suede, and suffers from nystagmus, a condition that results in uncontrolled movement of the eyes.

Mike Rayment (Series producer)

Paul Wheeler (Director)

Jack Harris (Producer)

10:00 pm - 11:00 pm, Tuesday, December 23 on U&Dave ja vu (74)

About this Broadcast

Season 64, Episode 6

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