Career: Walliams' TV debut came in Sky One's Games World in 1993. In 1995 he and Lucas teamed up for the first of three shows at the Edinburgh Festival. They also made Rock Profiles for UKTV, in which they parodied famous musicians. But it was Little Britain that made them stars in 2003; they followed it up with Come Fly with Me. Walliams has also appeared in films such as Run, Fatboy, Run, Dinner for Schmucks and The Look of Love, and on stage in No Man's Land. He's swum the English Channel, the Strait of Gibraltar with James Cracknell and a 140-mile stretch of the River Thames, all in aid of Sport Relief. Walliams joined the judging panel of Britain's Got Talent in 2012, and is the executive producer and star of the Agatha Christie adaptation Partners in Crime.

Career: Cumberbatch has divided his professional time between stage, film and TV. He's performed in various London venues, including the Royal Court and National Theatre, and in 2011 he shared the Olivier Award for Best Actor with his Frankenstein co-star Jonny Lee Miller. His first film was 2003's To Kill a King; projects since include Starter for 10, Amazing Grace, The Other Boleyn Girl, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and War Horse. His biggest successes, however, have come on TV in Hawking, The Last Enemy, Parade's End and, of course, Sherlock. He's also worked on The Hobbit movies and Star Trek Into Darkness.

Career: Greig achieved a cult following playing Debbie Aldridge in The Archers on Radio 4 and had early TV roles in Blue Heaven, Neverwhere, Faith in the Future and Wycliffe. In 2000, the sitcom Black Books helped boost her profile. She had a cameo in 2004 movie Shaun of the Dead, and in the same year appeared in the first series of cult medical sitcom Green Wing, for which she received a Royal Television Society award and a Bafta nomination. She's also featured in Doctor Who and took a key role in romantic comedy- drama Love Soup. Stage credits include the Royal Shakespeare Company's Complete Works Festival. Greig won a Laurence Olivier Award for her role in Much Ado About Nothing. Recent TV work includes the sitcoms Friday Night Dinner and Episodes, and black comedy series Inside No 9.

Career: Whitehouse and Higson later moved in together on a London housing estate where they met Harry Enfield. When the latter's comedy character Stavros took off in the late 1980s, the pair were asked to write for him. Whitehouse also wrote for Vic Reeves, and took inspiration for other characters from the people he worked with in the building trade. He and Higson later devised the award-winning Fast Show. Since then he's been dubbed the world's greatest actor by friend and fan Johnny Depp. Other projects include Jumpers for Goalposts, Happiness, Help, Kevin and Perry Go Large, Harry and Paul, and Bellamy's People.