Career: Hailed as the best new stand-up to emerge in a decade, Michael has taken the comedy world by storm. He delivered electrifying sets on both We Are Not Amused (Prince Charles's 60th birthday celebrations on ITV1) and the Royal Variety Performance (BBC One), plus a stand-out performance as host on the first episode of BBC One's Live at the Apollo, leading to the Comedy Roadshow vehicle.

Career: Dyer's first film was 1999's Human Traffic and he followed this up with roles in a number of low-budget movies, including Borstal Boy (2000), High Heels and Low Lifes (2001), Mean Machine (2001), The Football Factory (2004), Adulthood (2008) and Vendetta (2013). Dyer had a lead role in Run for Your Wife (2013), which was savaged by film critics and only took £602 during its opening weekend. He has also appeared in a number of stage productions, including Celebration and No Man's Land, and has presented documentaries about football and hardmen. In 2013, he joined the cast of EastEnders as Mick Carter.

Career: She co-presented Saturday morning children's magazine Live & Kicking alongside Jamie Theakston from 1996 to 1999. She landed a co-hosting gig on the Radio 1 Breakfast Show in October 1997 with Kevin Greening. She eventually became the sole host, making her the first female DJ to do so. She also continued her onscreen partnership with Jamie Theakston for four series of The Priory on Channel 4. After a string of presenting roles and various radio jobs, she was a contestant in series three of Strictly Come Dancing. Since then, she has presented Soapstar Superstar, talent search Grease is the Word, Strictly Come Dancing's sister show It Takes Two, and The Voice's companion show, The Voice: Louder on Two. She also announced that Peter Capaldi would be taking over from Matt Smith in Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor.

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: Malone worked for the London Symphony Orchestra from 2001 until 2009. He ran their youth choir and community choir. His big break came in 2006 when he presented the first series of The Choir on BBC Two. He was asked to create a choir from scratch at a comprehensive school in Middlesex. He auditioned 160 pupils for 30 places. After only nine months' training, he took them to China to compete in the 2006 World Choir Games. The series was a big success and since then he has presented various takes on the same format, including The Choir: Boys Don't Sing, The Choir: Unsung Town, The Choir: Military Wives, and Sing While You Work. He has also made a version of The Choir for the American market and appeared on Who Do You Think You Are?

Career: Julian quickly became a household name, thanks to shows such as Terry and Julian, Sticky Moments and All Rise for Julian Clary. He's toured the world with his stand-up show, and has a wealth of TV quizzes under his belt - most notably It's Only TV But I Like It. He's also turned his hand to acting, featuring in dramas such as Virtual Murder and Brazen Hussies, as well as a big-screen appearance in the ill-fated Carry On Columbus (1992). Julian also has four ITV pantomimes to his credit, and is a regular panellist on Radio 4's Just a Minute. He took part in the second series of Strictly Come Dancing, and won Celebrity Big Brother in 2012.

Career: Wallace was the original presenter of Saturday Kitchen from 2002 until he was replaced by Antony Worrall Thompson in 2003. He writes regularly for Good Food and Olive magazine, and has had interests in various businesses, including two London restaurants. Wallace also presented Veg Out for the Discovery Channel, and Follow That Tomato for The Food Channel, resulting in a Royal Television Society award for Best Lifestyle Programme in 2003. For the BBC, he has been a hugely popular presenter of MasterChef and Celebrity MasterChef. He also co-presented Harvest 2013 and Supermarket Secrets. In 2014, he took part in Strictly Come Dancing and was the first to leave the competition.

Career: In 2001, Empson starred alongside Davina McCall in the short-lived ITV sitcom Sam's Game. She played various characters in two series of the BBC hidden camera comedy 3 Non-Blondes. Empson has also appeared on TV in Beautiful People and Whitechapel. In 2009, she joined the cast of EastEnders, playing Kim Fox.

Career: McCutcheon made her TV debut in Bluebirds in 1989 and at 15 fronted the all-girl band Milan, which went on tour with East 17. She started playing Tiffany Mitchell in EastEnders when she was 17 and, for three years, was one of the show's most popular characters. McCutcheon left Albert Square to pursue a singing career - her first single, Perfect Moment, shot straight to the top of the charts. She won an Olivier Award in 2002 for her West End debut role as Eliza Doolittle in a revival of My Fair Lady, although her run was cut short by ill health. She has also starred in Love Actually, The English Harem and Echo Beach. Away from acting she's released a fitness DVD, two autobiographies and a novel, and was a judge on short-lived ITV show Let's Get Gold.

Career: Manford was nominated for the Perrier Award in Edinburgh in 2005 for his show Urban Legends. He then became a regular at comedy clubs across the UK. His first major TV appearance was as a guest on the Channel 4 panel show 8 Out of 10 Cats; he later replaced Dave Spikey as a team captain. His stand-up shows are hugely popular and he has given snippets of his routine on shows such as Live at The Apollo and Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow. He was an instant hit as host of The One Show but quit after some Twitter indiscretions. In July 2012, he revealed some versatility by appearing in the West End revival of the musical Sweeney Todd. In 2015, he starred in the BBC One drama Ordinary Lies and played Leo Bloom in a touring version of Mel Brooks' The Producers.