Have I Got a Bit More News for You

Stephen Mangan (Host)

Born: July 22, 1972 in London

Best Known For: Green Wing and Episodes.

Early-life: Born on July 22, 1972, in London, and was raised in Hertfordshire. His parents were Irish, and his father owned a building company. He became interested in acting after appearing in numerous school plays, but never thought he would tread the boards professionally. Instead, he studied law at Cambridge University, but decided against being a solicitor after taking a year out to care of his terminally ill mother. After a spell at Rada, he began landing theatre roles.

Career: Mangan became a regular on the West End stage, and apart from some foreign adverts, steered clear of TV work for years. He made his film debut in Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence in 1998, and had a small role in Billy Elliot. Early TV appearances came in Big Bad World, Sword of Honour, In Defence and Human Remains before his big break as the lead in Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years. He's worked consistently in movies and on TV ever since, with roles in Jane Hall, Marple, Never Better, I'm Alan Partridge, Hyperdrive, and the acclaimed Green Wing. His recent work includes Dirk Gently and Episodes on TV, as well as several well-received stage performances.

Quote: "I love playing unattractive parts. I want to be really horrid. I want people to really hate me. Maybe one day in analysis, I'll discover what that's all about."

Trivia: Away from showbiz, Mangan is a Tottenham Hotspur fan. He attends games with Tamsin Greig's husband, actor Richard Leaf.

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.

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.

Ross Noble (Panellist)

Born: June 05, 1976 in Cramlington, Northumberland

Best Known For: His hugely popular and very random stand-up tours

Early-life: Noble is originally from Cramlington, near Newcastle. "The ultimate in dullness" helped him with his career - he found little to do in his hometown so he became particularly imaginative. He joined a clown troupe and sold balloons as a stilt-walker, before deciding to become a comedian after winning tickets to a comedy show. Noble has been performing since first appearing in his local comedy club at the age of 15.

Career: Since starting as a stand-up comedian, Noble has won many awards, including a Time Out award winner in 2000 for his Edinburgh show Chickenmaster, and a Perrier Award nomination in 1999 for another Edinburgh Festival show Laser Boy. He has since achieved great popularity in both the UK and Australia, where he has toured extensively every year since 2001. Noble's 2003 show Unrealtime was the best-selling show at the Edinburgh Fringe. His annual DVDs and tours are always hugely well received.

Quote: "It always ends up with a chinchilla on a bicycle. That's just my mind."

Trivia: In a poll for Channel 4, Noble was voted the 10th on a list of the 100 Greatest Stand Ups.

Ria Lina (Panellist)

Jo Maney (Producer)

Paul Wheeler (Director)

Danny Carr (Series producer)

01:00 am - 02:00 am, Monday, January 12 on U&Dave HD (19)

About this Broadcast

Season 62, Episode 1

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