Celebrity Puzzling

Carol Vorderman (Team captain)

Born: December 24, 1960 in Bedford

Best Known For: Doing the sums on Countdown.

Early-life: Carol Jean Vorderman was born in Bedford on December 24, 1960, to a Welsh mother and a Dutch father who split up when she was a baby; her mother then took her children (Carol has a brother) back to her hometown of Prestatyn, where they grew up. Carol knew little about her father's early life until she appeared on Who Do You Think You Are? where she learned he had been in the Dutch Resistance during the Second World War - he died while the programme was being made. She studied engineering at Cambridge. It was her mum who put her name forward for Countdown after spotting an advert looking for women with a flair for maths.

Career: Vorderman got the Countdown job, the first show broadcast on Channel 4 in 1982. She was initially one of four female presenters, but the other women were gradually phased out, leaving her as Richard Whiteley's co-host. Vorderman was soon in demand as a presenter on other TV shows, appearing on the likes of Tomorrow's World, How 2, Stars and Their Lives and Better Homes, but throughout continued to appear on Countdown. She announced she was leaving the show in 2008, after bosses reportedly asked her to take a 90 per cent pay cut. She has also been involved in a task force to improve numeracy skills in schools, and until July 2014 co-host of ITV's Loose Women.

Quote: 'All my life, I have been used to dusting myself down and just getting on with it.'

Trivia: Vorderman has hosted the Pride of Britain Awards on ITV since 1999.

Sally Lindsay (Team captain)

Born: July 08, 1973 in Stockport

Best Known For: Coronation Street and Mount Pleasant.

Early-life: Sally was born in Stockport on July 8, 1973. She has a younger brother, Christopher, with whom she's very close - she was the best man at his wedding. Her first brush with showbusiness came when, as a member of the St Winifred's Choir, she two weeks at number one thanks to the song Grandma. After school, she studied English language and literature at Hull University.

Career: Lindsay performed stand-up before turning to acting. Her TV debut came in an episode of The Royle Family in 2000. A year later she made a brief appearance alongside close friend Peter Kay in his cult sitcom Phoenix Nights. A few months on, Lindsay played Shelley Unwin for the first time in Coronation Street, a role she played until 2006. Since then, she has starred in Reggie Perrin, Scott & Bailey, Mount Pleasant, Still Open All Hours and Ordinary Lies.

Quote: 'Being on a soap is the best training you'll ever have.'

Trivia: Lindsay performed as Dolly Parton on Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes.

Jeremy Vine (Host)

Born: May 17, 1965 in Epsom, Surrey

Best Known For: His work at the BBC.

Early-life: Jeremy Guy Vine was born in Epsom, Surrey, on May 17, 1965. His younger brother is comedian Tim Vine. Jeremy was educated at Durham University. After a period working on Metro Radio, he took a journalism training course with the Coventry Evening Telegraph before joining the BBC in 1987.

Career: During a varied career at the BBC, Vine has been a researcher on Heart of the Matter, a reporter on the Today programme, a political and African correspondent, and an anchor on Newsnight. Since 2006, he has analysed the results on BBC's election night coverage. In 2007, he became the presenter of Panorama and a year later started hosting Points of View. Since October 2008, Vine has shared the hosting role of BBC Two quiz Eggheads with Dermot Murnaghan. He has presented the lunchtime show on Radio 2 since 2003. In August 2015, it was announced that he would be a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing.

Quote: On playing in a punk band: 'We wore enormous flared trousers and kipper ties and it started to take off and we were on Radio 1. But it was a catastrophic musical enterprise.'

Trivia: In July 2013, Vine's Radio 2 show became the most popular news programme on UK radio with 7.3 million listeners a week. He played in a punk band in the early 1980s with his brother and a friend.

Kate Humble (Contestant)

Born: December 12, 1968 in Wimbledon

Best Known For: Fronting an array of nature shows.

Early-life: Katherine Humble was born in 1968 in Wimbledon. She admits she didn't excel at school, but was a keen swimmer. After leaving school, Kate travelled through Africa, where she was spotted by a modelling scout. She worked in the business for six months and hated every moment. At the age of 20, she landed a job with a TV production company, and worked her way up the promotions ladder. However, she decided office work wasn't for her and set off travelling again, writing travel pieces for The Daily Telegraph along the way.

Career: Humble's column eventually landed her a slot on the Holiday programme, and she hasn't looked back since. Her CV includes stints on Top Gear, Tomorrow's World, Animal Park, Rough Science and the hugely successful Springwatch and Autumnwatch series. The presenter turned her hand to acting in 1990, making her debut in The Secret Life of Ian Fleming. Kate's credits include presenting The Blue Planet Live at Wembley Arena, and fronting The Hottest Place On Earth. Over the past few years she has fronted TV projects Lambing Live, The Spice Trail, Orbit: Earth's Incredible Journey, Volcano Live, Airport Live and The Secret Life of the Sun.

Quote: 'I tend to get mums pushing their little boys towards me. They ask me if I'm the Springwatch lady and then tell me things like a hedgehog they've seen.'

Trivia: Away from TV, Humble loves the great outdoors and keeps bees and sheep.

Charlie Higson (Contestant)

Matt Floyd (Executive producer)

Michael Mannes (Executive producer)

Martin Scott (Executive producer)

Richard van't Riet (Director)

8:00 pm - 8:55 pm, Thursday, March 19 on 5 +1 (38)

About this Broadcast

Season 2, Episode 19

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