8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown

Jimmy Carr (Host)

Born: September 15, 1972 in Slough

Best Known For: His stand-up comedy

Early-life: James Anthony Patrick Carr was born in Slough on September 15, 1972, one of three sons of Irish immigrants. His parents split in 1994, though the marriage didn't end until the death of his mother in 2001. Jimmy did well at school and studied political science at Cambridge before moving into advertising. He landed a job in the marketing department of Shell Oil, but felt unfulfilled. When the company offered him voluntary redundancy, he took it, and decided to pursue a career in comedy.

Career: Carr began performing on the stand-up circuit, doing up to 300 shows a year for three years, before taking his act to the Edinburgh festival in 2002. This brought him to the attention of TV bosses, and before long he was presenting series such as Your Face or Mine and Distraction. Since then, he's rarely been off TVscreens, hosting the first run of the Friday Night Project, 8 Out of 10 Cats and numerous Channel 4 list shows. He's also made a move into acting, appearing in Alien Autopsy, Confetti, Stormbreaker and Telstar. He is one of Britain's busiest comics and his DVDs are big sellers.

Quote: "I'm not being condescending, I'm too busy thinking about far more important things you wouldn't understand."

Trivia: In February 2007, Carr was the first major comedian to perform in the virtual reality world Second Life.

Susie Dent (Contributor)

Rachel Riley (Contributor)

Born: January 11, 1986 in Rochford, Essex

Best Known For: Countdown.

Early-life: Rachel Annabelle Riley was born in Rochford, Essex, on January 11, 1986. She studied mathematics at Oriel College, Oxford.

Career: Riley's big break came in 2008 when she was chosen from more than 1,000 applicants to replace Carol Vorderman on Countdown. She presented her first show alongside Jeff Stelling in January 2009, and reached her 1,000th episode in June 2013. Away from the numbers and letters on Countdown, she began co-hosting The Gadget Show alongside Jason Bradbury in June 2013. She was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing in 2013 and was the fifth celebrity to be eliminated.

Quote: "I don't want girls to aspire to being famous for the sake of being famous. If I was only known for wearing a dress, that wouldn't have any value for me."

Trivia: Riley won £36,000 for charity on a celebrity edition of The Bank Job. She supports Manchester United.

Jon Richardson (Team captain)

Born: September 26, 1982 in Lancaster

Best Known For: 8 Out of 10 Cats.

Early-life: Jon Joel Richardson was born on September 26, 1982, in Lancaster. He has a sister. His parents split up when he was very young, and he was raised by his mother and her long-term partner; he also maintained a relationship with his father. Jon's teachers often noted what a good sense of humour he had on his school reports, and although he dreamed of being a comedian, didn't think it would be possible. He studied Spanish and Portuguese at university but dropped out, became a chef, then decided to give stand-up a go.

Career: In 2003, Richardson won his heat of the BBC New Talent Comedy Search, and a year later did well in the Laughing Horse New Act of the Year competition and J20 Last Laugh Comedy Search. Encouraged by these successes and kind words from Jasper Carrott and Dave Spikey for a performance at the Criterion Theatre in London, his confidence grew. More stand-up followed, including appearances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He went on to feature on numerous radio shows before moving into TV. Richardson appeared on Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Have I Got News For You before becoming a team captain on 8 Out of 10 Cats. He's since published his first book, It's Not Me, It's You! and taken part in various documentaries.

Quote: "My big thing is that you should be comfortable on your own in the dark. There's nothing eating away at you."

Trivia: Richardson fronted the documentary A Little Bit OCD in which he examined the lives of OCD sufferers while trying to work out if he also had the condition. It won a Mind Award for best documentary in 2013.

Rob Beckett (Team captain)

Judi Love (Panellist)

Miles Jupp (Panellist)

Born: September 08, 1979 in Newcastle Upon Tyne

Best Known For: Starring in Rev and Balamory

Early-life: Miles was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1979, but spent most of his childhood in London. His father was a minister in the United Reform Church, and it initially looked as if Miles was going to follow in his footsteps when he studied Divinity at the University of Edinburgh. However, he combined his studies _ and a job as a trainee chaplain in the local psychiatric hospital _ with performing as a stand-up comedian.

Career: His stand-up career started to take off _ he won the So You Think You're Funny? competition in 2001 and two years later was nominated for the Best Newcomer Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In 2002, he also won over a younger audience when he was cast as Archie the inventor in the children's TV series Balamory, which ran for three years. Since then, he's gone on to appear in acclaimed sitcoms such as The Thick Of It and Rev, and has cropped up on numerous panel shows. He's also appeared in films ranging from Johnny English Reborn to Grimsby and The Legend of Tarzan, and took over from Sandi Toksvig as the host of Radio 4's The News Quiz.

Quote: On being typecast as polite, repressed characters: "I was moaning about this the other day to a friend and he said: 'What are you expecting to play - a Mexican drug lord?'"

Trivia: Miles starred as the actor David Tomlinson, who is probably best know for his role in Mary Poppins, in the one-man play The Life I Lead. He took on the project after numerous people _ including Tomlinson's eldest son _ remarked on the similarities between them.

(Contributor)

Dane Buckley (Contributor)

Richard Cohen (Executive producer)

Ruth Phillips (Executive producer)

Charlotte Bracey-Curant (Producer)

Helena Parkhill (Producer)

Barbara Wiltshire (Director)

02:10 am - 03:10 am, Saturday, January 31 on 4seven (49)

About this Broadcast

Season 29, Episode 3

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