The Kate Bush Story: Running Up That Hill

David Gilmour (Contributor)

Lindsay Kemp (Contributor)

Peter Gabriel (Contributor)

Del Palmer (Contributor)

Elton John (Contributor)

Born: March 25, 1947 in Pinner, Middlesex

Best Known For: His long music career.

Early-life: Born Reginald Kenneth Dwight in Pinner, Middlesex, on March 25, 1947, the son of a Royal Air Force trumpeter. He won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music aged 11 - but quit shortly before graduating to join band Bluesology. The group supported American soul acts and backed legendary British musician Long John Baldry. A conflict of interests with the latter caused arguments and Dwight left shortly before meeting lyricist Bernie Taupin. Dwight changed his name to Elton Hercules John in 1968.

Career: John's first solo album flopped in 1969, but its follow-up and the single Your Song were hits. Rocket Man in 1972 marked the beginning of an incredible run of success - 16 straight Top 20 hits (15 of which went Top 10). He has sold more than 250 million records worldwide. In 1994, he won an Oscar for Can You Feel the Love Tonight, from Disney's The Lion King. A version of Candle in the Wind became the world's best-selling single, raising more than £20million for the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. He has collaborated with Bernie Taupin on more than 30 albums, and continues to record and tour.

Quote: "I think people should be free to engage in any sexual practices they choose. They should draw the line at goats, though."

Trivia: Profits from his singles go to the Elton John Aids Foundation. He was knighted in 1998.

Stephen Fry (Contributor)

Born: August 24, 1957 in Hampstead, London

Best Known For: His sharp wit.

Early-life: Stephen John Fry was born on August 24, 1957, in Hampstead, London. He grew up in Norfolk alongside an older brother and younger sister. His father, Alan, is a physicist. Fry attended public schools Stout's Hill and Uppingham (from which he was expelled), and spent time in a Young Offender's Institution after going on a spending spree with a stolen credit card. His writing and performing skills were honed at Cambridge University, where his contemporaries included Emma Thompson, Tony Slattery and Hugh Laurie.

Career: After graduating, Fry and Laurie enjoyed a successful comedy partnership. Fry was a millionaire by 30, thanks to a successful rewrite of the Noel Gay musical Me and My Girl. He has appeared in numerous films and TV projects, including Blackadder, Jeeves and Wooster, Wilde, Thunderpants, Kingdom and The Hobbit. He's also written several books, and is well-known as a charming raconteur. He made his movie debut as writer and director with Bright Young Things, based on Evelyn Waugh's book, Vile Bodies. Fry is the presenter of comedy quiz QI, he has also made several acclaimed documentaries, including ones about manic depression and Aids, and he is the reader for the British versions of JK Rowling's Harry Potter series of audio books.

Quote: "I don't need you to remind me of my age. I have a bladder to do that for me."

Trivia: His distinctive voice has also been featured in a number of video games, including Fable II and Fable III, and as the narrator in the LittleBigPlanet games.

Nigel Kennedy (Contributor)

Annie Clark (Contributor)

Natasha Khan (Contributor)

Tori Amos (Contributor)

Big Boi (Contributor)

Guy Garvey (Contributor)

Tricky (Contributor)

Jo Brand (Contributor)

Born: July 23, 1957 in Wandsworth, London

Best Known For: Acerbic gags about men.

Early-life: Born Josephine Grace Brand in Wandsworth, London, on July 23, 1957. She grew up in a village near Tunbridge Wells. Her father was a civil engineer and her mother a social worker. She has a brother called Matt. Jo was heading for Oxbridge, but rebelled and left home at 16 for a boyfriend her parents didn't approve of. When the relationship broke up, she trained as a nurse. Her first job was in a Dr Barnardo's home, but she ended up working in psychiatric units in London hospitals.

Career: Brand's sense of humour kept her going while dealing with difficult cases at work. She began doing stand-up at London clubs in the mid-1980s and eventually gave up nursing to concentrate on comedy. She was shortlisted for the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival before landing her own comedy show, Jo Brand Through the Cakehole. Since then she has regularly appeared on TV, including as a frequent guest on Have I Got News for You, Question Time and QI. She continues to do stand-up, performing at venues around the country. Brand also took part in Celebrity Fame Academy, and the reality shows Play It Again and Comic Relief Does The Apprentice. She enjoyed a bona fide hit as an actress and writer with dark medical comedy Getting On. She is a judge on ITV reality series Splash!

Quote: "Anything is good if it's made of chocolate."

Trivia: Brand has written a number of hugely popular books.

Steve Coogan (Contributor)

Born: October 14, 1965 in Middleton, Lancashire

Best Known For: Playing hopeless presenter Alan Partridge.

Early-life: Stephen John Coogan was born on October 14, 1965, in Middleton, Lancashire. His parents are Irish and he is the fourth of seven children. It was clear from an early age he was a natural mimic. After leaving the Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre he became an impressionist, and featured on Spitting Image and the Royal Variety Show. He tired of being, in his words, "a cut-rate Rory Bremner" and decided to create characters of his own. The decision paid off, and he won the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1992.

Career: After becoming a cult favourite with Radio 4's On the Hour, Coogan made his TV breakthrough in 1993 with roles on Saturday Zoo and The Day Today. The former introduced his foul-mouthed Mancunian layabout Paul Calf, and the latter brought his most famous radio creation, Alan Partridge, to the small screen. He appeared in horror spoof Dr Terrible's House of Horrible and also made a handful of hit-and-miss films, including Terry Jones's version of Wind in the Willows, The Parole Officer and 24 Hour Party People. He's enjoyed success in America with such films as Around the World in 80 Days, A Night at the Museum and Tropic Thunder. In 2010 he appeared with Rob Brydon in contemplative BBC sitcom The Trip, and more recently in its sequel, The Trip to Italy. He also co-wrote and starred in Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa and Philomena.

Quote: "When my life has been the subject of tabloid intrusion, what I have never done is get engaged in justifying myself. Celebrities who go round apologising are pitiful, and don't do themselves any favours."

Trivia: Coogan and his writing partner, Henry Normal, own Baby Cow Productions, which has backed such hits as Human Remains, Moone Boy, Gavin & Stacey, Nighty Night and The Mighty Boosh.

Neil Gaiman (Contributor)

Mark Cooper (Executive producer)

Adrian Sibley (Director)

01:20 am - 02:20 am, Saturday, February 14 on BBC Four HD (106)

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