Career: Jeremy was employed as a trainee journalist on the Rotherham Advertiser, but he quit while reporting on a local agricultural show because he grew tired of the marrow-growers and Pony Club mums. He joined the family firm as a salesman and moved to London, where he found a new career as a motoring writer. In 1987, he met a Top Gear producer at a car launch and was invited on to the show. He quickly became one of its most popular presenters, but left the programme in 1998 to concentrate on other projects. Other series he has fronted include Speed, Meet The Neighbours and his own chat show, Clarkson. However, he missed talking about cars and returned to a revamped Top Gear, which is now one of the world's most-watched shows.

Career: Hesmondhalgh's career began to take off in the 1990s, with appearances in The Bill, The Dwelling Place and Dalziel and Pascoe, as well as acclaimed comedy drama Pat and Margaret, alongside Victoria Wood and Julie Walters. She got her big break playing Hayley in Coronation Street in 1998, where she became the first transsexual character on a British serial. She's also been a panellist on Loose Women, and in 2007 began a year-long break from Corrie to allow her to spend more time with her family. She returned in 2008, but left the soap in January 2014 following a gruelling and controversial storyline in which the much-loved Hayley committed suicide while battling terminal cancer. She's since returned to the stage.