Career: Mayall made his small-screen debut in 1981 as the protagonist in Kevin Turvey Investigates, closely followed by TV series A Kick Up the Eighties and small roles in films Eye of the Needle and An American Werewolf in London. He shot to fame a year later when he co-wrote and starred in the BBC sitcom The Young Ones. With partner Adrian Edmondson, Mayall created The Dangerous Brothers for Saturday Live, then reteamed with fellow Young One Nigel Planer for Filthy Rich & Catflap in 1987. The same year, he won huge acclaim and a new fanbase with political satire The New Statesman. Other offerings include the movie Drop Dead Fred, Eat the Rich, Carry On Columbus, Guest House Paradiso, Rik Mayall Presents... and the hugely successful Bottom. In 2013, he starred in Channel 4 sitcom Man Down. He died on June 9, 2014

Career: Parsons left engineering and took a job with a theatre company in Kent, where he realised comedy and character roles were his strength. Failure to gain West End work prompted him to tackle cabaret. In the 1950s he became resident comedian at the Windmill Theatre. He also did radio variety and appeared in such films as Simon and Laura and Too Many Crooks. He worked on TV series The Arthur Haynes Show and voiced Four Feather Falls, and hosted ITV quiz Sale of the Century between 1971 and 1985. Other projects include Carry On Regardless, The Wrong Box, The Benny Hill Show and Call My Bluff. He's also hosted Radio 4's Just a Minute since its inception in 1967 and has toured with a one-man show.