Have I Got News for You

Paul Merton (Team captain)

Born: January 17, 1957 in London

Best Known For: Have I Got News For You.

Early-life: Born Paul James Martin in Parsons Green, London, on January 17, 1957. He grew up in Merton, South London, and took his stage name from the district because somebody else called Paul Martin was registered with Equity when he tried to join. His father was a guard on the Underground in Fulham, his mother was a nurse and he has a sister, Angela. Paul was inspired to become a comedian at the age of three following a trip to the circus. After failing his 11-plus he went to a Catholic comprehensive school where he gained two A-levels but decided against going to university.

Career: Merton worked at the Tooting Employment Office while gaining experience at the London Comedy Store before moving onto the cabaret circuit. He made his TV debut in a small role in a 1984 episode of The Young Ones. After 10 years of performing, his TV career took off thanks to Whose Line Is It Anyway? He then wrote Paul Merton, the Series for Channel 4. Have I Got News For You made him a household name. He claims a highlight of his career was performing at the London Palladium. Merton also hosted Room 101 and is a regular on TV and radio. He has filmed travelogues to China and India for Channel 5 and presented various documentaries on the subject of comedy and silent film for the BBC.

Quote: 'I don't suffer from pre-show terror or anything like that. I assume if people have paid money to see me they already think I'm funny and that does give you confidence.'

Trivia: In 2014, he published his autobiography, Only When I Laugh.

Ian Hislop (Team captain)

Born: July 13, 1960 in The Mumbles, Wales

Best Known For: Being a team captain on Have I Got News For You.

Early-life: Born July 13, 1960, in The Mumbles, Wales, but moved around a lot due to his father's job as a civil engineer. The family spent time in Nigeria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong. Hislop was educated at boarding school before studying English at Oxford, where he performed in revues and edited the magazine Passing Wind. During this time he met Peter Cook for the first time, who then owned satirical magazine Private Eye.

Career: Hislop began submitting articles to Private Eye in 1980, eventually becoming deputy editor. When editor Richard Ingrams, one of the magazine's founders, quit in 1986, Cook offered him his job. Hislop has also regularly contributed to numerous publications, including The Listener, The Sunday Telegraph, The Spectator, Financial Times, The Guardian, The Literary Review and Time Out. Hislop's TV work began in 1983 with an appearance on Loose Talk and scripts for Spitting Image. He became a familiar face thanks to Have I Got News For You, which began its run in 1990. He also co-wrote family sitcom My Dad's the Prime Minister.

Quote: 'It is no longer acceptable in British politics to be fat or eccentric or religious.'

Trivia: Hislop had a small role in the Greek TV series The Island, which was based on his wife's bestselling novel.

Gabby Logan (Host)

Born: April 24, 1973 in Leeds

Best Known For: Being the glamorous face of sport.

Early-life: Born Gabrielle Nicole Yorath on April 24, 1973, to former Leeds United and Welsh international footballer Terry. The family moved around a lot when she was younger due to her father's job. Although Gabby initially dreamed of being a tennis player, she decided to concentrate on gymnastics from the age of 10, and took part in the Commonwealth Games in Auckland in 1990. However, she was eventually forced to quit the sport due to back problems. She studied law at Durham University, but at the same time worked in radio and wrote for magazines.

Career: After graduating, Gabby worked for a series of local radio stations before landing a job at Sky Sports in 1996. She covered a variety of events before she was head-hunted by ITV two years later to front the programme On the Ball. She became a regular fixture on the ITV sporting schedule, and was part of the team responsible for covering the 2002 World Cup. While at ITV she also hosted game show The Vault. She moved to the BBC in 2007, where she is one of the channel's senior sports presenters. She also hosts Splash! and Flockstars on ITV.

Quote: 'If you come across as someone who is knowledgeable and passionate then the fans will respect you.'

Trivia: Gabby took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2007 and she was eliminated in the fourth week.

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.

Michelle Wolf (Presenter)

Jo Bunting (Series producer)

Jordan Reed (Producer)

Martin Lord (Director)

10:40 pm - 11:10 pm, Monday, April 20 on BBC One London (1)

About this Broadcast

Season 71, Episode 3

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