Career: While still presenting, Brydon ventured into comedy, and made ends meet by providing voices for adverts and animations. A small role in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels inspired him to make a short film of his comic characters; series of Marion & Geoff, A Small Summer Party and The Keith Barret Show followed. Other credits include Director's Commentary, Human Remains, Supernova, A Cock and Bull Story, Little Britain, Annually Retentive and Gavin & Stacey. He's also hosted his own BBC chat show and has chaired the comedy panel show Would I Lie to You? since 2009. In 2010, he starred alongside Steve Coogan in the partially improvised BBC Two sitcom The Trip and has since appeared in its follow-up.

Career: After graduating, Mitchell worked an usher at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith. He and Webb took a number of shows to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival before being asked to write for Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller and for surreal comedy series Big Train. In 2001, they made their first sketch show, The Mitchell and Webb Situation, which ran for six episodes on the now-defunct cable channel Play UK. Their next project came in 2003, with the award-winning Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show. They've also worked together on That Mitchell and Webb Sound, That Mitchell and Webb Look and the film Magicians. Solo, Mitchell has appeared on 10 O'Clock Live and numerous panel shows, including Would I Lie to You?, where he's a regular team captain. His autobiography, Back Story: A Memoir, was published in 2012.

Career: His success as a stand-up was crowned when he won an award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He came to the attention of TV bosses after a stint on the radio. Lee was cast in The Sketch show alongside long-term collaborator Tim Vine. After a short-lived stint presenting They Think It's All Over, Mack and Vine began work on Not Going Out. The series revolves around two friends with opposite backgrounds and personalities, much like the two comics themselves. Mack has recently become a regular on comedy panel shows such as Would I Lie to You? and Have I Got News for You. He also has sell-out tours and best-selling DVDs to his name.

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.

Career: In 1999, Blumenthal teamed up with physicist Dr Peter Barham and they have been collaborating on recipes ever since. In 2001, the chef made the TV series Kitchen Chemistry and published his first book Family Food. In 2004, The Fat Duck gained a third Michelin star. The Blumenthals expanded their operations to include a nearby pub, The Hinds Head, and in 2005 The Fat Duck was voted the Best Restaurant in the World. Heston has also tried to turn around the fortunes of the Little Chef chain, won new fans with all manner of odd dishes for celebrity dinner guests in Channel 4's Feast programme, and fronted How to Cook Like Heston.

Career: Since leaving full-time education, Fox has worked consistently on TV, but still found time to tread the boards and appear in movies. Period dramas Rebecca, The Round Tower and the aforementioned Pride and Prejudice brought her fame, but it was the remake of Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) in 2000 that made her a household name. In 2002 she starred in Roman Polanski's Oscar-winning The Pianist and has more recently worked with Britain's acting elite in Gunpowder, Treason & Plot, The Virgin Queen, Marple: The Moving Finger, Born Equal, Upstairs Downstairs and Fallen Angel. In 2004 she took over from Amanda Burton as the lead actress in Silent Witness, and has been playing forensic pathologist Nikki Alexander ever since.

Career: Byrne's career initially got off to a flying start. His first solo show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1996 was a huge success, and two years later he was nominated for a prestigious Perrier Award, while also making well-received appearances on TV. By Ed's own admission, he experienced a slump in the early to mid-noughties - he blames it on a combination of being burnt out and making some bad decisions in regard to his TV work. However, in 2006, he proved he'd got his mojo back with the shows Standing Up, Falling Down and Different Class. Away from stand-up, he's also acted in the drama Reunited and the film Round Ireland with a Fridge, and is a regular on Mock the Week.