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: 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!

Career: Conaty stars in the BBC's hidden camera series Impractical Jokers and she has appeared as a guest on a number of panel shows, including Have I Got News for You, 8 Out of 10 Cats and Never Mind the Buzzcocks. In 2013, she began playing Jo in Channel 4 sitcom Man Down.

Career: Mears' TV career began in 1994 with an appearance on the BBC's Wild Tracks series. He turned out to be a natural in front of the camera, which led to his own series, including World of Survival and Country Tracks, in which he showcased the ways in which we can use plants, trees and other natural materials. He's travelled across the world for his various BBC series (although he's since decamped to ITV) and is always keen to learn new survival techniques from the various indigenous people he meets. His knowledge of the wild and his ability to teach others how to live off the land, make him one of TV's most enduringly popular characters.