8 Out of 10 Cats

Jimmy Carr (Host)

Born: September 15, 1972 in Slough

Best Known For: His stand-up comedy

Early-life: James Anthony Patrick Carr was born in Slough on September 15, 1972, one of three sons of Irish immigrants. His parents split in 1994, though the marriage didn't end until the death of his mother in 2001. Jimmy did well at school and studied political science at Cambridge before moving into advertising. He landed a job in the marketing department of Shell Oil, but felt unfulfilled. When the company offered him voluntary redundancy, he took it, and decided to pursue a career in comedy.

Career: Carr began performing on the stand-up circuit, doing up to 300 shows a year for three years, before taking his act to the Edinburgh festival in 2002. This brought him to the attention of TV bosses, and before long he was presenting series such as Your Face or Mine and Distraction. Since then, he's rarely been off TVscreens, hosting the first run of the Friday Night Project, 8 Out of 10 Cats and numerous Channel 4 list shows. He's also made a move into acting, appearing in Alien Autopsy, Confetti, Stormbreaker and Telstar. He is one of Britain's busiest comics and his DVDs are big sellers.

Quote: 'I'm not being condescending, I'm too busy thinking about far more important things you wouldn't understand.'

Trivia: In February 2007, Carr was the first major comedian to perform in the virtual reality world Second Life.

Rob Beckett (Team captain)

Aisling Bea (Team captain)

Born: March 16, 1984 in Co Kildare

Best Known For: Being an actress, writer and comedian.

Early-life: Born Aisling O'Sullivan in Co Kildare on March 16, 1984 to Brian and Helen. Her sister, Sinead, is a costume designer. Aisling attended London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and studied French and Philosophy at Trinity College in Dublin. In 2012, she won the Gilded Balloon So You Think You're Funny award at the Edinburgh Festival.

Career: Alongside her stand-up work, Bea has carved out a successful career as an actress. She made her acting debut in the comedy series The Savage Eye. She has had recurring roles in Cardinal Burns, Dead Boss, Trivia, The Town, The Delivery Man and Trollied. More recently, she starred in The Fall.

Quote: 'I love working. It combines my two favourite things: loving working and loving complaining about working.'

Trivia: In 2013, Bea was nominated for Best Newcomer in the Edinburgh Comedy Awards for her show C'est la Bea.

Katherine Ryan (Panellist)

Born: June 30, 1983 in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada

Best Known For: Being a comedian.

Early-life: Katherine was born in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, on June 30, 1983. During her childhood, Katherine and her two younger sisters spent most summers in Cork visiting their paternal grandparents. She went on to study city planning at university and ended up training waitresses at Hooters. In her spare time, she attended open mic comedy nights.

Career: Ryan moved to the UK to work for a fashion magazine and began finding stand-up work. She is now a regular guest on Mock the Week, 8 Out of 10 Cats and Never Mind the Buzzcocks. She has also starred in the sitcoms Campus, Episodes and Badults.

Quote: 'In the UK, people will go out and see music and comedy every night of the week, but that just doesn't happen in Canada and America.'

Trivia: Ryan has battled two bouts of skin cancer.

Alex Brooker (Panellist)

Best Known For: Co-hosting The Last Leg.

Early-life: Alex was born in Kent in 1986 with hand and arm deformities and a twisted right leg which had to be amputated when he was a baby. He now wears a prosthetic leg. He studied journalism at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) and during his time there he spent a day working at the Liverpool Echo, wrote a column for a student magazine and was presenter on a student radio station.

Career: Brooker was the Disabled Rights Officer for LJMU before he went to work for the Press Association on a trainee editorial scheme. His big break came in 2012 when he beat thousands of people to become the face of Channel 4's 2012 Paralympics coverage. He was a co-host on The Last Leg with Adam Hills, a nightly alternative look at the Games. In 2013, he returned as a regular on The Last Leg. In January 2014, he began co-hosting Channel 4's celebrity reality series The Big Jump alongside Davina McCall but did not return for the second series in 2015. He started presented The Superhumans Show for Channel 4 in 2016.

Quote: 'While we are advanced in this country in terms of our attitudes towards disability, there is still a level of unease about what you can and can't say.'

Trivia: He supports Arsenal FC.

Natalie Cassidy (Panellist)

Born: May 13, 1983 in Islington, London

Best Known For: Playing Sonia in EastEnders

Early-life: Natalie Ann Cassidy was born on May 13, 1983, in Islington, London. She became interested in performing at an early age, despite none of her family having been involved in showbusiness, and claims she was inspired to tread the boards after watching Rainbow as a child. At the age of eight, she enrolled at The Anna Scher Theatre School and it soon became clear she had an impressive future ahead of her.

Career: At 10 she auditioned for a role in EastEnders and won the coveted part of Sonia, a member of the infamous Jackson clan. During her time in the soap her character had to deal with giving birth after not realising she was pregnant, the death of her fiance and a lesbian affair that almost wrecked her marriage. Cassidy won both British Soap and TV Quick Awards, and is one of EastEnders' most popular stars. She's also appeared on So Graham Norton, taken part in Celebrity Driving School, and reported for Holiday. She was a contestant on the seventh series of Strictly Come Dancing. In 2012, she entered the Celebrity Big Brother house.

Quote: 'I know that my face is well known because of TV, but I don't feel famous, I just feel like a really normal person.'

Trivia: In 2007, Natalie released a fitness DVD.

Tom Allen (Panellist)

Richard Cohen (Executive producer)

Richard Osman (Executive producer)

Born: November 28, 1970 in Billericay

Best Known For: Pointless.

Early-life: Richard Thomas Osman was born in Billericay on November 28, 1970, but grew up in West Sussex. He was raised by his single mum after his father left home - they didn't see each other for 20 years. Richard studied politics and sociology at Trinity College, Cambridge, where his future Pointless colleague Alexander Armstrong was reading English literature. He claims that one of his proudest moments came when his mum and grandfather watched his graduation.

Career: Osman has worked behind the scenes as an executive producer on a number of TV programmes, including Deal or No Deal, 8 Out of 10 Cats, and 10 O'Clock Live. As the UK creative director of TV production company Endemol, he pitched the quiz Pointless to the BBC. As a way of explaining the rules, he played the co-host during a run-through. He was asked to do the role for real when the show was commissioned. Pointless started on BBC Two in 2009 and was an immediate hit. It quickly made the switch to BBC One. Since being in the spotlight on Pointless, he has made guest appearances on QI, Have I Got News for You and Would I Lie to You? He also guest presented an episode of The One Show alongside Alex Jones.

Quote: 'Whenever I turn up to pub quizzes now, I see people going: ‘Urgh, that's the guy who knows everything.''

Trivia: He is the younger brother of Mat Osman, bassist with Suede, and suffers from nystagmus, a condition that results in uncontrolled movement of the eyes.

Ruth Phillips (Executive producer)

Andrew Westwell (Executive producer)

Lisa Kirk (Series producer)

11:00 pm - 11:50 pm, Monday, June 8 on U&Dave (19)

About this Broadcast

Season 20, Episode 7

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