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.

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.

Career: Bakewell eventually returned to work in the early 1960s, and quickly made a name for herself thanks to numerous arts, travel and current affairs programmes. TV's Late Night Line Up made her a national pin-up. Since then she's presented the religious affairs programme Heart of the Matter, written radio plays, published numerous books and become one of the BBC's most respected broadcasters. She currently presents Something Understood for BBC Radio 4 and Belief for BBC Radio 3 and continues to write articles for various newspapers. Her autobiography, The Centre of the Bed, was published in 2004, which hit the headlines thanks to its account of her affair with playwright Harold Pinter, which inspired his 1978 play Betrayal. Her first novel, All the Nice Girls, came out in 2009.