Would I Lie to You? - The Best Bits - 7:00 pm Tuesday, March 17 on U&Dave

Rob Brydon (Host)

Born: May 03, 1965 in Swansea

Best Known For: His chat show and Gavin & Stacey.

Early-life: Born Robert Brydon Jones in Swansea, South Wales, on May 3, 1965. His early years were spent in Baglan near Port Talbot before he and his family moved to Porthcawl. He attended two secondary schools, one alongside Catherine Zeta-Jones, the other with Ruth Jones. Under the guidance of his drama teacher at the local comprehensive school, his interest in acting grew, leading to him attending The Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff. During the second year of his course, he quit to work for BBC Wales and enjoyed six years of presenting work on local TV and radio stations.

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.

Quote: 'I was always very good with girls, I could talk to them no problem at all. But I could never close the deal. You need Dutch courage to do that, to kiss them.'

Trivia: He released an autobiography, Small Man in a Book, in 2011.

David Mitchell (Team captain)

Born: July 14, 1974 in Salisbury

Best Known For: Being one half of hysterical duo Mitchell and Webb.

Early-life: Born David James Stuart Mitchell in Salisbury on July 14, 1974. He has a younger brother called Daniel. His parents were hotel managers who later moved to Oxford, where they became lecturers in hotel management. He claims he always wanted to be an actor or comedian, but told people he planned to become a barrister to please his parents. In 1993 David went to Peterhouse College, Cambridge, to study history. He performed with the famous Cambridge Footlights, eventually becoming the society president. It was in his first year at university that he met Robert Webb at an audition for a student pantomime production of Cinderella.

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.

Quote: 'I think, fundamentally, the people I want to make laugh are British. I can't ever imagine living abroad.'

Trivia: He writes columns for The Observer and The Guardian.

Lee Mack (Team captain)

Born: August 04, 1968 in Southport

Best Known For: His role as namesake Lee in BBC comedy Not Going Out.

Early-life: Born Lee Gordon McKillop in Southport, Manchester. He lived with his parents above a pub before their divorce and he relocated to Blackburn. He left school at sixteen and worked as a stable boy and a bingo caller before his talent for performing was realised. He joined Pontin's as a Bluecoat but was sacked for shouting profanities at the audience and going on stage drunk. He entered an open-mike competition in 1994 and his talent was so obvious that he was to become a full-time comic within 18 months.

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.

Quote: 'I'm not as bothered about being as cool as I was 10 years ago. I quite like the idea of being phenomenally uncool.'

Trivia: In June 2012, Mack was one of the comperes at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert outside Buckingham Palace.

Richard Osman (Panellist)

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.

Claudia Winkleman (Panellist)

Born: January 15, 1972 in London

Best Known For: Strictly Come Dancing, and the BBC's flagship Film programme.

Early-life: Claudia Anne Winkleman was born in London on January 15, 1972, to former Sunday Express editor Eve Pollard and publisher Barry Winkleman. Her parents split when she was three, and subsequently remarried. Her half-sister, Sophie, is an actress, and she also has a half-brother called Nicholas. Claudia grew up in the London suburb of Hampstead and attended the City of London School for Girls before studying art history at Cambridge. She considered pursuing a career as a gallery curator, encouraged by her mother who thought the media could be tough on women, but instead ended up working on TV.

Career: Winkleman's TV career began with a job on the regional discussion programme Central Today in 1991, before graduating to Holiday on BBC One and ITV's This Morning. She worked on the infamous L!ve TV and various other digital channels before joining BBC Three's Liquid News in 2002. She also presented a Fame Academy spin-off series, and between 2004 and 2010, she presented Strictly Come Dancing's daily sister show, It Takes Two. Since then, she's fronted Art School, the Eurovision Dance Contest and part of the Sports Relief coverage, as well as her own vehicles, such as King Of. She currently co-hosts the Film programme and since 2013, she has presented The Great British Sewing Bee for BBC Two. After previously filling in as a co-host on Strictly Come Dancing when Bruce Forsyth was unavailable, she became the full-time co-host alongside Tess Daly in 2014.

Quote: On her parents: 'Nepotism is a magnificent thing. Not in the sense of 'Don't worry, love, I'll get you a job', but because they can give you advice.'

Trivia: Winkleman has lent her support to a number of charities, including Comic Relief and Refuge.

Samantha Morton (Panellist)

Born: May 13, 1977 in Nottingham

Best Known For: A series of exceptionally varied roles.

Early-life: Born Samantha Jane Morton in Nottingham on May 13, 1977, to parents who divorced when she was three. They both subsequently remarried, and she has eight brothers and sisters. Samantha was inspired by a teacher to think about a career in acting, and went on to train at the Central Junior Television Workshop. She left at the age of 16 and joined the Royal Court theatre group. At the same time, she appeared in episodes of Soldier Soldier, Boon, Peak Practice and Cracker, and first attracted major attention playing a young prostitute in Band of Gold. She followed that up with leading roles in adaptations of Emma and Jane Eyre.

Career: Samantha's first major movie, Under the Skin gained her a Best Actress Award from the Boston Film Critics Society. The attention made director Woody Allen take notice and he cast her as Hattie in Sweet and Lowdown, for which she received an Oscar nomination. Samantha then played a heroin addict in Jesus' Son, gave another superb performance in Morvern Caller, and was subsequently cast by Steven Spielberg for the sci-fi thriller Minority Report opposite Tom Cruise. The 2002 In America role, which saw her as a young Irish mother coping with life in New York City, won her numerous accolades and another Academy-Award nod. She gained more critical acclaim for her portrayal of Moors murderer Myra Hindley in Channel 4's drama Longford. She made her directorial debut in 2009 with Channel 4 drama The Unloved.

Quote: 'Acting and music are self-indulgent professions. I have a love/hate relationship with what I do.'

Trivia: In 2012, Morton supported the Fostering Network's annual campaign Foster Care Fortnight.

AJ Odudu (Panellist)

Born: February 12, 1988 in Blackburn

Best Known For: Co-presenting Big Brother's Bit on the Side.

Early-life: Born Onatejiro Odudu in Blackburn on February 12, 1988, her parents are from Nigeria and she has five brothers and two sisters. AJ graduated from Keele University with a degree in English and politics.

Career: Before going to university, Odudu was a BBC Blast reporter for Lancashire, covering local events, from culture and night life to comedy. In 2008, she became a roving reporter on BBC Switch's The 5:19 Show before going on to co-host the show with Tom Deacon. In 2011, Odudu was a contributor on E4 comedy discussion show Dirty Digest. Her big break came in 2013, when she began co-hosting Big Brother's Bit on the Side alongside Rylan Clark, and hosting Big Brother's Bit on the Psych. She left the show in November 2013. More recently, she has presented the 4Music programme Trending Live.

Quote: 'I have always wanted to be a TV presenter and knew it would come one day, because I've always been determined.'

Trivia: Odudu loves music and fashion.

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.

Laura Whitmore (Panellist)

Born: May 04, 1985 in Bray, Co Wicklow

Best Known For: Hosting MTV news bulletins and co-hosting I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! NOW!

Early-life: Laura was born in Bray, Co Wicklow, on May 4, 1985. She studied journalism at Dublin City University and spent a year abroad at Boston University. In 2008, Laura began hosting news bulletins for MTV.

Career: Whitmore begin co-hosting I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! NOW! in 2011. In February 2015, she announced that she was leaving MTV after seven years presenting on the channel.

Quote: 'I would never put my face to anything that I didn't care about or couldn't talk about.'

Trivia: In 2009, Whitmore launched a clothing range for Irish chain A Wear.

Lou Sanders (Panellist)

Chris McCausland (Panellist)

Sara Barron (Panellist)

Raj Bisram (Panellist)

Bob Mortimer (Panellist)

Born: May 23, 1959 in Middlesbrough

Best Known For: Being Vic Reeves' comedy partner

Early-life: Born Robert Renwick Mortimer on May 23, 1959, in Middlesbrough. He was seven when his father was killed in a car crash. Mortimer and his three brothers were raised by their mother Eunice. He had a trial with Middlesbrough FC, but didn't make it as a professional. Mortimer later studied law and became a solicitor, but grew disillusioned with his career. His life changed when he and a friend went to see fellow northerner Jim Moir, performing as Vic Reeves, in a London nightclub.

Career: Mortimer became involved with the act, which gained a cult following among celebrities. This led to Channel 4 series Vic Reeves's Big Night Out. Its success prompted him to give up his law career. A move to the BBC in 1993 saw Mortimer get equal billing for the first time. Since then, their shows The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer, Shooting Stars, Bang, Bang It's Reeves and Mortimer, and Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) have been hits. They also penned and appeared in The All Star Comedy Show (with colleague Steve Coogan), and Vic and Bob in Catterick. For years he's claimed that he and Reeves are working on a sitcom about superheroes, but it's yet to see the light of day. Instead, their most recent project has been House of Fools for BBC Two.

Quote: 'Whenever Vic and I do something, we like to get really involved and do a bit of everything, from the casting to the costumes. Any mistakes are our own, and you can't pass the buck.'

Trivia: Mortimer supports Middlesbrough FC.

Sara Pascoe (Panellist)

Born: May 22, 1981 in Dagenham

Best Known For: Being a comedian.

Early-life: Sara was born in Dagenham on May 22, 1981, the daughter of Derek Pascoe, vocalist and saxophonist in 1970s pop group Flintlock. Sara went on to study English at the University of Sussex. She began performing stand-up in 2007.

Career: Pascoe first appeared in her own show at the Edinburgh Festival in 2010. Since then, she has toured around the UK and appeared on a number of TV panel shows, including Mock the Week, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and QI. She has also acted in The Thick of It, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, Campus, Twenty Twelve and W1A. In 2016, she published Animal: The Autobiography of a Female Body.

Quote: 'I don't think there are any subjects you can't joke about because human beings are forgiving of subject matter when we find things funny.'

Trivia: Pascoe is a vegan. In 2014, she was nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Comedy Show.

Les Dennis (Panellist)

Born: October 12, 1954 in Liverpool

Best Known For: Hosting Family Fortunes.

Early-life: Born Leslie Dennis Heseltine on October 12, 1954, in Liverpool, one of four children of a taxi driver, also called Les, and his wife Winnie. He also has a half-brother from his father's first marriage. Les claims to have had a difficult relationship with his dad, who at first disapproved of his son's foray into showbusiness, and found it difficult to watch him being criticised during club performances at the start of his career. However, the pair grew close following the death of his mother from cancer in 1977.

Career: Dennis made his TV debut in Russ Abbot's Madhouse during the early 1980s; his comedy partner Dustin Gee died in 1986. Their impersonations of Coronation Street characters made them famous, but Dennis's future seemed uncertain as he started out alone. However, in 1987 he took over from Max Bygraves as host of Family Fortunes, and presented the game show for the next 15 years. Dennis has also done straight acting, appearing in Brookside, Intimate Relations, Crossroads, Casualty, Extras and The Bill. He also famously took part in Celebrity Big Brother in 2002. He joined the cast of Coronation Street in 2014.

Quote: 'Big Brother was cathartic for me in that it gave me a chance to think about things and decide what I wanted to do with my life.'

Trivia: In 2013, Dennis was a contestant on Celebrity MasterChef and finished runner-up to Ade Edmondson.

Mr Motivator (Panellist)

Stephen Hendry (Panellist)

Sindhu Vee (Panellist)

Kate Bottley (Panellist)

Alex Horne (Panellist)

Peter Holmes (Executive producer)

Rachel Ablett (Executive producer)

Adam Copeland (Series producer)

Barbara Wiltshire (Director)

Would I Lie to You?: The Best Bits

7:00 pm - 7:40 pm, Today on U&Dave (19)

About this Broadcast

The Best Bits
Season 14, Episode 11

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