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: Broadbent caught the eye of casting directors following Illuminatus in 1976, a 12-hour sci-fi production. He worked with the National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company and as the National Theatre of Brent, a two-man comedy troupe he co-founded with Patrick Barlow. Despite originally turning down the role of Del Boy, he played bent copper Roy Slater in Only Fools and Horses. Bigger parts came in the 1990s, in such projects as Life Is Sweet, Bullets Over Broadway, Richard III and Topsy-Turvy. He also starred in Bridget Jones's Diary, Moulin Rouge!, Iris (for which he won an Oscar), Gangs of New York, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and two Harry Potter movies. His recent work includes The Iron Lady, Cloud Atlas, Le Week-End, The Harry Hill Movie, Paddington and Get Santa.

Career: Despite a healthy stand-up career, O'Hanlon didn't become famous until he took the role of nice-but-dim Dougal in the acclaimed Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted. The series ended in 1998 following the sudden death of co-star Dermot Morgan. Since then, O'Hanlon has been associated with a number of projects, including roles in the sitcom My Hero and light-hearted drama Big Bad World. He also provided the voice of Robbie the Reindeer in three animated films. He's written novels that were well-received by critics, and starred in West End hit See You Next Tuesday. Other projects include Blessed, Doctor Who, The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby, the RTE sitcom Val Falvey TD, and Dublin's Gate Theatre production of God of Carnage.

Career: Rippon moved to BBC South West in 1966, then became a BBC news reporter. Although often wrongly credited as the first female newsreader, she became the face of BBC One's Nine O'Clock News when she began presenting it in 1975. She branched out to present the Eurovision Song Contest in 1977, and a year later hosted Top Gear. In 1983, she was part of the TV:am team but left, along with other presenters, shortly afterwards. A move to America led to work for a station in Boston, Massachusetts, where she wrote the Victoria Plum books. Rippon has also presented Cash in the Attic, Come Dancing, worked for Watchdog and the Holiday programme, and famously appeared alongside Morecambe and Wise in 1976. She also had a brief spell as a Dancing on Ice contestant in 2011.