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.

Career: Lock's first professional TV appearance was in 1993, when he appeared in a supporting role alongside Rob Newman and David Baddiel on their signature TV show Newman and Baddiel in Pieces. He toured with the duo as their support act and, as a result, became the first comedian to perform at Wembley Arena. He script-edited the 1998 BBC Two series Is It Bill Bailey? and had his own show on BBC radio, 15 Minutes of Misery. It was later expanded into the half-hour series, 15 Storeys High. He's now a team captain on the panel game 8 Out of 10 Cats. Other game show appearances have come in the likes of The Big Fat Quiz of the Year, Have I Got News for You, QI, and They Think It's All Over. He also hosted his own entertainment show on Channel 4 called TV Heaven, Telly Hell.

Career: In 2003, Richardson won his heat of the BBC New Talent Comedy Search, and a year later did well in the Laughing Horse New Act of the Year competition and J20 Last Laugh Comedy Search. Encouraged by these successes and kind words from Jasper Carrott and Dave Spikey for a performance at the Criterion Theatre in London, his confidence grew. More stand-up followed, including appearances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He went on to feature on numerous radio shows before moving into TV. Richardson appeared on Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Have I Got News For You before becoming a team captain on 8 Out of 10 Cats. He's since published his first book, It's Not Me, It's You! and taken part in various documentaries.

Career: Riley's big break came in 2008 when she was chosen from more than 1,000 applicants to replace Carol Vorderman on Countdown. She presented her first show alongside Jeff Stelling in January 2009, and reached her 1,000th episode in June 2013. Away from the numbers and letters on Countdown, she began co-hosting The Gadget Show alongside Jason Bradbury in June 2013. She was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing in 2013 and was the fifth celebrity to be eliminated.

Career: During this period, Baddiel debuted on the London stand-up circuit, and wrote sketches with Rob Newman for BBC Radio 4's Week Ending. Fame followed in 1990 when the duo appeared as part of The Mary Whitehouse Experience. Baddiel and Newman became the first comedians to sell out Wembley Arena. After the duo split, Baddiel formed a comedy partnership with Frank Skinner when they presented TV series Fantasy Football in 1994. They went on to make chart-topping Euro 96 football anthem Three Lions with the Lightning Seeds. Since then they've hosted several series of Baddiel And Skinner Unplanned, appeared together in the West End, and collaborated on podcasts during the 2006 and 2010 World Cups. Baddiel has also written various novels, including Time for Bed, Whatever Love Means and The Secret Purpose. He also wrote and starred in sitcom Baddiel's Syndrome.

Career: Essex joined TOWIE in the second series and enjoyed a rollercoaster romance with co-star Sam Faiers. They were engaged at one point but finally ended their relationship at the end of series nine. Something of a trendsetter, Essex opened his Brentwood fashion boutique Fusey in 2013 and he also has his own range of hair products. Since finding fame on TOWIE, he has appeared on Loose Women, 8 Out of 10 Cats and All Star Family Fortunes. In November 2013, he was a contestant on I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! In early 2015, he participated in Channel 4 reality series The Jump.

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.