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: In 1986, Reeves received an Enterprise Allowance grant to finance the stage show Vic Reeves' Variety Palladium, which later became Vic Reeves' Big Night Out. He met Bob Mortimer during its run, and their partnership was formed. A TV version of the show appeared in 1990. Reeves and Mortimer went on to create hits such as The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer, Shooting Stars, Families at War and Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased). Away from the partnership, Reeves has featured in various adverts, hosted historical series Rogues Gallery, been a contestant on I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! and presented Brainiac: Science Abuse. He's also published an acclaimed autobiography, Me: Moir. Shooting Stars was later resurrected - then unceremoniously axed - by the BBC, but Reeves and Mortimer continue to work together, including on the sitcom House of Fools.

Career: Brand's sense of humour kept her going while dealing with difficult cases at work. She began doing stand-up at London clubs in the mid-1980s and eventually gave up nursing to concentrate on comedy. She was shortlisted for the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival before landing her own comedy show, Jo Brand Through the Cakehole. Since then she has regularly appeared on TV, including as a frequent guest on Have I Got News for You, Question Time and QI. She continues to do stand-up, performing at venues around the country. Brand also took part in Celebrity Fame Academy, and the reality shows Play It Again and Comic Relief Does The Apprentice. She enjoyed a bona fide hit as an actress and writer with dark medical comedy Getting On. She is a judge on ITV reality series Splash!

Career: In 1995, Buxton and Cornish submitted a video sketch for a comedy show on Channel 4 called Takeover TV. This led to them being hired to do continuity links and a year later, they were given their own show on Channel 4 called The Adam and Joe Show. This ran for four series between 1996 and 2001 and it took the form of short sketches interspersed with links filmed from a bedsit. Buxton's father, Nigel, appeared in a weekly sketch as the character BaaadDad. Buxton and Cornish went on to present radio shows on Xfm and BBC Radio 6 Music. Buxton boosted his acting CV with roles in Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), Swiss Toni, The IT Crowd, Hot Fuzz (2007), Son of Rambow (2007), Stardust (2007), The Persuasionists and Country Man. Since 2007, he has hosted the BFI's music video showcase Bug. A TV version, Adam Buxton's Bug, was shown on Sky Atlantic in 2012. Buxton guest starred in several episodes of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown in 2014 and 2015. He has produced The Adam Buxton Podcast since September 2015.

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.