8 Out of 10 Cats

Jimmy Carr (Host)

Born: September 15, 1972 in Slough

Best Known For: His stand-up comedy

Early-life: James Anthony Patrick Carr was born in Slough on September 15, 1972, one of three sons of Irish immigrants. His parents split in 1994, though the marriage didn't end until the death of his mother in 2001. Jimmy did well at school and studied political science at Cambridge before moving into advertising. He landed a job in the marketing department of Shell Oil, but felt unfulfilled. When the company offered him voluntary redundancy, he took it, and decided to pursue a career in comedy.

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.

Quote: "I'm not being condescending, I'm too busy thinking about far more important things you wouldn't understand."

Trivia: In February 2007, Carr was the first major comedian to perform in the virtual reality world Second Life.

Rob Beckett (Team captain)

Josh Widdicombe (Team captain)

Born: April 08, 1983 in Dartmoor

Best Known For: Being a comedian and a regular on The Last Leg.

Early-life: Joshua Widdicombe was born in Dartmoor on April 8, 1983. He has a brother, Henry. Josh went on to study linguistics at the University of Manchester. He began performing stand-up in 2008 and made it to the final of So You Think You're Funny at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival the same year.

Career: In 2011, Widdicombe performed his debut solo show in Edinburgh and was nominated for an Edinburgh Comedy Award in the best newcomer category. Since 2012, he has been a regular on Channel 4's The Last Leg, alongside Adam Hills and Alex Brooker. He has also appeared on Mock the Week, QI and Have I Got News for You.

Quote: "The thing about stand-up is that you end up meeting your idols."

Trivia: In December 2013, Widdicombe won his edition of Celebrity Mastermind - his specialist subject was Blur.

Joe Swash (Panellist)

Born: January 20, 1982 in Islington, London

Best Known For: His work in EastEnders.

Early-life: Born in 1982, Swash studied at Highbury Grove School in Islington, and attended Anna Scher Theatre School on the advice of his mother's friend, actress Linda Robson. Fellow attendees at the time were his future EastEnders co-stars Natalie Cassidy, James Alexandrou and Brooke Kinsella. When Swash was seven, he made his first TV appearance in an Andrex advertisement, and at the age of 11 he was cast in the movie The Adventures of Pinocchio, with Dawn French and Griff Rhys Jones.

Career: Swash was about to give up on the idea of becoming an actor when he won a role in BBC's EastEnders. He was cast as Mickey Miller and made his first appearance in EastEnders in April 2003 as a recurring character. In November 2008, Swash was crowned King of the Jungle after winning the reality TV show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! He has presented a number of shows for ITV2, including Minute to Win It and Fake Reaction. Other projects include Hole in the Wall, Gimme a Break and Celebrity Juice.

Quote: "I fancied being a fireman because I wanted to help people and because I didn't want to do a 9-5 job. Plus I know the ladies like the uniforms. But EastEnders called and offered me the part of Mickey, and I haven't looked back since."

Trivia: He has performed in a number of pantos.

Harriet Kemsley (Panellist)

Dotty (Panellist)

Suzi Ruffell (Panellist)

Richard Cohen (Executive producer)

Richard Osman (Executive producer)

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.

Ruth Phillips (Executive producer)

Russell Balkind (Series producer)

01:05 am - 02:00 am, Today on E4 Extra (31)

About this Broadcast

Season 21, Episode 8

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