8 Out of 10 Cats - Part One - 02:05 am Saturday, December 20 on E4 Extra

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 (Panellist)

Aisling Bea (Contributor)

Born: March 16, 1984 in Co Kildare

Best Known For: Being an actress, writer and comedian.

Early-life: Born Aisling O'Sullivan in Co Kildare on March 16, 1984 to Brian and Helen. Her sister, Sinead, is a costume designer. Aisling attended London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and studied French and Philosophy at Trinity College in Dublin. In 2012, she won the Gilded Balloon So You Think You're Funny award at the Edinburgh Festival.

Career: Alongside her stand-up work, Bea has carved out a successful career as an actress. She made her acting debut in the comedy series The Savage Eye. She has had recurring roles in Cardinal Burns, Dead Boss, Trivia, The Town, The Delivery Man and Trollied. More recently, she starred in The Fall.

Quote: "I love working. It combines my two favourite things: loving working and loving complaining about working."

Trivia: In 2013, Bea was nominated for Best Newcomer in the Edinburgh Comedy Awards for her show C'est la Bea.

Kerry Godliman (Contributor)

Katherine Ryan (Contributor)

Born: June 30, 1983 in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada

Best Known For: Being a comedian.

Early-life: Katherine was born in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, on June 30, 1983. During her childhood, Katherine and her two younger sisters spent most summers in Cork visiting their paternal grandparents. She went on to study city planning at university and ended up training waitresses at Hooters. In her spare time, she attended open mic comedy nights.

Career: Ryan moved to the UK to work for a fashion magazine and began finding stand-up work. She is now a regular guest on Mock the Week, 8 Out of 10 Cats and Never Mind the Buzzcocks. She has also starred in the sitcoms Campus, Episodes and Badults.

Quote: "In the UK, people will go out and see music and comedy every night of the week, but that just doesn't happen in Canada and America."

Trivia: Ryan has battled two bouts of skin cancer.

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.

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.

Josh Widdicombe (Panellist)

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.

Oti Mabuse (Panellist)

Tom Allen (Panellist)

Johnny Vegas (Panellist)

Born: September 11, 1971 in St Helens, Lancashire

Best Known For: His hoarse voice.

Early-life: Born Michael Joseph Pennington in St Helens, Lancashire, on September 11, 1971, he's the youngest of four children. As a child, he wanted to be a priest, and joined a seminary at the age of 11, but left after four terms. He then attended an all-boys grammar school before studying art and ceramics at Middlesex University. Following his graduation, he worked in a bar and went through periods of being unemployed before trying comedy, performing as the character of failed potter and disillusioned entertainer Johnny Vegas.

Career: Vegas's big break came in 1997 when he was nominated for the prestigious Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival. He made his TV debut in the one-off Johnny Vegas TV Show the following year. In 2001, he landed a role in the Paul Whitehouse sitcom Happiness, which won him the Best Newcomer trophies at the Royal Television Society and British Comedy Awards, although it was arguably his appearance in a series of cult adverts with a sock monkey for ITV Digital that made him a household name. Since then, he's been a regular panellist on Shooting Stars, acted in series Tipping the Velvet, Bleak House, Dead Man Weds, Ideal, Massive, Benidorm, Still Open All Hours and presented his own show, 18 Stone of Idiot. He was also in Johnny Depp film The Libertine and The Harry Hill Movie.

Quote: "This is a good job that gives us a good life, you can't expect to turn that off when it suits you."

Trivia: Vegas released an autobiography, Becoming Johnny Vegas, in 2013.

Nish Kumar (Panellist)

Richard Cohen (Executive producer)

Ruth Phillips (Executive producer)

Russell Balkind (Series producer)

Barbara Wiltshire (Director)

Tom Baker (Producer)

Born: January 20, 1934 in Liverpool

Best Known For: Doctor Who.

Early-life: Born Thomas Stuart Baker on January 20, 1934, the eldest of three children of a Jewish father and Catholic mother in a working-class area of Liverpool. He was not distinguished at school, but following a visit from a monk, joined the Brothers of Ploermel on the Isle of Wight. A sudden urge to break all the Commandments prompted him to leave six years later. He began acting training after discovering an ability to make people laugh during his National Service in the medical corps.

Career: Baker started appearing in obscure plays in regional theatre, working in pubs to make ends meet. He made his film debut in 1968's A Winter's Tale and appeared on TV in dramas such as Dixon of Dock Green. A year later he joined Laurence Olivier's National Theatre, but left in 1971 to star as Rasputin in Nicholas and Alexandra. Baker also appeared in The Canterbury Tales and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. By 1974 roles had dried up and he was working on a building site when he was offered the role of Doctor Who. He went on to become the longest-running Time Lord, quitting in 1981 after seven years. Since then, he's worked on stage, TV and in film, most notably in Medics, and the remake of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased). He published an autobiography in 1997 and is constantly in demand for voiceover work.

Quote: "The Old Testament is my favourite science fantasy reading."

Juliet Redden (Producer)

8 Out of 10 Cats: Part One

02:05 am - 03:00 am, Saturday, December 20 on E4 Extra (31)

About this Broadcast

Part One
Season 21, Episode 11

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