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: 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 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: Dee's first public act was an open-mic gig in 1986 at the Comedy Store. He was then encouraged to write additional material and go on tour. Since the 1990s he has performed sell-out acts at many high-profile venues. After scooping the British Comedy Award for Best Stage Newcomer in 1991, Dee was offered his own TV show, which brought him to a wider audience. He's continued to do stand-up, fronting such successes as Live at the Apollo and Happy Hour and has branched out into acting, first in comedy drama The Grimleys and latterly to critical acclaim in BBC comedy Lead Balloon, which he also wrote. Other projects include Shooting Stars and I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue.

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: Martin began writing for various shows in the 1960s, and won an Emmy for his work on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. His stand-up career took off in the 1970s, with best-selling albums and hit tours, but he gave it up in 1982 to concentrate on movies. His first big film hit was 1979's The Jerk, which he followed with The Man with Two Brains, Roxanne, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, LA Story, Parenthood, Father of the Bride and Bowfinger. Away from films, Steve has written a number of books, including a memoir, Born Standing Up, and the novella Shopgirl. He collaborated on an album with Edie Brickell that was released in 2013. Martin also regularly plays banjo alongside various artists.