Career: Hart did a stint at the Edinburgh Festival and unsuccessfully tried to pitch a show to BBC executives in 2004. It was attended by Jennifer Saunders who loved her performance so much, she cast her in both French & Saunders and Absolutely Fabulous. Hart also had roles as various characters in sketch show Smack the Pony, and starred in BBC Three's Hyperdrive alongside Nick Frost, which was met with an indifferent response from critics. She was then cast as clumsy cleaner Barbara in Lee Mack's Not Going Out and as 'Tall Karen' in 2007's Monday Monday. After gaining further success with radio shows, she was given her own eponymous series by the BBC. It was to prove a hit with viewers who liked its retro and family-friendly style. She's also enjoyed dramatic acting success with Call the Midwife.

Career: Hodge's first acting job was playing a 37-year-old tart and old-age pensioner in alternate scenes of the same play. She is one of the few actresses to win critical regard, despite spending the bulk of her career in commercial theatre and TV. She played a ballet teacher in acclaimed Quentin Crisp biopic The Naked Civil Servant and also appeared in The Elephant Man. Other memorable TV roles include Rumpole of the Bailey, Jemima Short Investigates, The Life and Loves of a She Devil, and Rich Tea and Sympathy. Film roles include the Harold Pinter drama Betrayal, Bruce Willis flop Sunset and Julie Walters drama Before You Go. She played Margaret Thatcher in controversial drama The Falklands Play and stripped to the basics in the hit West End production of Calendar Girls. Her recent work has included playing Miranda Hart's mother in the comedienne's hit sitcom Miranda.

Career: Hadland began making her mark on TV in episodes of Bad Girls, Casualty, The Bill, Peep Show and Doctors. She landed bigger roles in Green Wing and Broken News. Since then, she has starred in Moving Wallpaper, That Mitchell and Webb Look, Horrible Histories, Waterloo Road, The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff and The Job Lot. On the big screen, she has starred in Confetti (2006), Magicians (2007) and Leap Year (2010). She reached a wider audience in 2009 when she began playing Stevie in BBC sitcom Miranda.

Career: After a flying start to his professional acting career, strong parts became hard to come by. He had one-off roles in the likes of Holby City, Doctors, Midsomer Murders and Waking the Dead and a stint in EastEnders as Dr Oliver but he didn't really start to get noticed until he began playing Miranda Hart's love interest in her BBC sitcom Miranda. The success of that show has opened a number of doors for Ellis. Away from Miranda, he has starred in Gates, The Secret of Crickley Hall, Once Upon a Time and ABC pilot Gothica.

Career: Her role as a receptionist in I'm Alan Partridge proved to be her big break and she was nominated for best female newcomer at the British Comedy Awards that year. She had a starring role in the short-lived 1999 British comedy series Hippies (with Simon Pegg and Julian Rhind-Tutt), and also co-created and wrote Smack the Pony, the all-female, double Emmy Award winning comedy show. She appeared in Bridget Jones's Diary as 'Shazzer', and has appeared in such success stories as Jam and Jerusalem and hit comedy Miranda.