Alan Davies

Essex-born Alan Davies had a well established career in stand-up comedy before making the crossover to television. He secured his first stand-up job five months after leaving college and subsequently made many stand-up appearances on television, but mainstream success took several years to achieve. Alan won the Time Out Award for Best Comic in 1991 and the work offers began to increase slowly, but surely.
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Alistair McGowan

Star of Alistair Mcgowan's Big Impression and Mayo, this brilliant impersonator has many television appearances to his credit. He is also well established as an after dinner speaker and has spoken at events as diverse as The Professional Footballers Association Annual Dinner and The Royal Television Society Awards.
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Ardal O'Hanlon

Ardal O'Hanlon shot to fame after playing the dim-witted Father Dougal Maguire in the classic sitcom, Father Ted. After attending Dublin University, Ardal and friends established Ireland's first alternative comedy club - The Comedy Cellar, based in Dublin. In 1994, he won the title of Comedy Newcomer of the Year and was soon spotted by the makers of Father Ted. He made the role of Dougal Maguire his own and kickstarted his television comedy career. 
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Bill Bailey

Bill Bailey was raised in Keynsham, Bristol. He became an Associate of the London College of Music whilst still at school and managed to complete a year of an English and Drama degree in London. He got his first taste of Edinburgh in a college production of Under Milk Wood and after dropping out, played the piano in a wine bar.
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Bobby Davro

Bobby Davro is one of the UK's funniest and best-known celebrity comedians. Davro made an early impression at school - he was caught mimicking his headmaster, a Harold Wilson sound-a-like and was given six of the best! After leaving school, Bobby started to work as a trainee manager in a large department store where he was soon trying out more impressions as John Inman and Mrs Slocombe.
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Brian Conley

Brian Conley is one of the UK's most versatile and popular performers. He has become a household name thanks to such diverse characters as Dangerous Brian, Nick Frisby "It's a puppet", Doug Digby and the legendary Al Jolson. He was born and raised in West London and studied Performing Arts at The Barbara Speake Stage School and then at the age of 16 hit the road and made a living performing cabaret in nightclubs.
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Clive Anderson

Clive Anderson was born in Stanmore, Middlesex in 1952. After studying law at Cambridge University, where he was also President of the Footlights revue group, he practised as a barrister in London for about 15 years.
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Dara O'Briain

As well as his live work, O'Briain is popularly known in the UK for hosting BBC 2's Mock the Week, and in Ireland for hosting RTE 2's The Panel. He is one the few performers to host successful comedy shows in both the UK and his native Ireland at the same time. This was the third series of the topical comedy show Mock the Week on BBC television and the show's ratings went from 1.7 million for the first episode to three million viewers by the last show.
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Dave Gorman

Dave Gorman is a multi award-winning comedian, writer and author. He won the 2004 HBO US Comedy Festival Jury Award for Best One Person Show. Dave has written two best-selling books, Are You Dave Gorman? and Dave Gorman's Googlewhack Adventure. Dave recently finished touring the US with the stage version of Googlewhack. His ambition is to one day become a team captain on Call My Bluff.  
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Ian Hislop

Ian Hislop is a writer and broadcaster and has been Editor of Private Eye since 1986. As well as writing regularly for The Spectator, The Financial Times, The Guardian and The Mail on Sunday, he has reviewed books for The Observer, The Literary Review and Time Out. He was also a weekly columnist on The Listener.
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Jasper Carrott

Born in Acocks Green, Birmingham, he started his own folk club at 16 called "The Boggery" in Solihull, where he would perform folk songs as well as MC. Before long, his banter with the audience overtook the actual songs and he became known more as a comedian than a singer. He had a surprise UK top 5 chart hit in 1975 with a novelty record called "Funky Moped".
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Jimmy Carr

One of the most original and distinctive new stars on television, radio, stage and now the big screen, Jimmy has shown his talents to huge success this year. Recently, Jimmy has hosted two hit Channel 4 series: The Friday Night Project and most recently 8 out of 10 Cats, gaining an audience of 5 million viewers for its last show.
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Joe Pasquale

Joe Pasquale, from Grays, Essex, is most famous for his high-pitched voice (which he insists is genuine) and use of visual gags. He found fame when he came second in the 1987 New Faces competition. Joe had his own television show in 1999 entitled The Crazy World of Joe Pasquale.
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Jon Culshaw

Star of Dead Ringers, Jon Culshaw has a catalogue of over 350 impressions and is regarded by many to be the best young impressionist in the UK. He is brilliant for award ceremonies, afterdinner speaking and personal appearances. Jon Culshaw always creates a great impression. He first proved it as the overall winner, ahead of 8000 entrants on BBC Radio 1's Talent '93 featured on Steve Wright In The Afternoon.
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Patrick Kielty

Patrick Kielty's Irish break was hosting his own live show PK Tonight, which attracted a 60% audience share on BBC N.I. and it won him an RTS Award for Best Regional Presenter. His first network prime time show followed, hosting After The Break on BBC1, but it was the Channel 4 show Last Chance Lottery, that made him a household name, which he followed with The National Lottery Big Ticket on BBC1.
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Peter Kay

Peter Kay, the multi award-winning star of the Channel 4 hit TV series Phoenix Night's and That Peter Kay Thing, is probably the most popular comedian on the circuit today. His critically acclaimed 1999 tour of the North East was a sell-out success and the subsequent video releases Peter Kay Live At The Top Of The Tower and Peter Kay Live At The Bolton Royal Albert Halls became bestsellers
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Ricky Gervais

Ricky Gervais is best-known for co-writing, co-directing and above all starring as David Brent in the BBC sitcom series The Office - a masterpiece. Earlier in his career Gervais had appeared in The 11 O'Clock Show, and his own talk-comedy show, Meet Ricky Gervais. The 11 O'Clock Show was a brave attempt to blend current affairs with comedy and featured the excellent Iain Lee. In their different ways, both The 11 O'Clock Show and The Office crossed genres.
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Ronnie Corbett

Ronnie Corbett has worked in film and television since the 1950's, appearing in Crackerjack! as a regular in its early days during the 1950's. He rose in prominence in the 1960's and his BBC television comedy sketch show with Ronnie Barker, The Two Ronnies, lasted from 1971 to 1987. This show saw both Barker and Corbett performing various comedy sketches and musical numbers.
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Rory Bremner

Twenty-five years ago, Rory Bremner performed his first public impression. Nine years later, he starred in his first BBC series Now For Something Else. Today, he is widely rated as Britain's sharpest impressionist - a one-man opposition party - with his weekly Channel 4 show Bremner, Bird & Fortune (Vera Prods) and seasonal 'specials', regularly winning awards as the best satire on television.
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Rory McGrath

Rory was brought up in Cornwall and studied at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he was firmly bitten by the showbiz bug. Like scores of today's top comedy performers, he was a member of the famous Footlights dramatic club, writing and starring in several revues during the late 1970's. His co-conspirators at this prestigious finishing school for comics included Douglas Adams, Griff Rhys Jones, Jimmy Mulville and Clive Anderson. T
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Roy Walker

Roy Walker, well known to TV viewers through the ITV game show Catchphrase, has emerged as one of the driest comedians in Britain today. Belfast born, Roy's career started at the age of fourteen as a soprano in the celebrated Francis Longford Choir. He was Northern Ireland Champion Hammer Thrower for two years and served seven years in the army before moving to England and becoming a professional comedian, touring in clubs and cabaret. 
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Shane Richie

Shane Richie is one of Britain's most charming entertainers. With a career that has spanned 20 years, he has been something of a showbiz jack of all trades. Shane has worked as a Pontins bluecoat, a stand-up, been in musical theatre, hosted game shows, released two music albums and in 2002 became a household favourite with the role of loveable rogue Alfie Moon in Eastenders. 
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