Mike started off in showbusiness in the early sixties after a stint as a travelling salesman, and had a stroke of luck in 1964 when Harold Wilson became Prime Minister, someone who he could do a good impression of. Hence he was plucked from the working men's clubs and summer seasons to appear on a number of variety shows, including COMEDY BANDBOX and SUNDAY NIGHT AT THE LONDON PALLADIUM. In 1967, the Beeb hired him to appear in a new sketch show, THREE OF A KIND, alongside Lulu and Ray Fell. Much like the 80s series of the same name, two of the trio went on to stardom, and the other one went straight back to obscurity. Mike got his first starring shows on ATV, including the craply titled 5/7THS TO 7/7THS, screened to celebrate the station expanding from five to seven days' transmission in the Midlands. After a couple of series - the last toning down the impressions, to emphasise his all-round comic talent - he moved to the BBC in 1971, and for the next decade was one of the most famous people on television. His 1977 Christmas Day show pulled in some 21 million viewers, more than even Morecambe and Wise managed later that evening.

Of course, it's always said that the day his career started its decline was 3rd May 1979, when Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minster - for his part, Yarwood simply said that he'd have preferred Willie Whitelaw to be Tory leader. Yet there were other impressions in his portfolio, and he remained enough of a star for Thames to poach him in 1982, as part of what seemed to be a policy of signing up all the Beeb's slightly shop-soiled entertainers, though it's hard to imagine Bill Cotton losing much sleep over his departure. At Thames he got a bigger budget, but his style started to seem dated, ITV were never quite as committed to the shows as the Beeb were, and he started drinking heavily - and hence when his contract ended in 1987 he went into semi-retirement. Happily, in the 1990s he made something of a comeback, making a decent fist of a guest appearance on HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU (most notably, after Ian Hislop launched into a lengthy speech, Mike remarked 'I was under the impression this show was light entertainment') in 1995, and the same year he linked comedy clips on BBC1's ALL THE BEST FOR CHRISTMAS. Indeed, around this time, the Beeb planned to give him a new series, to be called TAKING OFF WITH MIKE YARWOOD, which got as far as appealing for young impressionists to appear alongside Mike, and may even have been recorded - but in the end they just never got round to showing it. Instead Mike's spent the last few years making the odd guest appearance and contributing to nostalgia shows. We're not sure if he can do Iain Duncan Smith, mind.

Paula first came to the public's attention in the late 70s after publishing a book of Rock Stars In Their Underpants, including her then boyfriend Bob Geldof. She became a newspaper favourite thanks to her outspoken opinions and famous father (though as it turned out, it wasn't who they thought it was), and the TV work started in earnest. In 1982 she was installed as a co-host alongside Terry on the first series of WOGAN, where each week she'd be bitchy and witty about the week's news. Then in November she got a job as presenter of THE TUBE, which she hosted for it's entire five years (bar the odd gap to give birth). Coupled with Jools Holland, their role on the programme was to tell you what was coming up while pretending they didn't know, and their introductions ("I'm not allowed to introduce the next act in case you think the lead singer's given me one!" "In fact, he's given me one... a copy of their new album, that is, it's The Boomtown Rats!") and her flirting with interviewees made the show compulsive teatime viewing. Around this time she also interviewed celebrities for their love lives for a chat show, SEX WITH PAULA, though fears that it was encouraging promiscuity meant that it was never shown at the time, before finally surfacing in 1995.

After The Tube she took some time off to do some sprogging, then in 1992 Planet 24 were awarded the contract for the new Channel Four breakfast show. As the bosses' wife, she was a natural choice for a presenter, and on THE BIG BREAKFAST she'd lie on the bed for the last half hour of the show, flirting with that day's special guest ("It's been wonderful to talk to you" she'd lie at the end of each chat). She stayed there until 1995, but by that point her marriage had ended and this inevitably meant her departure from the programme. At the same time she joined Jools to front compilations of the best bits from The Tube, where again they told you what was coming up while pretending they didn't know ("We've a great programme this week, despite the fact I appear not to be in it at all"). After this, her private life overshadowed her career, and a memorable appearance on HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU aside (Ian Hislop later saying that his obituary would be "Paula Yates Man Dead"), she did little else on telly. It didn't help matters when Hughie Green's utter wanker of a mate decided that his funeral would be the best time to reveal that she was Hughie's daughter. In 1999, she fronted AN EVENING WITH JERRY SPRINGER for Living, but it was something of a disaster and we don't think it was even transmitted. Her last appearance was presenting Channel Four's TOP TEN BOY BANDS in 2000, but sadly she died in September of that year. And that's a real shame.

He's most famous for his radio show, but JY's made the odd excursion in front of the cameras in the past. He was originally a singer, of course, and had two number ones in the 1950s, before moving into the wireless, originally filling in on HOUSEWIVE'S CHOICE on the Light Programme, then a stint on Radio Luxembourg, before standing on the steps of All Souls in 1967 at the launch of Radio 1. He was given six months to make a success of his morning show, did so, and lasted six years on The Nation's Favourite before concentrating on Radio 2. Soon it transformed from the usual fare to a more substantial news-based show, with government ministers regularly popping in for a chat. His banter with Wogan at 10am became the stuff of legend, and so it was decided that he might have something to offer television. Oddly, most of his TV excursions were courtesy of ITV.

In 1980 he joined Joan Shenton and Rolf 'Your blood's worth bottling!' Harris on the THAMES TELETHON, "the longest single entertainment programme in the history of British television". Spanning 24 hours in October, it all kicked off at 6.30pm on Thursday night when the trio were guests on GIVE US A CLUE, before they got it all underway at the Wembley Conference Centre, Jim introducing the dartathon, Paul Daniels and Leo Sayer until 3am, apart from a break for the News at Ten. Then they all came back at twelve o'clock the following afternoon (much to the wrath of Rainbow fans), then again in the afternoon - though sharing the time with golf - and then again at six o'clock. Alas, by the time the Telethon became a national affair a few years later, Jim was no longer involved. In 1982 he was considered to be one of the favourites for the job of BREAKFAST TIME host, seemingly on a list compiled by someone looking through the Radio Times for anyone currently employed by the BBC - it was throught he could do it with Tel, bringing a visual aspect to their banter. Though presumably Jim would have had to perch on a commode. Instead he did THE JIMMY YOUNG TELEVISION SHOW for ITV, a dull debate show. That was a flop, so it was back to the wireless. And he stopped using Raymondo about thirty years ago, too.

Young started her career on local radio in Scotland before becoming a presenter of STV's SCOTLAND TODAY in the early 1990s. In the regions, multi-skilling is commonplace, and hence she got her own chat show, the imaginatively-titled KIRSTY, and various other shows which as with most local telly simply involved taking any old programme concept and setting it in the region. A move to the network followed, reporting for shows like FILMS 95 and HOLIDAY, and presenting DIY series THE STREET. Most people probably thought that she'd follow Carol Smillie into the role of Perfectly Adequate Though Unexceptional Presenter Of Lifestyle Shows. However in 1997 she was poached by the new Channel Five to be the face of their news programmes. Famously she read the news perched on the desk, which was supposed to be the biggest step forward in news broadcasting for years, and hence received plenty of column inches, despite the fact that virtually nobody ever bothered watching it. She also got her own chat show on Five, with guests ranging from William Hague to Vic Reeves.

In 2000, after FIVE NEWS had already been through three different timeslots, she moved to another part of ITN and started reading the news on ITV - behind a desk now, of course. She was also given a number of other programmes to present, including PREDICTIONS with Phillip Schofield, WHAT WILL THEY THINK OF NEXT and THE PEOPLE VERSUS. This Millionaire-by-numbers format was much the dullest quiz show ever made, proceeding at an absolute snail's pace, with the first edition asking just seven questions in half an hour. She wisely bailed out of the second series, which was relegated to daytime and incorporated the local radio-style Bong Game, which was the stupidest idea in television history. Instead Kirsty decided to concentrate on the news, and after a short break while she had a baby, she returned and found herself in charge on September 11th 2001, interviewing her husband who was in New York at the time. Soon after, though, she decided to return to Channel Five, who had failed to find anyone to replace her in the previous two years. She was immediately sent on 'gardening leave' by ITV (as was Dermot Murnaghan when he quit twelve months later, which could explain why they have so much trouble hanging onto newsreaders), before showing up on the fith channel again in January 2002. She's still there, and still sitting on the desk. And still nobody's watching.