Star Quality in Bedfordshire

The first famous face to be revealed in this article is arguably television's most intelligent star - Carol Vorderman. The maths whiz was born in the county town of Bedford. She brought beauty and glamour to the cult quiz show Countdown alongside co-star Richard Whiteley during her 26-year stint as the arithmetical mastermind. However, she has also been a successful writer and journalist with columns in The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mirror as well as selling over 1000 copies of her number one bestseller Detox for Life.

Another high-flying woman is the hard-running Paula Radcliffe who, although born in Cheshire, moved to Oakley in Bedfordshire when she was 12-years-old and attended Sharnbrook Upper School and Community College. Having already been a runner for five years, she joined Bedford Athletic Club where the seeds were sown for her to embark on an illustrious long-distance running career during which she has smashed several world records and filled her trophy cabinet.

Moving onto comedy and entertainment, currently two of Britain's most prominent celebrity entertainers were both educated at Bedford School. After becoming an Old Bedfordian, a certain Al Murray went on to study history at Oxford before embarking on a career in comedy. He shot to fame playing The Pub Landlord, his xenophobic and outspoken comedy persona. His comical rants also gained an adolescent following due to his fortnightly column in lads' magazine Nuts.

Another big personality in the world of showbiz, and former Bedford Schoolboy, is David Lloyd Vitty, better known as Comedy Dave the sidekick to BBC Radio One's Chris Moyles. His showbiz name was stumbled upon during one of Vitty's first shows with Moyles comedian Lee Hurst sarcastically said he should be referred to as Comedy Dave because of his deadpan personality and the nickname has since stuck. Together both Moyles and Vitty have become celebrity DJs and their breakfast show has broken audience records with over seven million listeners counted in 2008. In recent years Vitty has branched off from just being Moyles' partner and has fronted another show with fellow DJ and friend Mark Chapman called Chappers and Dave, also on Radio One.

Staying with entertainment, The Carry On films still stand out as examples of great British comedy, and Kenneth Williams starred in a total of 26. Despite growing up in London, Williams left during the evacuations of The Second World War and studied briefly, at Beech Hill High School in Luton. Williams was a pioneer in British suggestive comedy with his notoriously camp acting and catchphrases such as 'Oh Behave!'

And finally, most probably two of Britain's best-loved comedians of all time, Ronnie Barker and Eric Morecambe. Morecambe was a director of Luton Town FC. Shortly after becoming a director, Morecambe grew a meagre moustache and, when questioned why it was such a weak effort, Morecambe explained that it was "a football moustache: eleven a side!" Barker was born in Bedford but moved to Oxford when he was only two years old. He grew up to be an actor and writer, starring in hugely popular television shows in the seventies and eighties like The Two Ronnies, Open All Hours and Porridge.

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