The Great Celebrity Bake Off 2019 episode 1: meet the bakers

The Crown's John Lithgow and comedian Russell Brand are among the celebrity bakers taking part in the first episode of The Great Celebrity Bake Off 2019.

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The two will be joined by comedian Jon Richardson and British Paralympian Hannah Cockroft, while Channel 4's Bake Off stalwarts Noel Fielding, Sandi Toksvig, Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood will be there to oversee things as per usual.

Find out everything you need to know about The Great Celebrity Bake Off episode 1 contestants below.

John Lithgow

Age: 73

Twitter: @JohnLithgow

Bio: The six-time Emmy Award winning actor is best known for his roles in US sitcom 3rd Rock From the Sun and the first series of Netflix's The Crown, in which he played former British prime minister Winston Churchill.

https://twitter.com/JohnLithgow/status/1063953217690562560

He started his career on Broadway in 1973, before moving into film – and later TV – with a role in Brian de Palma's Obsession. Throughout the years, he has appeared in major films such as Twilight Zone: The Movie, Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, All That Jazz, Dreamgirls and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. He was nominated for an Oscar for his role as Sam Burns in Terms of Endearment.

You may also recognise him from TV series Dexter and How I Met Your Mother, in which he made several appearances.

Russell Brand

Age: 43

Twitter: @RustyRockets

Instagram: trewrussellbrand

Bio: The comedian kicked off his career as a TV presenter on MTV in the early 2000s. He was sacked from the station after he arrived to work dressed as Osama Bin Laden on 12th September 2001.

In 2004, he developed a following as host of Big Brother's EForum (later renamed Big Brother's Big Mouth) and later One Leicester Square back on MTV.

https://twitter.com/rustyrockets/status/1100860120240549888

His big break in Hollywood came with 2009's Forgetting Sarah Marshall, in which he starred alongside Kristen Bell and Jason Segal. He went on to star in several more big American comedies, including Get Him to the Greek, Bedtime Stories and Despicable Me.

The stand-up currently runs his own YouTube political talk show, and stars in HBO's Ballers alongside Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

Jon Richardson

Age: 36

Twitter: @RonJichardson

Bio: The Lancaster-born comedian and frequent guest panellist on 8 Out of 10 Cats got his start in comedy after winning his heat of the BBC's New Comedy Talent Search in 2003. From there he went on to appear at The Comedy Zone at the Edinburgh Festival in 2006, and later embarked on a 60-date tour in support of Alan Carr.

https://twitter.com/RonJichardson/status/1100433584362569728

TV appearances on Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Have I Got News For You in the late 2000s boosted his profile, and he took over for Jason Manford as team captain on 8 Out of 10 Cats in 2011.

He currently presents his own comedy show Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier on Dave.

Hannah Cockroft

Age: 26

Twitter: @HCDream2012

Instagram: hlcmbe

Bio: The Yorkshire-born Paralympic athlete began her career in wheelchair racing at the age of 16, winning the London Mini Marathon in 2009.

https://twitter.com/HCDream2012/status/1101215612846653440

She became the first athlete to break a world record at the London Olympic stadium in an event leading up to London 2012. She went on to win two gold medals at the 2012 Paralympics, and went one better with three gold medals at Rio 2016.

The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off will air from Tuesday 5th March at 8pm on Channel 4