BBC Worldwide Limited is the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in 1995. In the year to 31 March 2010 it made a profit of £145m on a turnover of £1.074bn. The company had made a profit of £106m on a turnover of £1,004m in the previous financial year. In the year to 31 March 2011 BBC Worldwide's headline profits were up 10.3% to £160.2m - its highest level ever. The growth helped lift the overall return to the BBC by nearly 9% to £182m.

Worldwide is responsible for a wide range of commercial activities, primarily connected in some way with the output and public purposes of the main BBC. The company's work includes investment in television production. BBC Worldwide will often provide additional budget for BBC productions in return for various commercial rights to the programmes, and has also done so for non-BBC programmes as well, such as the Red Production Company drama Mine All Mine for the BBC's rival ITV network in 2004. In 2006, a Content & Production business was formed to produce local versions of BBC formats overseas (maximising revenues by receiving a production fee from the local broadcaster as well as a sum from selling the initial re-versioning rights). BBC Worldwide has also, since, taken a 25% stake in Left Bank Pictures, a newly-formed independent film & TV production company, owned and run by former ITV Productions controller of comedy and drama Andy Harries, and a 25% stake in Cliffhanger Productions – an independent production company that focuses on returning drama for UK networks.

David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE (born 2 May 1975) is an English association footballer who plays for Los Angeles Galaxy. He has played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, Milan, and the England national team for which he holds the appearance record for an outfield player.

Beckham's career began when he signed a professional contract with Manchester United, making his first-team debut in 1992 aged 17. During his time there, United won the Premier League title six times, the FA Cup twice, and the UEFA Champions League in 1999. He left Manchester United to sign for Real Madrid in 2003, where he remained for four seasons, clinching the La Liga championship in his final season with the club. In January 2007, it was announced that Beckham would leave Real Madrid for the Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy, signing a five-year contract with them on 1 July 2007. While a Galaxy player, he spent two loan spells in Italy with Milan in 2009 and 2010. On 20 November 2011, he joined an elite group of players to have won three league titles in three different countries, when Los Angeles won their third MLS Cup.

Michael Edward Palin, CBE, PRGS (born 5 May 1943) is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries. Palin wrote most of his comedic material with Terry Jones. Before Monty Python, they had worked on other shows such as the Ken Dodd Show, The Frost Report and Do Not Adjust Your Set. Palin appeared in some of the most famous Python sketches, including "Argument Clinic," "Dead Parrot," "The Lumberjack Song," "The Spanish Inquisition," and "The Fish-Slapping Dance."

Palin continued to work with Jones after Python, co-writing Ripping Yarns. He has also appeared in several films directed by fellow Python Terry Gilliam and made notable appearances in other films such as A Fish Called Wanda, for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedians' Comedian, he was voted the 30th favourite by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.

Peter Dougan Capaldi (born 14 April 1958) is an Academy Award and BAFTA award winning Scottish actor and film director. In 1995, his short film Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life won the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film. As an actor, he played Oldsen in Local Hero, John Frobisher in Torchwood and political spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in the British TV comedy series The Thick of It and the affiliated feature film In the Loop. He also portrayed Balthazar, one of the Magi, in the 2010 BBC adaptation of The Nativity.

Capaldi was born in Glasgow. His mother's family was from Killeshandra, County Cavan, Ireland, and his father's family is from Picinisco, Italy. Capaldi was educated at St Teresa's Primary School in the city's Possilpark district, St Matthew's Primary School in Bishopbriggs and at St Ninian's High School, Kirkintilloch, before attending the Glasgow School of Art.

Capaldi displayed an early talent for performance by putting on a puppet show in primary school. While still at high school he was a member of the Antonine Players, who performed at the Fort Theatre, Bishopbriggs. As an art student, Capaldi was the lead singer in the punk rock band "Dreamboys", which included the future comedian Craig Ferguson as drummer.

Elaine Cassidy (born 31 December 1979) is an award-winning Irish actress and is best known for playing the lead character Abby Mills in the American CBS TV series Harper's Island, Felicia in Felicia's Journey opposite Bob Hoskins, Runt in Disco Pigs opposite Cillian Murphy, and Lydia in The Others.

Elaine Cassidy was born in Kilcoole, County Wicklow. Her first role was as the title character in a school production of Pinocchio when she was five.

In 1996, she was nominated for the Most Promising Actress at the Geneva Film Festival for her role in The Sun, the Moon and the Stars. She played the starring role in Felicia's Journey with Bob Hoskins, for which she was nominated "Best Actress" at the 20th Genie Awards.^{[citation needed]} She has won 2 Irish Film and Television Awards IFTA, for "Best Actress in a Lead Role in Film" in 2003 for her role as Runt in Disco Pigs, opposite Cillian Murphy, and in 2010 for "Best Actress in a Lead Role in Television" for her role as Abby Mills in the American CBS TV series Harper's Island.^{[citation needed]} She was also nominated for an IFTA in 2005 as "Best Actress in a Lead Role in Television" for her role as "Maud Lilly" in the BBC BAFTA nominated drama Fingersmith,^{[citation needed]} in 2007 as "Best Actress in a Supporting Role in Film" for her role as Sandra in And When Did You Last See Your Father? alongside Jim Broadbent and Colin Firth, and in 2009 as "Best Actress in a Lead Role in Television" for her role as Annie Mulcahy in Little White Lie.