The Cotswolds are a range of hills in southwestern and west-central England, an area 25 miles (40 km) across and 90 miles (145 km) long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The highest point in the Cotswolds range is Cleeve Hill at 1,083 ft (330 m), 2.5 miles (4 km) to the north of Cheltenham.

The Cotswolds lie mainly within the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, but extend into parts of Wiltshire, Somerset, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The hills give their name to the Cotswold local government district in Gloucestershire, which administers a large part of the area.

The name Cotswold is sometimes attributed the meaning sheep enclosure in rolling hillsides, incorporating the term wold meaning woodland. The English Place-Name Society has for many years accepted that the term Cotswold is derived from Codesuualt of the twelfth century or other variations on this form, the etymology of which was given 'Cod's-wold', which is 'Cod's high open land'. Cod was interpreted as an Old English personal name, which can be recognised in further names: Cutsdean, Codeswellan, and Codesbyrig, some of which date back to the eighth century AD. It has subsequently been noticed that "Cod" could philologically derive from a Brittonic female cogname "Cuda", which is the name of a mother goddess recognised in the Cotswold region.

Rob Little (born December 24, 1972) is an American stand-up comedian and actor from Pinconning, Michigan. He has been performing stand-up comedy since 1998 and has been acting in movies and television. He has also produced two straight to DVD comedy specials based on his stand-up. His humor is often self-deprecating, although he prides himself as the "happiest comic in America."

Growing up, Little had a difficult time in elementary school due to being overweight. In an interview, Little stated, “In elementary school, kids would always pull food away from me at lunchtime saying mean, hurtful things like… ‘Let go of my sandwich!'" Though he experienced hardships like this, Little used his desire to make people laugh and his ability to see things in a positive light to grow stronger. He says his outlook on life can be summed up in two words: pure optimism.

Already at a young age, Little knew he wanted to become a comedian. When Little was 5 years old, he was watching his current inspiration, comedian George Carlin, do a comedy bit on TV when he and his parents were heading to Mackinac Island for a family vacation. Because his parents were asleep, he was able to view this adult-oriented comedy. Little looked back on that experience and thought to himself, “That’s [comedy is] what I want to do the rest of my life.”