The Fast Show, known as Brilliant in the US, was a BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 comedy sketch show

Sketch comedy

A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...

 programme that ran for three series from 1994 to 1997 with a special Last Fast Show Ever in 2000. The show's central performers were Paul Whitehouse

Paul Whitehouse

Paul Whitehouse is a Welsh actor, writer and comedian. He became known for his work with Harry Enfield and as one of the stars of the popular BBC sketch show, The Fast Show. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was in the top 50 comedy acts voted for by comedians and comedy insiders...

, Charlie Higson

Charlie Higson

Charles Murray Higson , more commonly known as Charlie Higson - also Switch - is an English actor, comedian, author and former singer...

, Simon Day

Simon Day

Simon Day is a British comedian most famous for his roles in the sketch show The Fast Show, sitcom Grass and a series of comedic adverts for Powergen.-Life and career:...

, Mark Williams

Mark Williams (actor)

Mark Williams is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter and presenter. He is best known as one of the stars of the popular BBC sketch show The Fast Show, as well as for his role as Arthur Weasley in the Harry Potter films....

, John Thomson, Arabella Weir

Arabella Weir

Arabella Weir is a British comedian, actress and writer.The daughter of former British ambassador Sir Michael Weir, she is best known for her roles in The Fast Show and for writing several books including the international best seller Does My Bum Look Big In This? Arabella Weir (born 6 December...

 and Caroline Aherne

Caroline Aherne

Caroline Mary Aherne is an English comedian and BAFTA winning writer and actress, best known for Mrs Merton and The Royle Family.- Background :...

. Other significant cast members included Paul Shearer

Paul Shearer

Paul Shearer is a British actor who is best known as a member of the Fast Show team. His best-known roles on that programme are as a newscaster and a variety show host on the European television parody sketch 'Chanel 9'....

, Felix Dexter

Felix Dexter

Felix Dexter is an actor, comedian, and writer living in the U.K..-Early life:Dexter was born in St Kitts in the Caribbean, and moved to London with his family at the age of seven.-Radio:...

, Rhys Thomas

Rhys Thomas (comedian)

Rhys Thomas is an English comedian and actor.-Career:His breakthrough came while working as a runner on Shooting Stars, when he showed Charlie Higson and Bob Mortimer some sketches he had performed in college...

, Jeff Harding

Jeff Harding

Jeff Harding is an American actor from New England most famed for his narration of popular books into audio format. Notably, he has read The Da Vinci Code, The Bourne Identity, Kane and Abel and Secrets Of The Code...

, Maria McErlane

Maria McErlane

Maria McErlane is a British actress and presenter specialising in comedy. She has appeared in several TV series, including The Fast Show, Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, Thin Ice and Happiness, and "straight" roles in The Bill and Holby City but is probably best known as the narrator for Antoine de Caunes...

, Eryl Maynard, Colin McFarlane

Colin McFarlane

Colin McFarlane is an English actor and voice artist. He has appeared in several TV series, including The Fast Show, Judge John Deed, Jonathan Creek, Randall & Hopkirk , Jeeves and Wooster, Black Books and The Thin Blue Line. He is also known for portraying Police Commissioner Gillian B...

 and Donna Ewin

Donna Ewin

Donna Ewin is an English former glamour model and Page 3 Girl....

.

The show produced two national tours, the first in 1998 with the cast of the BBC surrealist comedy quiz show Shooting Stars

Shooting Stars

Shooting Stars is a British television comedy panel game broadcast on BBC Two as a pilot in 1993, then as 3 full series from 1995 to 1997, then on BBC Choice from January to December 2002 with 2 series before returning to BBC Two for another 3 series from 2008 until its axing in 2011...

and the second being their 'Farewell Tour' in 2002.