Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton are actors, writers and comedians.

They first met at the Bretton Hall College of Education in the West Riding of Yorkshire where they graduated with a BA (Hons) in Theatre Arts. In 1997, along with fellow creators Mark Gatiss and Jeremy Dyson, they won the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for The League of Gentlemen, which they wrote and starred in. Major success followed as the same show became a TV comedy hit and then a multi-award-winning TV series.

As writing partners Reece and Steve went on to create two series of the comedy horror series Psychoville. They have since created the BAFTA award-winning series Inside no. 9, which again they both wrote and performed in.