8. Francesca Martinez

Francesca Martinez is a comedian, actress and disability campaigner who has cerebral palsy.

She spent a year campaigning to get 100,000 signatures required to trigger a milestone parliamentary debate on welfare reform and its impact on disabled people. Earlier this year, Westminster saw what was described as the ‘first debate secured by disabled people, for disabled people’. The motion in parliament, set down by the War on Welfare (WOW) campaign group, called for an assessment of the cumulative impact of the government's welfare reforms on sick and disabled people. It also demanded an immediate end to the work capability assessment (WCA), the test that determines fitness for work.

In an interview with The Guardian she said: "It seems we're living in a country at the moment where if you do get sick or if you do become disabled, not only have you got to deal with those challenges but you have to deal with the fact that the vital safety net that society provided for many decades is being eroded away.”

Before becoming a comedian, she was a regular in the BBC children's drama Grange Hill, becoming one of the first mainstream actors with a disability. With sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Festival, she completed a 68-date UK tour last year. She continued to act in television with roles in Holby City and Ricky Gervais' comedy Extras. Francesca Martinez is currently writing her debut book, What The **** is Normal, due to be published later this year.