Review: why serious silliness is so ludicrously funny

There shouldn't be anything entertaining about a grumpy quiz enthusiast searching for a lost baby monitor in a caravan. More interesting things happen to every one of us daily. But the spectacle on Taskmaster (Dave channel) of a furious and frustrated Paul Sinha, better known as The Sinnerman from teatime general knowledge gameshow The Chase, was ludicrously funny.

Season eight of the reliably daft gameshow sees Sian Gibson, Iain Stirling, Joe Thomas, Lou Sanders and Paul Sinha in the thrall of the man-mountain king as they try to impress Greg Davies. Among the usual pettiness and point-scoring there is an ad hoc ventriloquism round that may scar the nation's psyche.

Review - Taskmaster: Series 8, Episode 1 - Hello

While it is of course to early to tell who is the most dominant in this series so far, there are some things we can already gather. Chief among these is that the Sinnerman is not as smart as he looks.

Taskmaster review - a cheap, childish comedy miracle

A gang of comics play silly games, then squabble about them. This is totally pointless comfort TV - but that's precisely why it's become a hit.

If you've yet to have the pleasure, Taskmaster is simply one of the most joyful series around. Which other TV show gets you inside the boot of Bob Mortimer's car or turns Noel Fielding into a tiny banana? Five comedians, doing very silly things in the presence of creator Alex Horne and the Taskmaster himself, Greg Davies. This year's contestants are Paul Sinha, Joe Thomas, Iain Stirling, Lou Sanders and Sian Gibson. A sheer delight.

Exclusive clip: sneak up on Alex without being caught

Taskmaster is about to return for an eighth series of madness and fun, and Digital Spy have an exclusive first-look clip, featuring some of our favourite TV stars taking on Alex Horne. The task: Alex alternates between being on lookout and hiding, and our contestants need to sneak up on him across a train station without getting noticed.

8 work in progress Fringe shows to book now

Because when they're gone, they're gone!

Scotland's funniest 60 people

As the Glasgow International Comedy Festival prepares to launch with a gaggle of giggles later this month, we count down Scotland's funniest 60 people.