Joe Lycett is to host The Time It Takes, a new comic game show for BBC One.

The format involves contestants answering questions whilst celebrities complete tasks. The contestant must first pick the task that they think will give them the most time.

The show has been devised by Have I Got News For You producers Hat Trick Productions. They say: "What takes longer - unwrapping every Werther's Original in a family pack, completing a Rubik's cube underwater or deflating an air bed and putting it back into its original box? These are the kinds of scenarios the contestants must choose from as timers on new Saturday night tea time quiz, The Time It Takes. The challenger who gets the most questions right in their given timescale, will be one step closer to winning a dream holiday. But do not fret dear viewers, all is not completely lost for the player with the lowest score, as they will receive a very special The Time It Takes Tea Towel before leaving the show."

Talking about the format, the producers add: "The Time It Takes is set to be a vibrant and gleeful treat of a show, full of organised chaos, jeopardy, judgement and, most importantly, fun and laughs throughout the four action-packed rounds.

"Alongside the time it takes the referee to do weird and wonderful tasks, and the downright mundane everyday ones, there will also be a chance for audiences to discover how long it takes some of the UK's favourite celebrities to enact certain assignments."

The public can apply to take part in the series. Giving examples of the kind of challenges one might be offered, the producers tease: "Would it take longer to pack an airbed back into a box, or fill a welly with custard using a turkey baster? This is what we need you to work out in order to get your prize."

Lycett, who previously acted as a co-host on BBC comedy skills show Epic Win in 2011, now has a number of TV projects in the works. He is currently filming the comedy-focused 'consumer justice' show Joe Lycett's Got Your Back for Channel 4 and has signed up to become the next presenter of BBC Two's The Great British Sewing Bee.

Lycett, who will front the show alongside a as-yet un-named referee, says: "Never before has so much relied on someone knowing how long a kettle takes to boil. The Time It Takes is one of the most brilliantly daft shows I've ever been involved in - and that's saying something."

Executive Producer Jimmy Mulville says: "The Time It Takes is a brilliant format which is brought to life by the hugely talented Joe Lycett. It's both exciting and funny - just what you want at tea-time on Saturdays"

Series Producer Meriel Beale says: "The Time It Takes is very funny and incredibly silly and happily so is Joe Lycett. I'm very excited to be working with such a star and I've no doubt his warm, generous wit will be lapped up by BBC One viewers."

The Time It Takes will air on BBC One later this year.