British Comedy Guide
Taskmaster. Image shows left to right: Greg Davies, Alex Horne
Taskmaster

Taskmaster

  • TV comedy
  • Channel 4 / U&Dave
  • 2015 - 2025
  • 171 episodes (18 series)

TV format in which Greg Davies and Alex Horne set a group of comedians various outlandish challenges. Also features Romesh Ranganathan, Frank Skinner, Roisin Conaty, Josh Widdicombe, Tim Key and more.

  • Returns on Sunday 29th December on C4 at 9pm with New Year Special
  • JustWatch Streaming rank this week: 87

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The Taskmaster Day

Taskmaster. Image shows from L to R: Charlotte Ritchie, Jamali Maddix, Greg Davies, Mike Wozniak, Alex Horne, Sarah Kendall, Lee Mack. Copyright: Avalon Television

Here is an extract from An Absolute Casserole: The Taskmaster Compendium, explaining what a filming day at the Taskmaster house is like.

An Absolute Casserole: The Taskmaster Compendium

The Taskmaster house is constantly occupied. Two-thirds of the time is spent preparing tasks, organising comedians' diaries and mopping up milk. The rest is spent doing, filming and observing the tasks themselves. Here is how a day in that part of Taskmaster life breaks down.

7am: The first member of the team arrives. The oven is turned on, water boiled and radiators checked. It's often cold and the heating doesn't always work. Sometimes it's warm and on those days the heating often can't be turned off.

7.30am: The camera department arrives. Without these people, Taskmaster is just desperate comedians doing pointless activities in a bungalow that is either too hot or too cold. So, no one questions what these people do for the next hour. It looks important and seems to involve taking apart every piece of their equipment, shaking their heads and then putting it all back together.

8am: The contestant arrives. They are guided swiftly into their modest dressing room and offered toast and apologies. They are only allowed out if they ask permission, just in case they see anything that might hint at what's about to happen. Apprehensively they nibble breakfast and don whatever clothing they have chosen to wear for the experience.

Taskmaster. Image shows left to right: Alex Horne, Emma Sidi

8.10am: The Taskmaster's assistant arrives. He asks if he's got there before the contestant and is let down gently. He also puts on his task clothing, usually in the freezing lab - he can put on an entire suit in under a minute - drinks a pint of liquified fruit and vegetables, and is ready by 8.15am.

For the next hour, the team, led by Andy D (which stands for 'Director'), agrees upon the order of tasks and makes sure each one is ready to be launched. Andy C (which stands for 'Courteous') opens the spreadsheets, the sound department fiddles with shirts; we are ready.

9.30am: The contestant opens the first task of the day. These vary in length between five minutes and an hour. Seldom are they interrupted (if so, it's usually due to rain, planes or an unexpected delivery from Amazon) and if they are it is only briefly. They are over and done with quickly, and the contestant doesn't need to think about the task again until they are back in the studio. Often, however, they do. They stew over their decisions either until the next task or for the coming nights, turning over their decisions with disbelief until they are allowed to actually talk about them openly. For while in the Taskmaster world, you may never discuss the tasks themselves. Until you are in the presence of the Taskmaster.

Taskmaster. Image shows left to right: Deborah Meaden, Alex Horne

11am: In between their second, third or fourth task, the contestant decides what everyone has for lunch. This is an important moment: too stodgy and the afternoon becomes tricky; too healthy and the morning lacks enthusiasm.

1pm: The food arrives, and every single person sits in a circle and eats whatever was chosen, and tells the contestant that they made a great choice.

2pm: Four or five more tasks in the afternoon. It's important to keep them coming, not only so they all get done, but also to drive the contestant into a state of zen-like exhaustion; to drill down to the essence of the person; to strip them of their constructed comedic sensibilities; and expose the actual human underneath.

Taskmaster. Image shows left to right: Sarah Millican, Alex Horne

6pm: They are released. Some have other commitments they must fulfil that evening - stand-up, acting, socialising - but a much better option is to rent a yurt with a hot tub, and to just sit and stare until sleep.

7.30pm: The member of the team who arrived first is also the last to leave. The camera department has taken apart their equipment and put it back together one more time. Vicky (production mother) has ensured that everyone has eaten enough and all the milk has been mopped up again. Everyone heads off to their other lives to do their own tasks in their own way. The doors are locked and the Taskmaster house rests.


An Absolute Casserole: The Taskmaster Compendium is out now.

Taskmaster: The Live Experience runs in London until 25th January. Tickets

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An Absolute Casserole: The Taskmaster Compendium

An Absolute Casserole: The Taskmaster Compendium
By Jack Bernhardt and Alex Horne

How many eggs have been broken in the making of this programme? What is the worst thing Alex has eaten? Are you more likely to win Taskmaster if you wear a hat? Why is the Taskmaster always right?

This hilarious compendium celebrates a decade of Taskmaster's inspired chaos. Relive the most outrageous tasks, iconic meltdowns, and ingenious victories from your favourite contestants.

Inside you'll find:

- Unforgettable challenges: From the brilliantly bizarre to the wonderfully pointless, revisit the tasks that left us howling with laughter.
- Comedy gold moments: Contestant blunders, inspired madness and Greg Davies's withering put-downs.
- Behind the scenes: Get the inside scoop on the show's creation, meet the show's creators and find out which tasks nearly set the Taskmaster house on fire.
- Statistical analysis: 17 series, 85 contestants and thousands of smashed eggs - what's the best star sign to be if you want to win?

This is the ultimate gift for any Taskmaster fanatic. So grab a cup of 'warm milk' (or something stronger) and relive ten years of comedic chaos!

First published: Thursday 7th November 2024

  • Publisher: Quercus
  • Pages: 320
  • Catalogue: 9781529441529

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Published: Tuesday 19th November 2024

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