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As first runs go, Taskmaster Series 1 is a perfect introduction to why the show has become such a roaring success, and that’s really down to the cast. Roisin Conaty was lovably naff, whereas Tim Key was so fearlessly competitive he broke all the rules, stooping low enough to lie about shooting a TV show for Comic Relief to win a task ( yes, really!). The combination of quietly furious Romesh Ranganathan and dry-witted Frank Skinner gave us the beautiful moment where, during a task about throwing a tea bag into a cup from the greatest distance, Frank Skinner jokes ‘someone will spend the first 45 minutes realising it’s easier when they’re wet’ and the scene cuts to an infuriated Romesh discovering just that. A lot of people came in this like, “I’ve come here to win a trophy.” I said, “I don’t care about the trophy, I just want people to say ‘Kiell won Taskmaster’ one time. That’s all I care about.” I went in there going, “I’m going to fight for everything. I want to win.” In the real show, Horne isn’t the one judging. That’s down to the host, the tyrannical Greg Davies, part mad king, part headteacher – imagine the final years of Henry VIII if he also sat on the OCR exam board.
In fact, I was late for a gig in Bristol a few weeks ago and they had to stretch out the interval before I came on. After the gig, I was looking at my tweets and someone had posted just before the show started: ‘Waiting in a long interval for the latest man in comedy.’ That’s not a title that I’ve ever put out into the world, but that’s something that has been now baked in beyond my control. G: I always say he adds value in some way to every task. There’s always a shimmy or flourish. He’s showbiz. Did you enjoy your experience on Taskmaster or was it stressful ? You seemed to be unravelling at one point.Yep. Because their job is being funny by themselves and the only time I’ve ever been funny is if someone else has written something good for me to put in my mouth. Without that I’m an empty vessel that needs to be filled with genius. The proof will be in the tweets following the show so I’m looking forward to learning who I am on the internet. And Alex, I’ve been such a fan of for so long, and obviously I like Greg as a stand-up. My parents loveThe Horne Section, so that’s the sort of thing I’d always try and take them to if they were ever coming to Edinburgh, like, ‘Here’s a nice, wholesome thing.’ The task where the contestants must fill an egg cup with their own tears. Tim Key takes a no-nonsense approach: watching Elliot’s audition from ET while cutting onions. Classic. 97 Flagging A: Yes. There aren’t that many sitcoms out there that are just nonsense. Actually, Man Down was quite a good influence on me. You were mainly trying to be really funny on that show. Is that fair enough? The tasks, of course! We’ll send these closed with the famous Taskmaster seal, only to be opened on the day.
My parents came one night when I’d done badly and they were very happy with that narrative because it fits a lot of self-deprecating things they’ve been saying about me and our family in general for years.
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The event is hosted by a professional comedic compare, who alone will bring the room to life. They also play the role of the master of the tasks, so it’s you vs them! They will also judge each round and allocate those vital points. The Horne Sectiongave me occasional guest spots at the Fringe years ago, so I felt like I had a little role in there. It’s a slightly eccentric universe. The subject of how different comedians take different approaches is an interesting one – the key is authenticity. “Andy [Devonshire, the director]’s main advice is always ‘You don’t have to try to be funny when you’re doing the tasks because that’s not funny.’” A: He fits a bit into the David Baddiel or Mark Watson “intelligent man doing badly with practical things” but he’s also got a real playful side. I think he’s in control of his badness. It was so fun being with them all. It’s such a great group. I obviously love the show, and like so many shows it adapted really well, probably better than most, during the pandemic, but I was so pleased that we had a studio audience and that we were sat really near each other.
A: That was all his idea. I think he was keen to put a stamp on the show. I think he decided, “Right, if I’m doing it, I’m doing it.” The task where the contestants have to put something genuinely surprising in a chocolate egg. Vine goes for a fly (astonishing), Chaudhry goes for a worm (upsetting), Alice Levine gets a piece of paper with Horne’s actual pin (more serial killer vibes). 43 Mr Coconut Yeah, quite a few people. Katy Wix, Lolly Adefope, Rose Matafeo. All of their advice was the same, that you can’t really plan anything: you just have to do it. So I guess the proof will be in the pudding.They are going under the virtual hammer as part of Piece of Mind: The Brain Tumour Charity Auction which is being organised by Antiques Roadshow expert Theo Burrell –who has an incurable brain tumour herself.The auction is live now via www.pieceofmind.auction, and closes at 7pm on June 21. The task where the contestants have to blow out a candle from the longest distance. Russell Howard screams into a drainpipe for five minutes to no effect. 94 Water carrier I couldn’t believe I got asked to do it, I was so chuffed. Especially as I’m not a stand-up, I don’t write anything, so they’re taking a risk and I think they’ll see that they’ve taken a risk now that they’ve seen me in the studio! Indeed, while Horne is the mastermind behind the entire series, he’s acutely aware of how crucial Davies is to the show. “It’s his little twinkle. His job is pretty difficult – he does have to say to people who have tried really hard, ‘that was rubbish’. And he doesn’t often offend them. It’s finding that dynamic of clearly being playful, but also being honest.” Congratulations on Season 15: what a great cast. Let’s go through them one by one, starting with Frankie Boyle. People may be surprised that he signed up.
The task where the contestants have to draw the biggest circle. Acaster decides to “draw” his circle by riding a bike while hula hooping. He immediately crashes, because he can’t hula hoop. 56 Bridge building
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Props for the final task to be shared with contestants. This will be a special one to end the event with.* G: I make a lot of jokes in this series about him not caring whether he wins or not but, as Alex said, he really entered into the spirit of it. It’s not that he was sitting there going, “Who cares?” He tried, and was often bad. It’s nice to see someone like Frankie being incompetent. Fern Brady and I did a travel show for Dave last year called British as Folk, so I talked to her. They obviously don’t want you to talk to the other contestants who you’re on with, which is a bit of a shame because I know Mae quite well, so not texting them about how much fun it all was, was one of the necessary limitations and frustrations of it . Ed Gamble is someone I know quite well, he’s very deep into Taskmaster and I listen to his podcast about it a lot, which is a good way to get under the skin of how things might be received, or how things might be done well.
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