Presented by Greg Davies and Alex Horne (who also created the programme, originally as a show for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), the first series of Taskmaster was broadcast in 2014 on comedy channel Dave, before expanding its audience after being poached by Channel 4 in 2020.
While there have only been 17 series proper, there have also been special one-off ‘Champion of Champion’ and ‘New Year Treat’ programmes, comprising one or two episodes.
The show sees (mainly) comedians take part in a range of challenges which are then marked by the hosts, usually (but not always) winning a maximum of five points per task.
Which of the more than 500 tasks set for contestants have been the best?
Here are 10 of the leading candidates.
5. Build the best extension
Episode seven of series seven saw the Taskmaster set the challenge to build the best extension to the Taskmaster house. A typically competent job from Kerry Godliman and Jessica Knappett was followed by the boys team hampered by Rhod Gilbert's complete inability to work as part of a team. Seeing him find a supply of decent building materials in a garage - only to ignore them - was too much for James Acaster to bear when watching back in the studio, leading to a perfectly executed comedy tantrum. Photo: Channel 4
6. Impress a Mayor
Reportedly Alex Horne's favourite task, in episode three of season two the comedians were asked to do something to impress Peter Hudson, the Mayor of Chesham. Joe Wilkinson memorably attempted this by presenting him with 42 Calippo ice lollies and eight cans of super lager. Photo: Channel 4
7. Send the Taskmaster an anonymous cheeky text message every single day for the next five months
A special task in series five, unbeknownst Mark Watson he was the only contestant to be challanged to send an anonymous cheeky text message from a provided phone to the Taskmaster every day for five months. After running through some of the mortifyingly embarrassing texts Greg Davies has been subjected to for months, Horne reveals that Watson actually missed two days and so gets zero points. “What a terrible waste of time", smirked Davies. Photo: Channel 4
8. The Taskmaster will place a card in front of himself. You must say whether it shows a picture of a horse or a laminator.
A straightforward live final task in episode seven of series nine had contestants try to work out whether the Taskmaster was thinking of a horse or a laminator as many times in a row as they could. The winner, Jo Brand, managed it a remarkable 13 times, clearly freaking out Greg Davies. Photo: Channel 4