Taskmaster Series 16 lineup: The 5 celebrities who will battle for the Taskmaster crown

Series 16 of Taskmaster is set to start this week and fans are excited about the next set of contestants.
Julian Clary, Lucy Beaumont, Sam Campbell, Sue Perkins, and Susan Wokoma, pictured in golden frames ahead of appearing in Taskmaster (Credit: Channel 4/Avalon)Julian Clary, Lucy Beaumont, Sam Campbell, Sue Perkins, and Susan Wokoma, pictured in golden frames ahead of appearing in Taskmaster (Credit: Channel 4/Avalon)
Julian Clary, Lucy Beaumont, Sam Campbell, Sue Perkins, and Susan Wokoma, pictured in golden frames ahead of appearing in Taskmaster (Credit: Channel 4/Avalon)

The last season saw Mae Martin crowned the latest champion - triumphing over Frankie Boyle, Ivo Graham, Jenny Eclair and Kiell Smith-Bynoe.

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.

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Along with the 15 series, 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.

Here’s who will be completing baffling challenges this year.

Julian Clary

Multi-talented actor, comedian, novelist and presenter Julian Clary has been a familiar face on television since the 1980s when he was a regular on Friday Night Live. Gaining notoriety for making a sexually explicit joke about then-Chancellor Norman Lamont at the British Comedy Awards, a tabloid newspaper campaign to get him banned from television failed. Other shows he has appeared in included This Morning, Prickly Heat, Sticky Moments With Julian Clary, Who Do You Think You Are?, Celebrity Big Brother, Have I Got News For You, and Your Face Sounds Familiar. A regular pantomime star, he’s also appeared in numerous films and has written two autobiographies, three novels and eight children’s books.

Lucy Beaumont

Actress, writer and standup Lucy Beaumont found immediate success at the start of her comedy career - reaching the finals of So You Think You’re Funny in 2011, winning the BBC Radio New Comedy Award in 2012, the Chortle Best Newcomer Award in 2013 and earning an Edinburgh Comedy Award nomination for Best Newcomer for her debut Edinburgh Festival Fringe show ‘We Can Twerk It Out’. Since then she’s appeared in numerous television programmes, including several with her comedian husband Jon Richardson - most recently ‘Jon & Lucy’s Odd Couples’. Her first book, ‘Drinking Custard: The Diary of a Confused Mum’, was published in 2021.

Sam Campbell

The 2022 Edinburgh Comedy Award champion, awarded for his show ‘Comedy Show’, Australian standup Sam Campbell has also won the Barry Award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival - becoming one of only a handful of comedians to win both major awards. He had previously won the Barry for Best Newcomer. He has also made a number of comedy internet shows and television programmes featuring a similar surreal style to his standup persona. Appearances on British television include Stath Lets Flats, Bloods and Red Flag.

Sue Perkins

Best known for her double act with former Taskmaster contestant Mel Giedroyc, the pair started their television careers with the Channel 4 programme Light Lunch and Late lunch, and later presented ITV chat show Mel & Sue and The Great British Bake Off. They also wrote for fellow comedy duo French and Saunders. Away from the double act, notable television appearances include in The Masked Singer, Sue Perkins’ Big American Road Trip, QI, Celebrity Big Brother, Sue Perkins: Perfectly Legal and Celbrity Masterchef. Regular radio work includes a spot on the panel on Radio 4’s The News Quiz, while she has taken two solo shows to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Susan Wokoma

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British actress, writer and director Susan Indiaba Wokoma is best known for her role as Edith in the Enola Holmes franchaise and was named a BAFTA Breakthough Brit in 2017. She also stars as Raquel in Netflix show Crazyhead, for which she won the RTS Best On-Screen Performance award. Film appearances include in Half of a Yellow Sun, The Inbetweeners 2, and Burn Burn Burn. Gamers will recognise her voice from her role as Princess Talanji in World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth. She is currently directing her first feature film, Three Weeks, which she also wrote and stars in.

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