Taskmaster was ‘liberating’ says Ardal O’Hanlon
Taskmaster season 15 begins tonight (March 30) on Channel 4 at 9pm with a fresh cast of comedians competing in a series of mind-boggling challenges. The show is the brain child of comedian and actor Alex Horne, first gracing screens back in 2015 on UKTV’s Dave. Fast-forward to 2023 and Taskmaster continues to go strong with a BAFTA nomination as well as winning a slew of British Comedy Guide Awards.
The Inbetweeners and Cuckoo actor Greg Davies takes on the role of the titular Taskmaster while Alex serves as his assistant on the show.
The pair have a repartee with Alex playing second fiddle to Greg, often facing jibes from his co-star.
Speaking to media including Express.co.uk, Alex opened up about the pair’s relationship on Taskmaster: “No, he’s the master and I’m his apprentice.”
Alex joked: “He’s fully in charge, even though he’s not here now, he’s telling me what to say. I’ve got an earpiece, he’s feeding me lines.”
On a more serious note, Alex continued: “No, I promise you, Greg, the whole show is on his enormous shoulders and I do come up with stuff but it wouldn’t exist without him.”
Reflecting on devising the tasks, Alex said in the interview from last year’s National Television Awards: “It’s not a great answer but yeah, they just come to me.
“That makes me sound like I’m Mozart but it’s not, I just don’t think it’s that clever. There’s more I think, ‘Oh, there’s a colander, I think we can do something with a colander.’
“So, I’m just on the lookout for tasks all the time. That’s my life. There’s no system, I just get inspired by the little God of tasks.”
Season 15 features Canadian actor and comic Mae Martin, Frankie Boyle, Jenny Eclair, Kiell Smith-Bynoe of Ghosts fame and stand-up Ivo Graham, who follow in the footsteps of many comedians.
Is there anyone Alex wants next on Taskmaster? “Jack Dee, and I say this anytime anyone asks me this question.
“I think it’s the only way to persuade him to do it. So, Jack Dee, if you’re listening, please do the show.”
Alex went on to say: “But apart from that, I went to Edinburgh [last] year for the first time for ages with my kids and there’s so many amazing new comics, so we have a responsibility these days to put fresh, good people on telly.”
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Adding: “So the big names are great but I do think the ones coming up are just as great.”
Taskmaster continues to grow in popularity after moving to Channel 4 in 2020 and now boasts a growing fanbase, who can’t get enough of the quirky gameshow.
Channel 4’s launch of Taskmaster saw 3.9million tuning in to the first episode and it became the best-performing entertainment show of 2020.
Between its original launch on Dave in 2015 to season nine, the show saw its audience grow by a whopping 80 percent.
There’s now even festive editions of Taskmaster with celebrity fans such as Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan and TV presenter Rylan Clark having a crack the show in the hopes of impressing Greg.
Taskmaster has also been syndicated to other countries such as Iceland, South Africa, Finland, Australia and Denmark, among many others.
To date, there’s been 350 episodes of Taskmaster made outside the UK, with the format capturing the imaginations of audiences around the globe.
Season 15 will be airing over 10 weeks with the contestants doing battle in the hopes of claiming the highly-coveted gilded trophy of Greg’s head in the finale.
Taskmaster season 15 starts on Channel 4 tonight at 9pm
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