ROISIN CONATY, TIM KEY, ROMESH RANGANATHAN, FRANK SKINNER and JOSH WIDDICOMBE were today announced as the contestants for Taskmaster, a brand new series devised by comedian and 2014 Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee ALEX HORNE, starring GREG DAVIES and ALEX HORNE, for entertainment channel Dave.
As Taskmaster, GREG DAVIES will set a series of stupefying tasks to test the group of comedians, before deciding who should be victorious. As the taskmaster’s assistant and right-hand-man, ALEX HORNE will coax the contenders to show their creativity, conniving and competitiveness; rivalry will be encouraged, dodgy tactics rewarded and bribes accepted in what is set to be the most dogged, hard-fought and ridiculous comedy show on TV. Taskmaster started out as a critically acclaimed live show, also devised by ALEX HORNE, which ran at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2010 and 2011.
An Avalon Television production, Taskmaster was commissioned by RICHARD WATSHAM, Director of Commissioning at UKTV and ordered by Dave General Manager, STEVE NORTH. The show is produced by ALEX HORNE, series producer is ANDY CARTWRIGHT and series director is ANDY DEVONSHIRE (The Apprentice and The Great British Bake Off) while the Executive Producers are RICHARD ALLEN-TURNER, JAMES TAYLOR and JON THODAY for Avalon and HILARY ROSEN for UKTV. Avalon Television is currently in production with: season two of hit USA show, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO); the second series of GREG DAVIES’ critically acclaimed sitcom, Man Down (Channel 4); Comedy Central’s (USA) breakout hit Workaholics; and Catastrophe, a new comedy series written by and starring ROB DELANEY and SHARON HORGAN (Channel 4).
Taskmaster is due to air on the channel in summer 2015 on Dave.
Dave is the UK’s most watched non-PSB channel. It continues to grow its slate of original commissions. Successful returning formats include Dave Gorman Modern Life is Goodish (Avalon Television Productions), Alan Davies As Yet Untitled (Phil McIntyre Television), Storage Hunters UK (North One) and Crackanory (Tiger Aspect). Ross Noble Freewheeling (North One) returns for a second series in March and later this year Dave will move for the first time into scripted comedy with Bonafide Films and Baby Cow’s Undercover while the semi-improvised Hoff the Record (Me & You Productions), starring David Hasslehoffi is set to air in early summer.
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For more information please contact:
Lottie Robertshaw at Avalon on: 020 7598 7222 or email: Lottier@avalonuk.com
About Dave
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On demand on Sky, Virgin and UKTV Play
Dave proudly presents a plethora of original commissions; Crackanory, Ross Noble Freewheeling, Dave Gorman’s Modern Life is Goodish, and Dara O Briain: School of Hard Sums, all laden with the biggest names in British comedy. Not to mention a brand spanking new series with QI favourite Alan Davies in Alan Davies As Yet Untitled. Plus there’s national treasures like QI, Red Dwarf X, Mock the Week and Have I Got News For You, not to mention the Red Bull trilogy of Cliff Diving, X-Fighters and the Soap Box races. And of course, we still have Top Gear. Dave is the UK’s most watched non-PSB channel broadcasting to over 27 million people per month, featuring hit US shows including the sharp-witted and sharp-suited Suits, the ludicrously addictive Lizard Lick Towing and the wonder that is Storage Hunters and now original commission Storage Hunters UK, the gift that keeps on giving.
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