It was announced today (Thursday 18 September 2014) that UKTV has commissioned a new 6 x 60 min series, devised by comedian and 2014 Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee ALEX HORNE, starring GREG DAVIES and ALEX HORNE, for its popular entertainment channel Dave.
Taskmaster will see GREG DAVIES take the title role of The Taskmaster; setting tasks to a group of well-known comedians and ultimately deciding who wins. ALEX HORNE will assist The Taskmaster as his right-hand-man, coaxing the comedians to show how comic, creative and seriously competitive they are. Rivalry will be encouraged, dodgy tactics rewarded and bribes will be accepted in what is set to be the most 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.
RICHARD WATSHAM, Director of Commissioning, UKTV, said: “Entertainment shows with this level of invention and ambition are extremely rare so it’s great to have it on Dave. It absolutely demonstrates our commitment to taking risks where other broadcasters might not. The thought of Alex Horne’s off beat comic genius brought to life with Greg Davies as the ultimate, authoritarian Taskmaster has me smiling already.”
STEVE NORTH, General Manager, Dave said: “Having seen Taskmaster live in Edinburgh back in 2011, it is fantastic to now bring the show to Dave viewers. It is a hilarious, full of energy and anarchic humour and is a great addition to the channel’s line up of original shows, which I hope will continue to widen the viewers that Dave appeals to. I can’t wait to see it on the channel.”
JON THODAY, Joint Managing Director of Avalon Television, said: “We are very excited to be producing this show for Dave. Alex’s inventive and highly original format has already proved to be a huge cult hit live, and I’m delighted that Greg has come on board to be the Taskmaster.”
An Avalon Television production, Taskmaster was commissioned by RICHARD WATSHAM, Director of Commissioning at UKTV and ordered by Dave General Manager, STEVE NORTH. The series will be directed by ANDY DEVONSHIRE (The Apprentice and The Great British Bake Off) and produced by ALEX HORNE, while the Executive Producers are RICHARD ALLEN-TURNER, JAMES TAYLOR and JON THODAY. Avalon Television is currently in production with: new USA hit, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO); the second series of GREG DAVIES critically acclaimed new sitcom, Man Down (Channel 4); the multi-award-winning and BBC’s longest running sitcom, Not Going Out (BBC One), written by and starring LEE MACK; Comedy Central’s (USA) breakout hit Workaholics; and Catastrophe, a new comedy series written by and starring ROB DELANEY and SHARON HORGAN (Channel 4).
Dave currently attracts over 27 million viewers a month and Taskmaster is due to air on the channel in spring 2015. New series of Avalon Television Productions’ Dave Gorman Modern’s Life Is Goodish and Ross Noble Freewheeling will also air on Dave later this year.
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For more information please contact:
Lottie Doran or Dan Lloyd at Avalon on: 020 7598 7222 or email: Lottied@avalonuk.com / DanL@avalonuk.com
About Dave
Sky channel 111, Virgin TV channel 128, Freeview 12
Satirical and edgy, UKTV-owned Dave is the home of witty banter. Featuring the best in contemporary entertainment including Suits, QI, Red Dwarf X, Mock the Week and Have I Got News For You. Dave also showcases popular original series, such as Dave’s One Night Stand, Dara O’Briain’s School of Hard Sums, Alexander Armstrong’s Big Ask and Jo Brand’s Big Splash, all laden with the biggest names in British comedy.
www.joindave.co.uk / @joindave
