JOHN HANNAH, KRISHNAN GURU-MURTHY, NICOLA COUGHLAN, RYLAN CLARK-NEAL, SHIRLEY BALLAS
For the first time ever, the Taskmaster’s doors will be flung open to ring in the new year with a brand new, one-off special, ‘Taskmaster’s New Year Treat’ on Channel 4. The almighty Greg Davies will welcome five famous faces from radically different specialities and set ludicrous challenges supervised by his Little Assistant Alex Horne. The news arrives as series ten of the hit comedy entertainment show enjoyed its best performance on record with its premiere in its brand-new primetime slot.
Competing to win the coveted Taskmaster trophy are: acclaimed film actor John Hannah (Four Weddings and Funeral), journalist and leading Channel 4 News anchor Krishnan Guru-Murthy (Ways to Change the World Podcast, Channel 4), actress Nicola Coughlan (Derry Girls, Channel 4, Bridgerton, Netflix), television and radio presenter Rylan Clark-Neal, and internationally renowned dancer, three time British Open to the World Latin American Champion and TV Head Judge Shirley Ballas (Strictly Come Dancing, BBC One). Our well-known contestants are experts in their respective fields, but how will they compare in the most hard fought, high stakes, ridiculous game show on television?
Transmission details will be confirmed in due course.
CRITICAL PRAISE FOR SERIES 10 of TASKMASTER:
“Taskmaster is the show we need right now” ★★★★ Anita Singh, The Daily Telegraph
“Charming, batshit, hilarious…That something so pointless, so silly, so endlessly daft should exist is just delightful” ★★★★ Lucy Mangan, The Guardian
“I wish I had discovered it earlier as it’s sublimely silly and funny” ★★★★★ Deborah Ross, The Mail on Sunday
“The funniest double act on television… Taskmaster is one of TV’s most refreshing comedies. It’s nonsensical, silly and different from anything else on TV” Frances Taylor, Radio Times
“The funniest show on television” Luke Holland, The Guardian
“Joyously ridiculous” Victoria Segal, The Sunday Times
“Greg and Alex make a strong double act… on screen they have natural rhythm” ★★★★★ Christopher Stevens, The Daily Mail
“it’s still the same delightful, daft show” ★★★★★ Steven Perkins, TV Times Magazine
“it’s still just as ridiculous and entertaining as ever” ★★★★★ Lauren Morris, Radio Times Online
“Anyone new to Taskmaster will quickly get the idea of its sublime silliness” ★★★★★ The Mail On Sunday
“impressive” ★★★★ Boyd Hilton, Heat
“weird and wonderful” ★★★★★ Mike Ward, Daily Star
“Its fun to watch not just because the tasks are silly, but also in the execution, as the comics come up with (mostly) inventive ways of making the magic happen” ★★★★ Daily Mail
“an entertaining return of a joyous show” ★★★★ Steve Bennett, Chortle
“the beauty of Taskmaster has always been its winning format” Ian Hyland, The Daily Mirror
“Surreal, downright silly and the most fun to be had on TV” Veronica Lee, The I
“there is nothing not to love” The Sun
“From the beginning its clear that this season… will be a winner. Proper laugh-out-loud TV” The Daily Telegraph, SH
“hilarious as usual” Emily Baker, The I
“The hilarity still comes in waves” Lynn Gibson, Inside Soap
“Extraordinary and hilarious” Jennifer Kyte, Sunday Express
“the novelty game show that struck comedy gold” The Mail on Sunday
“Still one of the most inventive- and definitely the most reliably funny- programme on TV” Total TV Guide
“Crash landing onto its new home on Channel 4 after nine seasons on Dave, its only right that this brilliant, bonkers show reaches a wider audience” Sara Wallis, The Daily Mirror
“The national service for comedians” Joe Clay, The Times
“it’s ridiculously funny” Mike Ward, Daily Express
“it is still as funny, inspired and daft as ever in its tenth series” Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke
ENDS
For more information please contact:
Florrie Sheehan at Avalon: fsheehan@avalonuk.com
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Notes to Editors:
About Taskmaster
- Taskmaster is working with Homeless Link; the national membership charity for frontline homelessness services, creating a virtual Taskmaster at Home event with all the money raised going to homeless charities across the UK. Having raised £10,000 in donations after only 24hours, the virtual event is running throughout the winter months and further information can be found here.
- 84 episodes have been produced in the UK so far, with a further 51 ordered by Channel 4 as part of a landmark six season deal in 2020. Series 10 – 15 will be aired on Channel 4 from Autumn 2020, following nine record-breaking series on UKTV’s Dave.
- Since the programme’s launch in 2015 on UKTV’s Dave, Taskmaster’s audience has grown by 80% from series one to series nine, averaging an audience of 1.8 million viewers at its peak.
- Taskmaster was crowned Best Comedy Entertainment at the BAFTAs 2020 and won Best Entertainment Programme at the Broadcast Awards 2018, having previously received two more nominations for both awards. It has also been nominated for Best Entertainment Programme at the RTS Awards, Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, the Broadcast Digital Awards, and the TV Choice Awards.
- The original Taskmaster programme and format combined has been sold into 106 countries, with 140 episodes of the format being made outside the UK including local versions of the show produced for VTM in Belgium, TVE in Spain, and TVNZ in New Zealand. While the original will air on The CW in the U.S. this August.
- The format has seen huge success in Europe, with the Swedish version winning Programme of the Year at the Kristallen 2019 (Sweden’s TV Academy Awards) and its fourth series for SVT reaching ratings of over a 50% market share in a primetime weekend slot. Two new series have been ordered for MTV in Finland after its first episode ranked in the top ten most watched shows in the country, and there are returning series for Discovery in Norway and TV2 in Denmark.
- The Taskmaster YouTube channel has received over 85 million views and has 428,000 subscribers.
- #HomeTasking had over 76 million impressions across all content on YouTube. Viewing grew by 42%, while subscribers grew by 85% since it launched on the Taskmaster YouTube channel. It was watched in 125 countries with viewers ranging from the US to the UK and from Moldova to Mongolia.
- The Taskmaster Podcast hosted by Ed Gamble, went to No.1 in the iTunes podcast charts immediately following release of it’s first episode.
- The Taskmaster Book 200 Extraordinary Tasks for Ordinary People has sold over 110,000 copies.
- A Taskmaster boardgame was released in Autumn 2019 and entirely sold out a week after it went on sale. It has sold over 50,000 copies to date. An expansion pack was released this year along with the launch of the official Taskmaster shop.
- Taskmaster is working with Homeless Link, the national membership charity for frontline homelessness services, creating a virtual Taskmaster event available to purchase through the Store with all the money raised going to homeless charities across the UK. Further information can be found here.
