LONDON – Thursday 17th December – Fresh from enjoying its best performance on record in its new Channel 4 home, BAFTA winning Taskmaster reveals the next line-up of contestants featuring in Series 11 of the hit comedy entertainment show landing in 2021. The news arrives as Richard Herring is crowned the Series 10 Champion, completing the line-up for the next Champion of Champions which will also air in 2021.
Yet more of the UK’s most elite comedy minds are throwing themselves at the mercy of the Taskmaster, scrapping for points, prizes, and the eternal glory of being crowned a Taskmaster Champion. Series 11 will see actor Charlotte Ritchie (Ghosts, BBC One), acclaimed stand-up Jamali Maddix (Hate Thy Neighbour, Vice), BAFTA-winning comic Lee Mack (Not Going Out, BBC One), actor, writer, and comedian Mike Wozniak (Man Down, Channel 4), and BAFTA-nominated actor and comedian Sarah Kendall (Frayed, Sky One) battle it out in a series of stupefying tasks testing their ingenuity, and weeding out their stupidity.
Not content with simply putting a fresh bunch of hopefuls through their paces, 2022 will also see the uncompromising Taskmaster uphold tradition and invite the winners of series six to ten to a brand-new Champion of Champions tournament. Having recently been crowned victor of series 10, Richard Herring and fellow champs Liza Tarbuck, Kerry Godliman, Lou Sanders, and Ed Gamble will all have the opportunity to battle it out once more. As ever, Greg Davies will be perched on his regal throne as the Taskmaster, while the doting Little Alex Horne scuttles about his master’s feet generating stats, measurements, and generally irritating his keeper, as these task titans compete in the ultimate quest for victory.
These series have been commissioned for Channel 4 by Head of Entertainment, Phil Harris and Head of Live Events, Tom Beck. Produced by Avalon, Executive Producers for the series are Alex Horne, Richard Allen-Turner, Rob Aslett, James Taylor, Jon Thoday and Andy Devonshire (The Apprentice and The Great British Bake Off), who also acts as Series Director, while Andy Cartwright is Series Producer.
WHAT THE PRESS HAVE SAID ABOUT TASKMASTER SERIES 10
“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
Kate Conway at Channel 4: KConway@Channel4.co.uk
Notes to Editors:
About Taskmaster
- Taskmaster is a BAFTA winning and International Emmy nominated comedy game show originally created by Alex Horne. Greg Davies stars as the all-powerful “Taskmaster” who, with the help of his loyal assistant Horne, sets out to test the wiles, wit and wisdom of five comedians through a series of strange and surreal challenges in what is the most hard-fought and ridiculous comedy entertainment format on TV.
- 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 93 million views and has 447,000 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 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 70,000 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 at Home event with all the money raised going to homeless charities across the UK. Having raised over £45,000, the virtual event is running throughout the winter months and further information can be found here.
About Avalon
Avalon is a multi-award-winning talent management, television production and live promotion group with offices in London, Los Angeles and New York. Avalon and Artist Rights Group (ARG) represent a prolific roster of artists including comedians, actors, presenters, writers and directors, including Chris Addison, David Baddiel, Greg Davies, Rob Delaney, Adam DeVine, Jenny Eclair, Dave Gorman, Richard E. Grant, Freddie Highmore, Alex Horne, Russell Howard, Toby Jones, Adrian Lester, Lee Mack, Lesley Manville, Marc Maron, Rose Matafeo, Al Murray, James Nesbitt, John Oliver, Daniel Radcliffe, Chris Ramsey, Iliza Shlesinger, Frank Skinner, Will Sharpe, Imelda Staunton and Reggie Watts.
Avalon’s numerous ground-breaking returning television shows currently in production include: Not Going Out (BBC), the UK’s longest running sitcom on air; Taskmaster (Channel 4), the BAFTA-winning hit entertainment format showing in 100 countries; multi Emmy-winner, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO); The Russell Howard Hour (Sky), the network’s most successful entertainment show launch since 2010; Starstruck, a new sitcom from the 2018 Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Rose Matafeo (HBO Max/BBC); Everything’s Gonna Be Okay, from creator Josh Thomas (Freeform); Breeders, a sitcom starring Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard (FX/Sky); a new series of the iconic British satirical puppet show, Spitting Image (BritBox UK); and multiple comedy specials for Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max and Netflix.
Other landmark Avalon shows include BAFTA winning and multi Emmy nominated Catastrophe (Amazon Prime Video/Channel 4), Fantasy Football League (BBC/ITV), multi BAFTA-winning TV Burp (ITV), and Workaholics (Comedy Central USA). Avalon also distributes its catalogue of programmes to over 150 countries worldwide. Avalon has produced many globally successful podcasts and is at the top of the UK iTunes chart with the multi-award-winning Shagged. Married. Annoyed by Chris and Rosie Ramsey.
As a leading promoter of live comedy, Avalon produced Newman and Baddiel: Live at Wembley, the UK’s first arena comedy show; Jerry Springer: The Opera, the first West End show to win all four UK ‘Best New Musical’ awards; and has continued to produce and promote live shows globally, as well as promoting more winners and nominees of the prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Award than any other company.
For Avalon news visit: www.avalonuk.com/press or follow @avalonent
About Channel 4
Channel 4 is a publicly-owned yet commercially-funded public service broadcaster and has a remit to be innovative, experimental and distinctive. Its public ownership and not-for-profit status ensure all profit generated by its commercial activity is directly reinvested back into the delivery of its public service remit.
As a publisher-broadcaster, Channel 4 is also required to commission UK content from the independent production sector and currently works with around 300 creative companies across the UK every year. In addition to the main Channel 4 service, its portfolio includes: E4, More4, Film4, 4seven, Channel4.com, streaming service All 4 and The Box Plus Network, including 4Music.
