Get cracking!
Taskmaster’s Alex Horne hints at what’s in store for the new series – and sets two of the contestants an eggs-tra special Easter task
- Huw Fullerton
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It’s almost April, and “Little” Alex Horne has turned up at the Radio Times office with a wax-sealed task, four gold envelopes and a “special” six-pack of eggs. Happy Easter!
To celebrate Taskmaster’s 21st series, which begins on Channel 4 on Thursday, just a few days after the Easter weekend, Horne has agreed to create an exclusive seasonal task for RT. To make it even more authentic, we’ve invited two of this year’s contestants – satirist/director Armando Iannucci and comedian and presenter Joel Dommett – to try it out. We’ve even managed to bring in an official trophy of Taskmaster Greg Davies wearing bunny ears for the winner. An “Easter Greg”, if you will.
“This is an Easter task, which I had to come up with very quickly,” Horne tells RT. “I do have to come up with tasks all the time – I get asked quite often by hen nights and stag dos and schoolteachers. I have a little list of things that might work for different occasions.”
Essentially, it’s second nature at this point. On-screen, 47-year-old Horne and the Taskmaster team have created hundreds upon hundreds of tasks for more than 100 comedians across 21 series (not including specials), with challenges ranging from painting the best picture of a horse while riding a horse, to successfully running a fictional hotel, all judged by co-host Davies.
“I think of it like writing jokes,” Horne explains. “You always panic that you’re going to run out, but they keep on coming to you. You’re just hoping inspiration will strike in a completely different direction.
Alex Horne. Rob Parfitt
“They’re also not complete until the comedians do them,” he adds. “Often the ones that end up being the most memorable were the least good on paper.”
That’s certainly true of today’s task for Iannucci and Dommett. The unlikely duo are asked to find and smash a single boiled egg from a group of three; two are raw. Each egg has descriptions written on it, and the golden envelopes contain extra clues, but may also include red herrings. It’s hard to say what cracks quicker under the pressure – the celebrities or the eggs.
“Like most of the series, with this task I’ve finished it and still don’t really understand what happened,” Dommett says shortly after his attempt.
Still, the eggy chaos reflects the new series, the 11th on Channel 4 (previously it aired on Dave). Alongside Iannucci and Dommett, the new cast includes comedian Amy Gledhill and actor Joanna Page, best known for one of the titular roles in Gavin & Stacey. “Most people only know her from Gavin & Stacey and haven’t seen the real Joanna, and it’s remarkable,” Horne says.
But perhaps the most impressive signing is Hollywood actor Kumail Nanjiani, a former Marvel superhero with an impressive TV and film CV that includes Ghostbusters, Men in Black and Star Wars roles. A few days before our shoot, he presented an award at the Oscars and was cast in the next series of The White Lotus.
“I did get a jolt when I watched the Oscars and Kumail walked on, because I know what he’s like in real life,” Horne laughs. “But it just shows that people are just people. I think Taskmaster works because it doesn’t matter who you are. It still comes unstuck when you’ve got three eggs and a task.
Joel Dommett, Alex Horne and Armando Iannucci. Rob Parfitt
“We started in 2015, and I don’t think it’s changed much,” he adds. “The tasks have to change a little bit. Even today, there’s a few more rules because we’ve done a lot of the most basic things. And also, contestants do come in with a little bit more knowledge about the show.
“But equally we still put stuff under the table and no one looks there. Greg’s still as wayward with his judging as ever. I think that, at its core, it’s still just making funny people do stupid things.”
Looking ahead, viewers can expect those “funny people” to get even starrier. According to Horne, series 22 – which has almost concluded studio filming as we go to press – has cast a real hero of his, while series 23 goes even bigger.
“I could give you a sneaky bit of information for the distant future,” he says. “We have got an Oscar winner in a future series.”
Robert De Niro throwing a potato into a hole? Meryl Streep eating an entire watermelon in three minutes? Take a guess… the clock’s ticking!
The Task
Break the boiled egg. You may only break one egg. Two of the eggs are labelled correctly. Fastest wins. Your time starts now!
Armando Iannucci
Alex Horne and Armando Iannucci. Rob Parfitt
Time: Either 26 seconds or officially, 4 minutes 31 seconds (including a 3-minute penalty)
Eggs broken: 2
Hint envelopes opened: 1 (‘Egg C has the right label’)
Points: 0 (disqualified)
Pride: Intact
Within seconds of starting, Armando had accidentally dropped an egg, technically ending the whole task – but he decided to plough on anyway. Despite using one hint, he still failed to locate the boiled egg and broke the second raw egg. Double failure. “Thank you very much... it’s great to be back,” he laughs.
This feels a bit like a post-match interview... How do you rate your task performance today?
Well, I think I played really well. My fitness is good. My form is good. I just think the big point – you know, choosing the egg – I need to be better than that. I’ve fired my coach… and I’ve hired the coach I’ve fired because he’s still on contract. I still have to pay him.
You’re not known for being “yourself” on TV shows, so why do Taskmaster?
People have me down as a sort of political, satirical, sweary writer. And, yeah, I do a bit of that, but I also do stupid stuff and silly stuff. I mean, Alan Partridge is stupid, and I did a show on Channel 4, The Armando Iannucci Shows, which was mostly stupid. I seem to do comedy about people who look normal or even respectable acting like idiots. And I thought it was probably about time I fell into that category.
Were you a fan before?
Oh, it’s a favourite! My family and I watched it right from the start. I was slightly trepidatious to be asked on to it, but also within a nanosecond, I said yes, because it’s such a friendly, kind show. You can bowl things up and make a complete arse of the task and of yourself, and it doesn’t matter.
You’re surrounded by Easter paraphernalia, but do you celebrate Easter?
We used to do Easter egg hunts and all that sort of thing, but my kids are grown up now. I will say, when you reach a certain age – and I don’t want to plough this elderly man theme for much longer – but you can have chocolate whenever you like! You don’t need to wait until Easter.
Joel Dommett
Joel Dommett. Rob Parfitt
Time: 4 minutes 1 second (including 1-minute penalty)
Eggs broken: 2
Hint envelopes opened: 1 (mystery envelope red herring)
Points: 0 (disqualified)
Haircuts ruined: 1
Joel took his time trying to crack the clues – “Egg a’boiled?” he mused, before being told it read “Egg A: boiled” – and also sacrificed a minute of time for a hint. Unfortunately, that “mystery envelope” only contained a free photo of Greg Davies and Alex Horne. Checking under the egg cups revealed a secret message: Manufactured in Denmark. Giving up, Joel went on instinct and confidently smashed a raw egg on his head. Followed by the other raw egg. Good for the hair, we’re told...
Without giving too much away, you have trouble with an egg-based task in the new series... You don’t seem to have a lot of luck with eggs on Taskmaster!
No, I really don’t. I like to eat eggs because they are a very good protein source. But now they sort of have a sheen of PTSD.
How did you find our task today?
I loved it – I know there’s probably a clever way of doing it and I do always try my best to work out what that is, but it actually kind of confuses me and then I just go a bit gung-ho. And smash an egg on my head. Two eggs. Why not? If you’ve done one, you might as well do another.
Were you a fan of the show before you joined?
A massive fan, as I think a lot of comedians are. It’s just one of those brilliant shows in which you get to see the mind of a comedian and the different ways they figure something out. Potentially in the wrong way, very much like today!
It’s very festive in here – do you celebrate Easter?
I sometimes forget Easter, but I have a two-and-a-half year-old, so I should probably start embracing it! Actually, people think I’m maybe not a controversial comedian, but I’m about to say something really controversial… I don’t eat chocolate. In the shoot, I enjoyed punching an Easter egg more than I enjoyed eating it. That says it all about me.
Alex Horne's verdict
Alex Horne. Rob Parfitt
This was easy to score. They both failed – zero points. This is a little logic task. It’s very easy: you’ve just got to open the hint envelope that is going to cost you the most time. But I was pretty sure that they wouldn’t do that – and they didn’t do that, so that’s good. I did feel very smug, which often happens in the show.
I tested this one on my kids at home and two of them found the correct egg, one of them did a Joel and just smashed the wrong one. These two did predictably badly, but they also did it predictably entertainingly. There’s always a balance in the show. You could just come in and do the task. And that’s fine if one person does that, but if all five did it in a very dry way, it wouldn’t be entertaining. So, they didn’t disappoint.
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This task may return in the TV show. So if you’re a future contestant watching this, you’ve got an advantage. I try to test tasks out wherever I can because life’s short.
Authors
Huw FullertonCommissioning editor
Huw Fullerton is a commissioning editor for Radio Times magazine handling comedy, entertainment and specialist drama. In a previous regeneration, he covered all things sci-fi and fantasy for RadioTimes.com.
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