Feeling bummed about the latest season of Taskmaster coming to an end? Well, worry not, because the contestants for the next have already been revealed.
Hosts Greg Davies and Little Alex Horne will be returning for season 18 of the Bafta-winning comedy game show later this year, which pits its stars against each other in a series of bizarre and hilarious challenges.
The next instalment of the hit show will welcome The Bugle Podcast host Andy Zaltzman, stand-up comic and Celebrity Gogglebox star Babatunde Aléshé and Starstruck actor Emma Sidi, alongside comedians Jack Dee and Rosie Jones.
The stars will follow in the footsteps of this latest season’s cast, which was made up of Joanne McNally, John Robins, Nick Mohammed, Sophie Willan and Steve Pemberton.
The news comes shortly after the announcement of Taskmaster: The Live Experience, which will launch this autumn at Dock X in London’s Canada Water from 18 September 2024.
Giving fans the chance to experience the iconic Taskmaster house, attendees will be able to try their hand at the “infuriating tasks” set in the lab, living room, shed and other familiar locations to battle it out for points.
The experience will then culminate with one player seeking to win the Taskmaster’s seal of approval.
If you’re wondering what the secret is behind Taskmaster’s enduring success – which has secured a near decade-long run and featured the likes of Greg James, Munya Chawawa, James Acaster, Claudia Winkleman and Amelia Dimoldenberg over the years – fans think it might have something to do with the variety of its cast members.
“I’ve said this before but the speed at which each season of Taskmaster’s cast goes from ‘I know one quite well and have kind of heard of two others’ to ‘I cherish these five people more than some family members’ should be studied,” one popular post on X joked last year.
Former contestant Mark Watson puts it down to the fact that Taskmaster makes a point of “risky bookings″, meaning people who are known by the industry but perhaps less obvious choices for audiences.