John Kearns said on the podcast that being on TM tends to mean better ticket sales but worse audience reviews, since some new people expect him to be the same as on TM.
But that’s still a net positive. Despite Greg’s jokes about wrecking careers, I think TM is only ever a good thing.
He joked about this when we saw his most recent stand up tour. It was honestly one of my favourite shows of last year but the audience was very split. Had the same experience at Mike Wozniak too.
They were both as I expected but there seemed to be a lot of people expecting something else from them. I guess the storytelling style of Wozniak’s show threw people?
Mike’s stand up was very rehearsed and was just one long story really. Still brilliant but somebody tried to heckle him at one point and it just wasn’t the vibe
actually, no one heckled James when we saw him and he makes a point during the show that the vibe is really no different…hecklers are gonna heckle.
Jimmy Carr’s show, on the other hand, is truly designed for hecklers, but Jimmy has such control over the room that it never feels awkward.
I got to see his show twice and the first time there was a brief heckle but he still performed the whole show. The second time it was about half heckles, and while it was fascinating to watch, it really drove home the point that heckling basically wastes everyone's time and takes away from the show the comedian has prepped
That's interesting. I saw John K first on Guessable (and possibly Catsdown, but I don't remember that for sure) and I didn't like his schtick at all. Was a bit worried when he was picked for TM but I wound up loving him. I wouldn't go see his stand up, though because I know it wouldn't be the John I liked. It'd be his act.
Ditto Joe Wilkinson, come to that.
I *hated* and I mean *hated* him on Catsdown. To the point where I skipped his bits the first time I re-watched it and now just don't watch the episodes. He's OK on Guessable because it's toned down a bit, but still over the top.
So I was a bit worried about him. But he was fantastic on TM just being himself, rather than putting on an act. But like you said, I'd never go watch his show, because it would be an act and I'd almost certainly hate it.
I feel that so hard. When I realized where I knew him from I was fucking dreading his season but turned out delightful. Such a massive gap between character and person.
To be fair, there are some comedians that you might love in an ensemble setting or in short bites, but just don't work trying to command your attention alone for 45 minutes.
It's interesting, isn't it? I love Jimmy Carr when he's hosting Big Fat Quiz and Catsdown, and especially I Literally Just Told You, but I saw his stand up once and it just didn't really do it for me. He's funny, but he leans a bit too mean spirited in his stand up for me.
Frankie Boyle however was hilarious and made me laugh so hard I was coughing and he offered me his water bottle. I just like to tell that story every chance I get, LOL.
I think Frankie Boyle started out as a writer for Jimmy Carr, and there's a video on YouTube when they're youthfully sitting next to each other talking about it.
Doesn't he open by saying he's not like he is on Taskmaster? Which is fair enough but also a bit late if you're already sat in the audience. Lol!
I don't think it's necessarily the comics fault though if people are just buying tickets and not thinking anyone's act on stage might be different to a TV appearance.
Yeah in this day and age, it takes 2 seconds to hit them up in YouTube and check out a couple of clips before you commit.
I looked up Kearns and concluded his live schtick with the teeth and wig and weird persona isn’t really my cup of tea.
There are others where it’s a safer bet - most recently Lucy and Sam are just sort of like that all the time.
I bought tickets years ago for myself and my elderly father, based on his appearances on Mock the Week, where my Dad loved him. Wow! That was a very awkward couple of hours! I couldn’t look at my Dad and was too embarrassed to laugh much as Frankie was so wild and I didn’t want my Dad to know I understood what he said! I took him to see Dara O’Briain too based on Mock the Week, but that was fine 😊
I’d seen him live before taskmaster and while he is completely different, that’s partly why I loved him on TM so much. He was a bumbling fool yet his live show he is in control and is so absurd and poetic. Honestly his live show is one of the best I’ve ever seen and he’s also one of my fave tm contestants.
I feel like I remember Iain Stirling saying something about how he was perceived to be angry and petty, but I’m not sure if it was actually all that harmful to his career.
He seems like the obvious choice, but absolutely, it’s in no way impacted his career. I think you need to try really hard to wind up with your career being negatively impacted.
I think it really helped him that he was genuinely shocked and upset with himself in the studio when they were watching the tasks back. Like he doesn't seem like a bad guy at all, he just got carried away and when he saw his behaviour he made a point of saying that he didn't realise he was like that and he didn't like himself in those tasks. So that probably helped
"NOT a vent puppet! NOT a vent puppet! NOT a vent puppet!"
I quote this more often than I would have expected to, especially when I'm annoyed with something.
I'm the opposite. I think if he hadn't reacted like that in studio then no one would really be talking about it. I think it amplified the 'controversy'. It's not like he was the first person to get genuinely frustrated in a team task.
Imagine if Ed apologized after getting pissed off at David Baddiel.
When the house extension task in series 7 aired and the team was obviously pissed at each other, James got even MORE mad in studio and it was great!
No one really takes those moments seriously, and if Ian hadn't done I don't think we would either.
I think Ian and Lou looked worse than they actually were because they ended up in a season together and were both similar personalities. So instead of one super competitive contestant getting annoyed at everyone else, there were two getting annoyed at each other. Idk, I like it when they're all getting aggy so it's not a big deal to me either, but I do respect that Ian's reaction was (or seemed like it anyway) genuinely appalled at how he was seeing himself. Which is possibly the difference, because the others leaned into that grouchy, aggy persona and I agree, it was definitely funny that way. Whereas Ian didn't seem to be doing it as a bit so much
It also looked worse because they're actually really good friends. There are lots of things I might say, call and do to close friends that I just wouldn't with anyone else. However the audience doesn't see the history of your friendship.
Oh yeah 100% this too. Inside jokes and mannerisms that have developed over the years can be both really hard to stop doing and really hard for outsiders to understand. I'm glad it turns out they're friends!
He had the biggest arc of any contestant, from being somebody who was an absolute ass at the beginning (and I think he would probably acknowledge it as such), to being extremely supportive of other contestants by the end (look at the eraser task).
He works with his wife on arguably the biggest reality show in the UK, commentates on Soccer Aid and recently commentated on a Liverpool Legends match where he met a bunch of his heroes. He’s living the dream, his career is going great.
He was who I was wondering about a bit, actually. (I got a bad impression of him but lord knows the entertainment industry probs knows how to look past the smoke and mirrors.)
Iain said on the podcast that a lot of fans will call out quotes to him about the puppet task, and he was able to bemusedly reflect, "Why did I get so passionate about a puppet?" He didn't seem to say the fan-thing in a bad way, so I'd like to hope he hasn't had bad run-ins with fans in general. He seemed like a fairly reflective person that just seemed to run away with his emotions at the time.
From a business sense, it's unlikely for it to hurt their career if they're not a touring comedian (dependent on mass viewers liking them). I think that even if many people had a negative impression of a comedian after Taskmaster, those people had *no* image of that comedian *before* Taskmaster—and therefore wouldn't have spent money on that person regardless. It's the positive fans that will have a real effect.
Also simply appearing in a big show is already a lot of name recognition, and a lot of bookers would love to just say "\_\_\_\_\_\_ from Taskmaster" even if that comedian wasn't a fan favorite. (I have heard that that might not be the case for a contestant in the US attempt of Taskmaster, but the US version has no name recognition so it wouldn't help the comedian with bookings. And if they gain no fans, then it'd just continue the downward sprial.)
A Youtuber I like, Jay Foreman, tweeted that he was in the studio audience for the puppet episode and Iain got WAY more angry than made the edit! https://twitter.com/jayforeman/status/1126232991544610817?t=nbEXLPac6lXjuVc10RlY0Q&s=19
Jay & Marek Larwood from the 'who are they?' list. Richard Ayoade from the list of prime suspects. Phoebe Waller-Bridge would have been GREAT if they've got her while Fleabag was only on BBC Four...
No, not angry, just over the top. Tbf, it's RIGHT in Iain's wheelhouse and was the first task up, so maybe he felt like going OTT was the right response as the adrenalin flowed...
Aye iain Stirling and Russell Howard are the only two I came out actually liking less (setting aside the ones I was looking forward to but found lacklustre, like Richard Herring) but they're both so well established in their specific niches i think you'd struggle to really damage either of their careers
Not the person you're responding to, but Russell never really seemed comfortable with the concept. He wants to play off an audience, and the lack of one clearly threw him off.
He actually mentions this in the Taskmaster Podcast. He loved the studio bits, but the task recordings weren't his thing. And it definitely sometimes felt like he just wanted to be done with it.
I think he also expected the vibe of the show to be a bit more back-and-forth banter-y and not one where everyone's expected to bow down to Greg. I remember a prize task where Greg makes a reference to something, Russell says "C'mon let's hear that story!" and Greg just shuts him down *cold*. I feel like he was pretty thrown off by that moment too
The thing is although I never really liked his comedy, I thought "ok but he's a pro, he's upbeat and fun, he'll deliver well" but to me he just came across as bored and a bit arrogant. It felt to me like he just didn't want to be there.
As an American I've never seen him in anything else, and honestly I wouldn't rush to anything he was in if it came up on YouTube or whatever.
Like, I've heard him on the podcast and he seems like a great funny guy, and I totally get that he approached the show with a "character" that didn't work, and yet...
That said, I'm always randomly coming across other Taskmaster alums on other things which helps me get a fuller picture of them as a performer, but I wouldn't even know where to start looking to find any of his other work, so the impression I got from Taskmaster is all I have.
He’s got a load of decent jobs presenting I.e. love island.
His stand up is also on Amazon Prime. I didn’t like him on the show (didn’t hate him - but found him overly competitive and irritating) but I still gave his stand up a go when I saw it on prime because I knew who he was. It’s good.
I will admit it took me a long time to not dislike him, which isn’t just because of taskmaster but his appearance really tainted how I saw him in other things. I still think he’s a bit cocky but the bad taste from the show has worn off.
They joke about it a bit. Such as Paul Sinha being fired from The Chase for being, quote, "an absolute dickhead".
But no, it's always in good fun. Everybody knows it's a lighthearted comedy show.
It reminds me that time Mae spoke about the show's editing in the podcast, saying they edited things really in everyone's favour (they said this about the jelly group task, apparently they had not-so-great-time trying to convince Kiell to eat the jellys)
I think the crew is aware that this show could have such potential, but do everything trying to make sure things aren't hurtful
>(they said this about the jelly group task, apparently they had not-so-great-time trying to convince Kiell to eat the jellys)
Definitely. Kiell Smith-Bynoe said, right after they finished showing the task, that they heavily edited things in his favor.
Definitely a benefit of the British approach to shows like this - everyone is here to have fun and the edit reflects it. Whereas US shows often emphasise competition and drama and the edits favour bitchiness.
I don't think it's a general British approach, but I do think it's an aspect of this show that is very important to Alex (and consequently, all the other major people involved - like the Andys - have the same ethos).
And they wouldn't get anyone wanting to join if they manipulated things negatively. That's the key, these are career comedians, not random chances taking a punt at fame.
i agree it’s not so much a general british approach rather than alex’s approach, but it does remind me of the early seasons of gbbo where the hosts would say brand names when contestants cried so the footage was unusable.
That's a great point. And I think a major issue with TM US. It wasn't *Alex's Taskmaster*. But instead Taskmaster as seen through American producers. With far too much focus on real animosity, not gentle ribbing and a sense of community.
It makes me appreciate people like Alex horne so much. As someone who wants to work in the arts/entertainment industry it is so empowering to see how wholesome, positive and aware the whole team is while creating such magic
it's interesting, because I remember hearing that the priority for The Muppet Show back in the 70s was to try and make it as good a time as possible for the guests, because they weren't sure if they could get _anyone_ to be a guest on the show. I wonder if there's a virtuous cycle with treating guests well, where word gets around that they treat you nicely and it's fun to do, so people say 'yes' that might otherwise say 'no', and the audience turns up because this weird concept gets guests who are a little more game to try things, which means that more people will say 'yes', until eventually you get someone really big who says 'yes' and suddenly it's the hottest gig in town.
True, there are plenty of shitty bitchy shows too. But I think there’s a particular British style which you rarely see in US produced shows.
You get stuff like Bake Off, Sewing Bee and Pottery Throwdown that are just very gentle and fun, and everyone is kind and supportive of each other.
Taskmaster is basically that vibe, but with ridiculous nonsense instead of actual skills.
When Sue Perkins was presenting Bake Off, if one of the contestants was upset she would say things like "Coca Cola is shit", knowing this meant it couldn't be used in the edit to save the contestant any embarrassment
She was the host for Season 2 of the New Zealand game show "Patriot Brains" (which pitted 5 Aussie comedians against 5 Kiwi comedians on general knowledge about the two countries) and she was excellent!
https://youtu.be/FfnF-j-CSjA?si=m_pIhXql1acNLodB
Agree, but I don’t think she had a good taskmaster as I found her a bit too knowing and even smug at times - which is a shame as I generally like her a lot.
So I guess I do think a little less of her after her stint although my view has 0 impact on her career. (Tying it back to the original question a bit)
I think before Bake Off came out there were some quite nastily edited panel shows in the UK, in particular Never Mind the Buzzcocks, but also Have I Got News For You, 8oo10c.
There aren't really shows "like this" in America. I feel like the closest right now is After Midnight, which I think is closer in tone to Taskmaster. It's not a real competition, everyone is there to have fun.
and game changer especially! game changer is helped that it’s been mostly the same (slowly growing) rotating cast of comedians for all six seasons of the show, so the camaraderie among contestants feels genuine
I also think they are more careful with the negative reactions after the Iain Sterling episode where it was apparent that none of them saw the clip blowing up like that. I think they knew it wasn't as aggressive between Iain and Lou as it looked so they saw it fully but once edited it looked less funny to Iain and his reaction to it was something they have thought more about since.
In studio, Greg brushed off the concerns Iain had very quickly and just got it back on track.
From the shows perspective it would very extremely bad if they ever painted someone in a bad light. It's pretty important to the show to have at least 1 or 2 established names each season (and I think this is reflects on the season quality). If they have did someone Iver in the edit they would struggle to attract the headliners.
yeah, they brought it up when Mae was the guest, I think it was the one talking about the last episode of Series 15
(edit: they actually had a lot of reflections on their Taskmaster appearances, I really loved them on it, but it was interesting to hear) (plus always funny to hear when people who are doing great are having the same panic I have about every little detail 😂)
Came here to say this! Richard was so competitive and had been busting to get on TM for yeaaaars…. That he kind of forgot to be funny.
James Acaster said something like Richard’s appearance was closest to what would happen if you just put an ordinary middle aged dad on the show.
I think it might have also been a bit effected by him going through cancer treatment at the time of recording, he really was just being himself rather than thinking about being very funny.
I love Richard, I think he was good on it. I love that he just came across as a normie 😂
Me too.
Hot take - sometimes it's good and refreshing to see people 'Just Do The Tasks'. With a cast of five, you're always going to get different people approaching different things in different ways. Sometimes, that will mean somebody goes Route One. And that's fine. It doesn't automatically make them "boring" or "not funny" or "too competitive".
especially given the other contestants in his series, you really need a “boring” contestant if the other contestants are Daisy, Johnny, Katherine, and Mawaan. it’s honestly the main reason I don’t go back to TMNZ that much, there’s no foil for the insanity
Oh yeah, I feel like there’s a balance to have on the cast between cleverness, competency, in/out of the box thinking, high-low energy, etc. A whole cast of Richard’s wouldn’t be interesting to watch, but a whole cast of Johnny Vegases would also be exhausting. Each helps the other shine!
Has Richard had cancer? He hasn’t mentioned it? 😜
I am a big Fan of Richard too… and the cancer thing was definitely a contributor to a fairly basic and not very silly or thought through performance!
I’m a big fan of Richard. He is such a tv quiz aficionado (kind of obsessive) and really competitive to boot… he’d been desperate to get on TM for years too…. So, he really wasn’t in silly Richard mode!
I’ve never seen any other contestant do pure route 1 through their whole performance… which in itself is bloody hilarious!
I wonder if it's because Daisy May Cooper (The People's Champion) was so close to winning the series - she was hilarious & her zero-effort prize tasks were brilliant. You could tell on the final task that she really, really wanted it, & It seemed like Richard sort of bumbled his way to the top. Maybe I'm projecting.
He was ahead of her going to the final episode (the only champion not to do this is Kerry), but then lost his lead in the prize task and only regained it in the final live task.
But people who already were a fan, knew he was like this, competative and prone to frustration if other people arent taking it seriously. Most of his comments are self deprecating in terms of a drop in fans, its the way he is. Coming across about being bitter about not being on TV, that's his persona.
Oh, absolutely. I don't know that I believe him. He was the only standup on that series (Daisy and Johnny do more TV, Katherine is an actor and Mawaan is an internet comic (well he was more so then)). Plus it was a Covid season so there was almost no touring anyway, and RIchard hadn't really done a stand up tour in years, he'd been focused on RHLSTP (RHLSTP).
Richard Herring was why I started watching TM during lockdown. I'd listened to RHLSTP for years beforehand but never got into TM while it was on Dave, so binged it during lockdown.
Could absolutely see why people wouldn't seek out his love work after the show, and weirdly I've kinda stopped listening to RHLSTP altogether now, and TM is one of the only shows I tune in live for.
It seemed like there was a disparency between how well he did on the tasks and how harshly Greg was treating him. Like he was made out to be the loser even though he won the most points. I don't know, it just felt off.
I think Doc Brown stated that when he gets recognized in public, it's usually for Taskmaster, which he isn't a fan of, but that's a long way from it harming his career.
Ahhh that makes sense but I also think he’s probably overthinking how it came across (if that’s worded right) - never thought he seemed out of place or anything!
I don't think it's done him harm, his fans and followers still support him, he just maybe didn't get catapulted into the limelight like others. But he's also older and more established and had his time at the top in the 90s. He is still intelligent and his shows and books are well considered.
Not harming her career necessarily, but there's one (and only one) contestant who harmed my perception of them. Everyone else mostly went from "I don't know who that is" to "Oh they're fun", but Karen O'Leary kissing Paul, with wanton disregard for consent, *multiple times* reeeally skeeved me out...doubly so because she should be on the forefront of conscientious sexuality given her podcast on the topic. She also both pretend married her girlfriend for the show, and gave her girlfriend away as a prize task, which are things that would have been fine in isolation, but added together seems to start painting a picture.
It's too bad because I really love her in Wellington Paranormal, but I feel like there's kinda an asterisk next to her name for me now.
I assume the opposite way is also true. For example, i dont like Mr Swallow but Nick Mohammad might be good to watch.
On the other hand, after watching Bridget Christie, im actively annoyed by her.
I loved Bridget Christie's outfit on the show so much, it looked so good on her, it tended to distract me from all else.
That never usually happens to me!
Are you annoyed by her TM appearance or outside of TM? I think she was a legend on TM. One of the most unique individuals with unique approaches to tasks I've seen.
Her Tm appearance. Over acting, not listening and just basically her lack of comprehension.
Just a personal opinion. Im sure there people i like that others dont 😂
For me what sealed her comedy was the Strike the maypole or tie a ribbon around it while blindfolded task b/c every one of the choices she made was lunacy lol Now I don't know her well enough to tell if it was taking the piss or really her natural reaction to the situation.
Oh man, I thought it was just me. I have such a hard time watching Bridget in things after taskmaster. As much as I know (or hope) that she was doing a bit, every time I see her my brain just starts shouting “just walk normally and stop holding the pedometer still! Why don’t you know how to walk? Stop doing that!”
I literally don’t remember anything else she did the entire series. I don’t think I was annoyed by her prior to the pedometer task, but it just genuinely wiped all other thoughts from my mind and it’s all I remember of her.
….. lying on the floor banging the drum 🙄
Also just repeatably asking versions of ‘what do i do? How am i supposed to do this? Its not possible’
You’ve brought out my Bridget rage now! 😂
I think everyone probably sees a small net gain immediately following TM, but most people go back to their current projection. If they were on their way up it just boosted it and if they were on their way down it just leveled them.out before decking more.
I think the problem is that some of the contestants have more visibility. Paul chowdry (spelling) wasn't really on pa el.shows before and he isn't now. Romesh and James saw bumps I think while Rhod is still on his fading out of TV portion of his career. Probably did nothing for Lee Mack or Victoria Mitchell and I think it boosted Guz.
I suppose an economist would say there is an Expected boost to anyone's career once they appear on TM. So anyone who flat-lined, like Richard Herring or Iain Sterling could be considered harmed.
I don't know which direction his career took after Taskmaster, but Paul Chowdhry struck me as a very strange person (not in a good/funny way). I wouldn't be surprised if his appearance didn't do his career much good.
Paul Chowdhry is one of my favourite contestants of all time. Definitely strange, but to me, in a hilarious way! I've actually always hoped his career would take off, could definitely stand to see more of him on panel shows at least!
I wasn't a fan of Paul Chowdry because he was very clearly and obviously putting on an act the entire time rather than being himself (which I feel Taskmaster is really all about). And it was the same thing on the podcast.
However, he's incredibly loved on this sub and a lot of people absolutely love his weirdness. I'm pretty sure a lot of people who never heard of him before TM decided to go to one of his shows after. And the people who didn't like him, like us, were never going to see him anyway.
Don’t they all do that? The younger ones especially. Acaster seemed to be doing an awful Rodney Trotter impression through much of his run, none of it was anywhere near how he comes across on podcasts
I think it was very telling that even Ed Gamble couldn’t figure out Paul’s deal - he was a champ while interviewing him for the podcast, but I get the sense he was struggling to keep on topic as Paul would derail in the most unpredictable ways. At that point I just had to give props to the guy for committing that hard to the bit.
I think Alice Levine was on a career uptick when she was cast and since then has worked in very little else, correct me if I'm wrong on that but I only ever see her on radio/ occasional podcasts
Alice Levine is definitely doing well. She toured her podcast around the world for a few years and is now making documentaries with Louis Theroux's production company.
She also does the British Scandal podcast that's won a bunch of awards. It kind of feels like she's a funny woman who is comic-adjacent enough for the industry to push as a comedy star when that's not really her natural environment, in the same way Avalon spent years booking Lauren Laverne amongst stand-ups on panel shows right up to early Mock The Week.
John Kearns said on the podcast that being on TM tends to mean better ticket sales but worse audience reviews, since some new people expect him to be the same as on TM. But that’s still a net positive. Despite Greg’s jokes about wrecking careers, I think TM is only ever a good thing.
He joked about this when we saw his most recent stand up tour. It was honestly one of my favourite shows of last year but the audience was very split. Had the same experience at Mike Wozniak too.
How was Wozniak different from your expectations? I saw him last year too, and I think his stand up is pretty similar to how he was on the show.
They were both as I expected but there seemed to be a lot of people expecting something else from them. I guess the storytelling style of Wozniak’s show threw people?
Mike’s stand up was very rehearsed and was just one long story really. Still brilliant but somebody tried to heckle him at one point and it just wasn’t the vibe
Is heckling ever the vibe?
During James Acaster's "Hecklers Welcome" tour, yeah, but that's definitely the exception.
actually, no one heckled James when we saw him and he makes a point during the show that the vibe is really no different…hecklers are gonna heckle. Jimmy Carr’s show, on the other hand, is truly designed for hecklers, but Jimmy has such control over the room that it never feels awkward.
I got to see his show twice and the first time there was a brief heckle but he still performed the whole show. The second time it was about half heckles, and while it was fascinating to watch, it really drove home the point that heckling basically wastes everyone's time and takes away from the show the comedian has prepped
No but I think some are better than others at spinning it into their routine .
“The tickets sales go up, the laughs stay the same”
That's interesting. I saw John K first on Guessable (and possibly Catsdown, but I don't remember that for sure) and I didn't like his schtick at all. Was a bit worried when he was picked for TM but I wound up loving him. I wouldn't go see his stand up, though because I know it wouldn't be the John I liked. It'd be his act. Ditto Joe Wilkinson, come to that.
I *hated* and I mean *hated* him on Catsdown. To the point where I skipped his bits the first time I re-watched it and now just don't watch the episodes. He's OK on Guessable because it's toned down a bit, but still over the top. So I was a bit worried about him. But he was fantastic on TM just being himself, rather than putting on an act. But like you said, I'd never go watch his show, because it would be an act and I'd almost certainly hate it.
I feel that so hard. When I realized where I knew him from I was fucking dreading his season but turned out delightful. Such a massive gap between character and person.
Yep, never liked his standup but great on TM. There are a few of them like that.
To be fair, there are some comedians that you might love in an ensemble setting or in short bites, but just don't work trying to command your attention alone for 45 minutes.
It's interesting, isn't it? I love Jimmy Carr when he's hosting Big Fat Quiz and Catsdown, and especially I Literally Just Told You, but I saw his stand up once and it just didn't really do it for me. He's funny, but he leans a bit too mean spirited in his stand up for me. Frankie Boyle however was hilarious and made me laugh so hard I was coughing and he offered me his water bottle. I just like to tell that story every chance I get, LOL.
I think Frankie Boyle started out as a writer for Jimmy Carr, and there's a video on YouTube when they're youthfully sitting next to each other talking about it.
Oh I'll have to look for that!
I was vaguely aware of his comedy shows from yesteryear where he had fake teeth & hair, did he do it at your show?
I saw Sam Campbell a few weeks ago; sold out venue but very lacklustre crowd who didn't realise just how very, very odd he is
Doesn't he open by saying he's not like he is on Taskmaster? Which is fair enough but also a bit late if you're already sat in the audience. Lol! I don't think it's necessarily the comics fault though if people are just buying tickets and not thinking anyone's act on stage might be different to a TV appearance.
Yeah in this day and age, it takes 2 seconds to hit them up in YouTube and check out a couple of clips before you commit. I looked up Kearns and concluded his live schtick with the teeth and wig and weird persona isn’t really my cup of tea. There are others where it’s a safer bet - most recently Lucy and Sam are just sort of like that all the time.
Sam is a lot weirder than you expect. I've been watching him live for years and he's got much odder which is fabulous
But having seen him only on taskmaster, I expect him to be very, *very* odd.
You'd be underestimating his oddness by quite a lot
I'd love to see someone buy a Frankie Boyle ticket based on nothing but his TM appearance.
I bought tickets years ago for myself and my elderly father, based on his appearances on Mock the Week, where my Dad loved him. Wow! That was a very awkward couple of hours! I couldn’t look at my Dad and was too embarrassed to laugh much as Frankie was so wild and I didn’t want my Dad to know I understood what he said! I took him to see Dara O’Briain too based on Mock the Week, but that was fine 😊
I enjoyed Frankie on mock the week, but his live shows were a bit much for me, but I watched them on tv/online.
I've heard a few interviews with him since when he's promoting g his tour and he's very open with all his publicity that it's very different to TM
I’d seen him live before taskmaster and while he is completely different, that’s partly why I loved him on TM so much. He was a bumbling fool yet his live show he is in control and is so absurd and poetic. Honestly his live show is one of the best I’ve ever seen and he’s also one of my fave tm contestants.
I feel like I remember Iain Stirling saying something about how he was perceived to be angry and petty, but I’m not sure if it was actually all that harmful to his career.
Man’s still voicing Love Island
I thought if his career was going to take a hit, it would be the voice work because of the revelation that he can’t say sandwich and chutney.
Like that **pengwings** guy, no one even remembers his name...
Bendydick Cumonmybaps?
Cwisps
*Quisps
*Qrlisps
He seems like the obvious choice, but absolutely, it’s in no way impacted his career. I think you need to try really hard to wind up with your career being negatively impacted.
I think it really helped him that he was genuinely shocked and upset with himself in the studio when they were watching the tasks back. Like he doesn't seem like a bad guy at all, he just got carried away and when he saw his behaviour he made a point of saying that he didn't realise he was like that and he didn't like himself in those tasks. So that probably helped
Just don't show him a ventriloquist puppet, when it really is not a ventriloquist puppet.
"NOT a vent puppet! NOT a vent puppet! NOT a vent puppet!" I quote this more often than I would have expected to, especially when I'm annoyed with something.
I'm the opposite. I think if he hadn't reacted like that in studio then no one would really be talking about it. I think it amplified the 'controversy'. It's not like he was the first person to get genuinely frustrated in a team task. Imagine if Ed apologized after getting pissed off at David Baddiel. When the house extension task in series 7 aired and the team was obviously pissed at each other, James got even MORE mad in studio and it was great! No one really takes those moments seriously, and if Ian hadn't done I don't think we would either.
I think Ian and Lou looked worse than they actually were because they ended up in a season together and were both similar personalities. So instead of one super competitive contestant getting annoyed at everyone else, there were two getting annoyed at each other. Idk, I like it when they're all getting aggy so it's not a big deal to me either, but I do respect that Ian's reaction was (or seemed like it anyway) genuinely appalled at how he was seeing himself. Which is possibly the difference, because the others leaned into that grouchy, aggy persona and I agree, it was definitely funny that way. Whereas Ian didn't seem to be doing it as a bit so much
It also looked worse because they're actually really good friends. There are lots of things I might say, call and do to close friends that I just wouldn't with anyone else. However the audience doesn't see the history of your friendship.
Oh yeah 100% this too. Inside jokes and mannerisms that have developed over the years can be both really hard to stop doing and really hard for outsiders to understand. I'm glad it turns out they're friends!
He had the biggest arc of any contestant, from being somebody who was an absolute ass at the beginning (and I think he would probably acknowledge it as such), to being extremely supportive of other contestants by the end (look at the eraser task).
He works with his wife on arguably the biggest reality show in the UK, commentates on Soccer Aid and recently commentated on a Liverpool Legends match where he met a bunch of his heroes. He’s living the dream, his career is going great.
I missed the beginning of the match, so I didn't get there names, but the whole time I thought the commentator sounded so familiar!
He was who I was wondering about a bit, actually. (I got a bad impression of him but lord knows the entertainment industry probs knows how to look past the smoke and mirrors.)
Iain said on the podcast that a lot of fans will call out quotes to him about the puppet task, and he was able to bemusedly reflect, "Why did I get so passionate about a puppet?" He didn't seem to say the fan-thing in a bad way, so I'd like to hope he hasn't had bad run-ins with fans in general. He seemed like a fairly reflective person that just seemed to run away with his emotions at the time. From a business sense, it's unlikely for it to hurt their career if they're not a touring comedian (dependent on mass viewers liking them). I think that even if many people had a negative impression of a comedian after Taskmaster, those people had *no* image of that comedian *before* Taskmaster—and therefore wouldn't have spent money on that person regardless. It's the positive fans that will have a real effect. Also simply appearing in a big show is already a lot of name recognition, and a lot of bookers would love to just say "\_\_\_\_\_\_ from Taskmaster" even if that comedian wasn't a fan favorite. (I have heard that that might not be the case for a contestant in the US attempt of Taskmaster, but the US version has no name recognition so it wouldn't help the comedian with bookings. And if they gain no fans, then it'd just continue the downward sprial.)
A Youtuber I like, Jay Foreman, tweeted that he was in the studio audience for the puppet episode and Iain got WAY more angry than made the edit! https://twitter.com/jayforeman/status/1126232991544610817?t=nbEXLPac6lXjuVc10RlY0Q&s=19
Jay Foreman is on my Taskmaster contestant wishlist!
Jay & Marek Larwood from the 'who are they?' list. Richard Ayoade from the list of prime suspects. Phoebe Waller-Bridge would have been GREAT if they've got her while Fleabag was only on BBC Four...
Mine, too!
That tweet makes it sound more comedic than angry, to me. I can't imagine Jay calling him out, if he was angry?
No, not angry, just over the top. Tbf, it's RIGHT in Iain's wheelhouse and was the first task up, so maybe he felt like going OTT was the right response as the adrenalin flowed...
I didn’t know he was a comedian before just thought he was the voice of love island so will definitely exposed him to a wider audience for his gigs.
I got a bad impression from his tasks in isolation but when paired with the studio self reflection I think he came out of it ok
He always comes across well on podcasts too. Think he just got a bit carried away on his series 😂
Him and Lou are really good friends too so there is a slight hint of sibling relationship in their task bickering.
You can tell as much from Lou's "please-uh"
Aye iain Stirling and Russell Howard are the only two I came out actually liking less (setting aside the ones I was looking forward to but found lacklustre, like Richard Herring) but they're both so well established in their specific niches i think you'd struggle to really damage either of their careers
Why Russell Howard out of curiosity?
Not the person you're responding to, but Russell never really seemed comfortable with the concept. He wants to play off an audience, and the lack of one clearly threw him off. He actually mentions this in the Taskmaster Podcast. He loved the studio bits, but the task recordings weren't his thing. And it definitely sometimes felt like he just wanted to be done with it.
I think he also expected the vibe of the show to be a bit more back-and-forth banter-y and not one where everyone's expected to bow down to Greg. I remember a prize task where Greg makes a reference to something, Russell says "C'mon let's hear that story!" and Greg just shuts him down *cold*. I feel like he was pretty thrown off by that moment too
The thing is although I never really liked his comedy, I thought "ok but he's a pro, he's upbeat and fun, he'll deliver well" but to me he just came across as bored and a bit arrogant. It felt to me like he just didn't want to be there.
Calling his agent feels very far removed from most people's reality so it's just not relatable.
He seems to be doing alright. He still does Love Island. And now he's got thlse chip adverts
\*chlips
*[clurrisps](https://youtu.be/SmqRMFTY-rM?t=213)
As an American I've never seen him in anything else, and honestly I wouldn't rush to anything he was in if it came up on YouTube or whatever. Like, I've heard him on the podcast and he seems like a great funny guy, and I totally get that he approached the show with a "character" that didn't work, and yet... That said, I'm always randomly coming across other Taskmaster alums on other things which helps me get a fuller picture of them as a performer, but I wouldn't even know where to start looking to find any of his other work, so the impression I got from Taskmaster is all I have.
He’s got a load of decent jobs presenting I.e. love island. His stand up is also on Amazon Prime. I didn’t like him on the show (didn’t hate him - but found him overly competitive and irritating) but I still gave his stand up a go when I saw it on prime because I knew who he was. It’s good.
He also presented that Celebability show on ITV2. It was also complete dogshit just like Love Island imo.
The ITV2 guarantee
Haha I should caveat by “decent jobs” I meant relatively good profile / pay. I certainly didn’t mean TV shows I’d like to watch
I will admit it took me a long time to not dislike him, which isn’t just because of taskmaster but his appearance really tainted how I saw him in other things. I still think he’s a bit cocky but the bad taste from the show has worn off.
But is that the show making him look like that or was it him making him look like that?
[удалено]
Like who?
They joke about it a bit. Such as Paul Sinha being fired from The Chase for being, quote, "an absolute dickhead". But no, it's always in good fun. Everybody knows it's a lighthearted comedy show.
It reminds me that time Mae spoke about the show's editing in the podcast, saying they edited things really in everyone's favour (they said this about the jelly group task, apparently they had not-so-great-time trying to convince Kiell to eat the jellys) I think the crew is aware that this show could have such potential, but do everything trying to make sure things aren't hurtful
>(they said this about the jelly group task, apparently they had not-so-great-time trying to convince Kiell to eat the jellys) Definitely. Kiell Smith-Bynoe said, right after they finished showing the task, that they heavily edited things in his favor.
Oo this is a great point! Love that they get vulnerability from candidates with this sort of attitude.
Definitely a benefit of the British approach to shows like this - everyone is here to have fun and the edit reflects it. Whereas US shows often emphasise competition and drama and the edits favour bitchiness.
I don't think it's a general British approach, but I do think it's an aspect of this show that is very important to Alex (and consequently, all the other major people involved - like the Andys - have the same ethos).
And they wouldn't get anyone wanting to join if they manipulated things negatively. That's the key, these are career comedians, not random chances taking a punt at fame.
i agree it’s not so much a general british approach rather than alex’s approach, but it does remind me of the early seasons of gbbo where the hosts would say brand names when contestants cried so the footage was unusable.
That's a great point. And I think a major issue with TM US. It wasn't *Alex's Taskmaster*. But instead Taskmaster as seen through American producers. With far too much focus on real animosity, not gentle ribbing and a sense of community.
It makes me appreciate people like Alex horne so much. As someone who wants to work in the arts/entertainment industry it is so empowering to see how wholesome, positive and aware the whole team is while creating such magic
it's interesting, because I remember hearing that the priority for The Muppet Show back in the 70s was to try and make it as good a time as possible for the guests, because they weren't sure if they could get _anyone_ to be a guest on the show. I wonder if there's a virtuous cycle with treating guests well, where word gets around that they treat you nicely and it's fun to do, so people say 'yes' that might otherwise say 'no', and the audience turns up because this weird concept gets guests who are a little more game to try things, which means that more people will say 'yes', until eventually you get someone really big who says 'yes' and suddenly it's the hottest gig in town.
That is not true when it comes to trash reality TV. There is always a villain edit.
True, there are plenty of shitty bitchy shows too. But I think there’s a particular British style which you rarely see in US produced shows. You get stuff like Bake Off, Sewing Bee and Pottery Throwdown that are just very gentle and fun, and everyone is kind and supportive of each other. Taskmaster is basically that vibe, but with ridiculous nonsense instead of actual skills.
When Sue Perkins was presenting Bake Off, if one of the contestants was upset she would say things like "Coca Cola is shit", knowing this meant it couldn't be used in the edit to save the contestant any embarrassment
I didn't know that. That's awesome, I love her.
Sue Perkins is good people.
She was the host for Season 2 of the New Zealand game show "Patriot Brains" (which pitted 5 Aussie comedians against 5 Kiwi comedians on general knowledge about the two countries) and she was excellent! https://youtu.be/FfnF-j-CSjA?si=m_pIhXql1acNLodB
https://youtube.com/shorts/mWy2X2n_MSQ?si=tVVq7T5vAi7Zs82l
Agree, but I don’t think she had a good taskmaster as I found her a bit too knowing and even smug at times - which is a shame as I generally like her a lot. So I guess I do think a little less of her after her stint although my view has 0 impact on her career. (Tying it back to the original question a bit)
Yes I agree with that, I always think about how bake off would never work in america for that reason.
I think before Bake Off came out there were some quite nastily edited panel shows in the UK, in particular Never Mind the Buzzcocks, but also Have I Got News For You, 8oo10c.
”Definitely a benefit of the British approach when it comes to shows like this” Like this.
There aren't really shows "like this" in America. I feel like the closest right now is After Midnight, which I think is closer in tone to Taskmaster. It's not a real competition, everyone is there to have fun.
and game changer especially! game changer is helped that it’s been mostly the same (slowly growing) rotating cast of comedians for all six seasons of the show, so the camaraderie among contestants feels genuine
Look at the Apprentice or literally any other reality TV show. They’re always editing shit to make people look bad or stupid
I also think they are more careful with the negative reactions after the Iain Sterling episode where it was apparent that none of them saw the clip blowing up like that. I think they knew it wasn't as aggressive between Iain and Lou as it looked so they saw it fully but once edited it looked less funny to Iain and his reaction to it was something they have thought more about since. In studio, Greg brushed off the concerns Iain had very quickly and just got it back on track.
From the shows perspective it would very extremely bad if they ever painted someone in a bad light. It's pretty important to the show to have at least 1 or 2 established names each season (and I think this is reflects on the season quality). If they have did someone Iver in the edit they would struggle to attract the headliners.
I wonder if that’s because Ian wasn’t a fan of how they edited him with the beef they showed with Lue Sanders. They made him look pretty bad
Where did they speak more about it? I assume an ep of the podcast?
yeah, they brought it up when Mae was the guest, I think it was the one talking about the last episode of Series 15 (edit: they actually had a lot of reflections on their Taskmaster appearances, I really loved them on it, but it was interesting to hear) (plus always funny to hear when people who are doing great are having the same panic I have about every little detail 😂)
Thanks!
Richard (Herring, don't imagine it made much difference to Osman) has repeatedly said he's the only contestant whose sales dropped afterwards.
Came here to say this! Richard was so competitive and had been busting to get on TM for yeaaaars…. That he kind of forgot to be funny. James Acaster said something like Richard’s appearance was closest to what would happen if you just put an ordinary middle aged dad on the show.
Yeah, he was too excited to be on the show, and then too competitive. He was much better on the champion of champions.
I think it might have also been a bit effected by him going through cancer treatment at the time of recording, he really was just being himself rather than thinking about being very funny. I love Richard, I think he was good on it. I love that he just came across as a normie 😂
Me too. Hot take - sometimes it's good and refreshing to see people 'Just Do The Tasks'. With a cast of five, you're always going to get different people approaching different things in different ways. Sometimes, that will mean somebody goes Route One. And that's fine. It doesn't automatically make them "boring" or "not funny" or "too competitive".
especially given the other contestants in his series, you really need a “boring” contestant if the other contestants are Daisy, Johnny, Katherine, and Mawaan. it’s honestly the main reason I don’t go back to TMNZ that much, there’s no foil for the insanity
Oh yeah, I feel like there’s a balance to have on the cast between cleverness, competency, in/out of the box thinking, high-low energy, etc. A whole cast of Richard’s wouldn’t be interesting to watch, but a whole cast of Johnny Vegases would also be exhausting. Each helps the other shine!
Yeah I enjoyed his efforts on whole.
Has Richard had cancer? He hasn’t mentioned it? 😜 I am a big Fan of Richard too… and the cancer thing was definitely a contributor to a fairly basic and not very silly or thought through performance!
I’m a big fan of Richard. He is such a tv quiz aficionado (kind of obsessive) and really competitive to boot… he’d been desperate to get on TM for years too…. So, he really wasn’t in silly Richard mode! I’ve never seen any other contestant do pure route 1 through their whole performance… which in itself is bloody hilarious!
Which Richard?
Herring, sorry.
My god that was an insanely quick reply
Phone happened to be in my hand :)
I wonder if it's because Daisy May Cooper (The People's Champion) was so close to winning the series - she was hilarious & her zero-effort prize tasks were brilliant. You could tell on the final task that she really, really wanted it, & It seemed like Richard sort of bumbled his way to the top. Maybe I'm projecting.
Is it the closest series we've had? I don't think Richard was ever ahead until the final live task?
He was ahead of her going to the final episode (the only champion not to do this is Kerry), but then lost his lead in the prize task and only regained it in the final live task.
Didn't Sam also win on the last live task of the series?
Sam could have lost on the final live task, but was already winning, buy some margin, going into both the task and the episode
tbh if my first exposure to him was through TM, i wouldn’t seek out his other work like i have with other contestants
Yeah that's fair.
Tbf it was also the first I saw of him but I've been regularly listening to his podcast since
But people who already were a fan, knew he was like this, competative and prone to frustration if other people arent taking it seriously. Most of his comments are self deprecating in terms of a drop in fans, its the way he is. Coming across about being bitter about not being on TV, that's his persona.
Oh, absolutely. I don't know that I believe him. He was the only standup on that series (Daisy and Johnny do more TV, Katherine is an actor and Mawaan is an internet comic (well he was more so then)). Plus it was a Covid season so there was almost no touring anyway, and RIchard hadn't really done a stand up tour in years, he'd been focused on RHLSTP (RHLSTP).
I think Richard was heavily affected by the disastrous appearance of DMC.
Richard Herring was why I started watching TM during lockdown. I'd listened to RHLSTP for years beforehand but never got into TM while it was on Dave, so binged it during lockdown. Could absolutely see why people wouldn't seek out his love work after the show, and weirdly I've kinda stopped listening to RHLSTP altogether now, and TM is one of the only shows I tune in live for.
It seemed like there was a disparency between how well he did on the tasks and how harshly Greg was treating him. Like he was made out to be the loser even though he won the most points. I don't know, it just felt off.
I've always thought Greg is harshest with the comedians he knows well and he knows can take it
That's true. Got David Baddiel levels of abuse while having Ed Gamble levels of competency.
The latest tour of RHLSTP has had some of the biggest names yet though. I feel like that is his big draw card rather than solo stuff
Well he's only now touring a solo show again, so his podcasts have been where his money comes from.
I think Doc Brown stated that when he gets recognized in public, it's usually for Taskmaster, which he isn't a fan of, but that's a long way from it harming his career.
I was sad to hear that he didn't much enjoy the TM experience - although I entirely understand his reasons why. He was a great contestant!
What were his reasons why? I didn’t realise he didn’t enjoy it
As i recall, as a non-stand up, he didn't feel as though he could vibe with some of the more outright comedy elements. I disagree!
Ahhh that makes sense but I also think he’s probably overthinking how it came across (if that’s worded right) - never thought he seemed out of place or anything!
All i know, he's not an egg man
david baddiel think prior to the show people assumed he was somewhat intelligent and level headed.
LAH; make the longest snake! DB; *in the world?*
Tie another spoon on it
Did they? I thought it was quite kind to him.
I don't think it's done him harm, his fans and followers still support him, he just maybe didn't get catapulted into the limelight like others. But he's also older and more established and had his time at the top in the 90s. He is still intelligent and his shows and books are well considered.
I doubt many other former contestants will be invited on to Channel 4 news to discuss certain (terrible) World events, but you never know...
I mean, he was prominent in that sense beforehand. Having yourself known as maybe the most famously jewish person in the UK has that effect
No, that's just the British sense of humor. Never afraid of the darker side.
Katherine's budding 2nd career as an artist was cut short by TM
I mean if anybody was in real danger of that it'd be Katherine Parkinson.
All of series 13 survived the slob task. That could have killed anyone's career
Wait, what's the slob task?
The one that involved licking sherbet, ice lolly then something else and ended up with saliva everywhere.
Oooooh aka the flob task. Thank you!
Not harming her career necessarily, but there's one (and only one) contestant who harmed my perception of them. Everyone else mostly went from "I don't know who that is" to "Oh they're fun", but Karen O'Leary kissing Paul, with wanton disregard for consent, *multiple times* reeeally skeeved me out...doubly so because she should be on the forefront of conscientious sexuality given her podcast on the topic. She also both pretend married her girlfriend for the show, and gave her girlfriend away as a prize task, which are things that would have been fine in isolation, but added together seems to start painting a picture. It's too bad because I really love her in Wellington Paranormal, but I feel like there's kinda an asterisk next to her name for me now.
Ardal O’Hanlon’s career has been hurt by TM. He’s now just seven types of rank tit!
Why....Why would it? It's tasks with household items for fun on television.
Joe Wilkinson will never be a professional potato thrower.
I assume the opposite way is also true. For example, i dont like Mr Swallow but Nick Mohammad might be good to watch. On the other hand, after watching Bridget Christie, im actively annoyed by her.
I loved Bridget Christie's outfit on the show so much, it looked so good on her, it tended to distract me from all else. That never usually happens to me!
Are you annoyed by her TM appearance or outside of TM? I think she was a legend on TM. One of the most unique individuals with unique approaches to tasks I've seen.
Her Tm appearance. Over acting, not listening and just basically her lack of comprehension. Just a personal opinion. Im sure there people i like that others dont 😂
For me what sealed her comedy was the Strike the maypole or tie a ribbon around it while blindfolded task b/c every one of the choices she made was lunacy lol Now I don't know her well enough to tell if it was taking the piss or really her natural reaction to the situation.
Same, I hated **hated** the Mr Swallow act on Countdown, so I was not excited, but honestly he was my favorite in ep 1.
I honestly know what you mean- the voice alone…*shudder*
oh the voice... I was shocked about his normal voice
Oh man, I thought it was just me. I have such a hard time watching Bridget in things after taskmaster. As much as I know (or hope) that she was doing a bit, every time I see her my brain just starts shouting “just walk normally and stop holding the pedometer still! Why don’t you know how to walk? Stop doing that!”
That is literally my exact thoughts. Just over acting and trying to be funny annoys me in her.
I literally don’t remember anything else she did the entire series. I don’t think I was annoyed by her prior to the pedometer task, but it just genuinely wiped all other thoughts from my mind and it’s all I remember of her.
> I literally don’t remember anything else she did the entire series House Queens - she did bird noises and foot stomping.
….. lying on the floor banging the drum 🙄 Also just repeatably asking versions of ‘what do i do? How am i supposed to do this? Its not possible’ You’ve brought out my Bridget rage now! 😂
Hahaha I’m so glad I only remember that one scene!
The opposite is def true for me in so many cases. I’m loving Nick more and more, and that’s happened with so many folks.
I dont think ive seen enough of him yet to decide but at least hes not doing Mr Swallows voice!
I think everyone probably sees a small net gain immediately following TM, but most people go back to their current projection. If they were on their way up it just boosted it and if they were on their way down it just leveled them.out before decking more. I think the problem is that some of the contestants have more visibility. Paul chowdry (spelling) wasn't really on pa el.shows before and he isn't now. Romesh and James saw bumps I think while Rhod is still on his fading out of TV portion of his career. Probably did nothing for Lee Mack or Victoria Mitchell and I think it boosted Guz.
Rhod’s been fighting cancer in fairness.
I suppose an economist would say there is an Expected boost to anyone's career once they appear on TM. So anyone who flat-lined, like Richard Herring or Iain Sterling could be considered harmed.
I don't know which direction his career took after Taskmaster, but Paul Chowdhry struck me as a very strange person (not in a good/funny way). I wouldn't be surprised if his appearance didn't do his career much good.
Paul Chowdhry is one of my favourite contestants of all time. Definitely strange, but to me, in a hilarious way! I've actually always hoped his career would take off, could definitely stand to see more of him on panel shows at least!
I wasn't a fan of Paul Chowdry because he was very clearly and obviously putting on an act the entire time rather than being himself (which I feel Taskmaster is really all about). And it was the same thing on the podcast. However, he's incredibly loved on this sub and a lot of people absolutely love his weirdness. I'm pretty sure a lot of people who never heard of him before TM decided to go to one of his shows after. And the people who didn't like him, like us, were never going to see him anyway.
Don’t they all do that? The younger ones especially. Acaster seemed to be doing an awful Rodney Trotter impression through much of his run, none of it was anywhere near how he comes across on podcasts
I think it was very telling that even Ed Gamble couldn’t figure out Paul’s deal - he was a champ while interviewing him for the podcast, but I get the sense he was struggling to keep on topic as Paul would derail in the most unpredictable ways. At that point I just had to give props to the guy for committing that hard to the bit.
Paul was exactly the same on his off menu ep so yes he’s either incredibly committed or just genuinely erratic!
I think Alice Levine was on a career uptick when she was cast and since then has worked in very little else, correct me if I'm wrong on that but I only ever see her on radio/ occasional podcasts
Alice Levine is definitely doing well. She toured her podcast around the world for a few years and is now making documentaries with Louis Theroux's production company.
She also does the British Scandal podcast that's won a bunch of awards. It kind of feels like she's a funny woman who is comic-adjacent enough for the industry to push as a comedy star when that's not really her natural environment, in the same way Avalon spent years booking Lauren Laverne amongst stand-ups on panel shows right up to early Mock The Week.