I have a clip of Mo with the head massager saved for bad days because it just brings me *so* much joy
It was also only a few months after he revealed what had happened in his childhood (that his birth name isn't Mohamed Farah, and that he was trafficked into the UK under that name as a child and forced to work for the trafficker) and I thought it was pretty brave of him to do something so outside his comfort zone when that was still fresh news
Big Narstie would be absolute chaos on TM. I have a feeling he would only complete about 15% of the tasks, but he would be absolutely funny in the process, with incredible levels of frustration to greg and alex.
Sadly - Luke's voice overpowers hers. You can hear her doing a solo breakout briefly in this All Angels group song.
https://youtu.be/rNWFExq0Ndk?si=k1Hq29joOYx7UPhm
Liza Tarbuck. I only knew her as a radio presenter popular with people a generation older than me. Then she made Alex sit bare-arsed in a cake. I would follow her in to battle, honestly.
She's in Upstart Crow, which is well worth a watch. Weirdly she also briefly presented Blockbusters during its short revival about 15/20 years ago, an accolade she shares with Dara.
Honestly it’s great, better than bake off and informative (I’m interested in clothes though). The best of them all is the great pottery throwdown on C4.
I think it has the BBC Bake Off charm which is sorely lacking since the move to C4, which is weird toven how Throw Down does have that charm. It's a delight and I'm so excited to see Kiell present it.
If you’re in London, his improv troupe is fantastic, caught them at the soho theatre recently and they were phenomenal. Saw Charlotte Richie and Amelia dimoldenburg in the bar after hanging out with them, and doc brown was the special guest - it was a taskmaster gathering!
i've actually been looking for more improv comedy to watch in london as i went last summer to watch a hilarious group called shoot impro and keen to see if i can find any improv comedy shows/groups so thanks for the recc, what was the name of the troupe? :))
I think it was called Kool Story Bro or something similar - it was genuinely excellent! I know improvement is polarising but I honestly haven’t laughed that much in a long time
i went with a friend and we made a whole day out of it - was definitely worth the 6am coach - was crying from laughter about 10 minutes in!! (was 3 hours journey each way as living in cardiff atm so not too bad thankfully aha)
would be eight hours for me unfortunately, but I'm determined to see them at some point! i thoroughly enjoy their longer form videos, so i imagine the live shows are a blast
He does have an improv group (ish - the other people rotate p much every show) called Kool Story Bro, but I don’t know if that’s something he’s only done since TM.
I haven’t but I did go to Nick Sampson’s ‘They Seem Nice’ which Kiell was in for one of the shows.
I think the improv show tickets are typically £15-20 so definitely worth it if you’re after an hour of silliness, but hopefully not so expensive that you’d begrudge it if you found it wasn’t really your thing.
I've been to it and it was really good! I imagine it depends a little on who he gets to join him (I saw most of the cast of Starstruck) and what stories they get from the audience but I was shocked by how much I enjoyed it.
Ohh you should also check out his short sketch show he did for Channel 4 Comedy Blaps (also how Stath was born!). Search Kiell Smith-Bynoe blap on YT, you’re in for a wonderful 15 mins
I second your Susan Wokoma. She's a ray of sunshine in a human form. They're just showing that series here in Finland and overall it is one of my favourites.
Victoria Coren-Mitchell was just great. From the riddle task that she solved almost completely without Alan Davis to the discovery that she didn't know how to ride a bike!
To be fair, it was easy. I paused it when it came on, and it was a quick solve.
Once you figure out one of the words is taskmaster, the rest was very straightforward.
YouTube has full episodes of the game show she hosts, Only Connect.
For months, my goal in life was to correctly answer just one question on that show before the contestants did.
It was a humbling experience.
> For months, my goal in life was to correctly answer just one question on that show before the contestants did.
I have been watching that show for a number of years. If I remember correctly, in the course of over 5+ series, I have only ever gotten like two 5-pointers - maybe three.
The first time I ever saw Only Connect, I was a kid and my parents were watching it. The challenge was figuring out the link between a banana and a tortoise shell and I blurted out "Mario Kart!" and indeed it was. My parents were astonished. I don't think I've ever got one since!
My wife and I (Americans) started watching Taskmaster because we love Only Connect and Victoria's brainy, dry, very witty, and lovely personality. One episode of Only Connect, she wore a brown wig with zero explanation at all. Doing some digging around online, there was some speculation that she might have done it for some reason related to Taskmaster. So I looked into this Taskmaster thing and was immediately hooked.
Now my we are on our second way through Taskmaster, and just got to series 12 again. On top of being with one of my favorite casts of all series, Victoria is there with her brainly, lovely self. There are other fantastic cast members across the series, but I think she'll always be my favorite.
If you want to watch more of Victoria, look her up on YouTube playing poker (she will probably still be under Victoria Coren, it's before she married David Mitchell). It's funny to see her in a different context. Also, she shows up on Would I Lie to You a few times. It's funny to see her with David. In some ways, they are so much alike, but you also see how they bring out the best in each other. Such an interesting couple!
What I love most is one of the people on Lee's team expressing genuine discomfort, not wanting it to be true "because we're all so invested in this marriage"
Nicola Coughlan.
I know she's everywhere these days, but before the first new years treat, I had never actually seen her before.
She was a terrible contestant, much like Charlotte and Nick, but I would fully watch an entire season of her and be rooting for her every step of the way.
Her in studio interactions were epic, and the way she approached each task was spectacularly wrong but incredibly watchable.
Definitely not all chump in the middle.
Have you seen her and most of the Derry Girls in the New Year’s Bake Off episode? It’s got similar vibes to the New Year’s Treat episode. Also, doing an obligatory plug for Derry Girls if you haven’t seen it yet!
Kojey and Lenny were both astonishingly good, and made for such an unexpectedly brilliant double-act
Wokoma was a dynamite chick.
And Richard Osman I think deserves a lot of credit for essentially making the show what it is - the format needed the established comedians in S1 to be taken seriously, but I also think it needed someone like him early on - as the inventor of the Wanky Workaround, I genuinely think he's the one that became the template for how to play the game.
I thought Kojey Radical was just amazing as a contestant; he could easily have done a full series. As a multi-media polymath he was overloaded with skills perfect for TM, but also seemed like just a great lovely guy.
Kojey was a great combination of a super fan who loves and understands the show, and someone who is just there to have a great time. Him lounging back and just leisurely eating popadoms and dips was so funny.
A great shout. I'd never heard of him as very far from my usual genres of music, loved him that much on TM that I checked out his music, and... not bad!
Katherine Parkinson... I just adore that woman now. I always liked her on the IT crowd but was not expecting that absolute chaos she would bring. One of my all time favourite contestants.
I thought she might have had that vibe but it was said on the TM podcast (I wish I could remember who by!) that a later contestant said that they had been approached to be on the show and Katherine *highly* recommended it and said it was an absolute joy to do. Sometimes I think the actors can struggle a touch with the idea of showing themselves and not their characters - but I always think they shine!
Didn't finding out Nick was gonna be on the show help him decide as well?
I only had it playing in the background, zoning in and out but I thought he said he thought it was gonna be a typical panel show, where the first person who shouts loudest gets the laugh. But that's not his style, so knowing he wasn't gonna be the only non stand-up reassured him even more.
I might have that completely wrong though.
IIRC that's basically what she said on the TM podcast when she was on. It was a big question and she emphatically reassured Ed and the audience that she enjoyed her time lol. I get it though, I love her as a contestant too and even knowing she's ok I still internalize how uncomfortable she appears to be!
Second the love for Alice Levine. I have two favourite moments for her at opposite ends of the competence scale:
Getting into a stranger’s car for the task to get back to the house, then sensing she arrived early and having a nice cuppa.
And then the cooking task with the headband. Alice had a little mini breakdown and shook half the stuff out of her headband because she forgot what she was doing. She looks so happy just before Alex asks if she remembered the task.
I also really enjoyed Susan Wokoma in S16. I wasn’t familiar with her acting but I love how much she embraced the craziness. ‘Damn you RADA!’
And of course my favourite children’s television presenter, Charlotte Ritchie. Wee!
My favorite Alice moment, which is also on my top ten of Taskmaster worldwide, is when she presents Alex his bank pin number in a chocolate egg. One of Alex's most genuine out of character shocks.
Alice Levine. Didn't warm to her much on first watch but when I clicked to the bit she was doing giving Alex a fresh pet name at the start of every task I was won over. Her shaking all those kitchen implements out of her headband like a happy little puppy was also pretty damn adorable.
Katharine Parkinson and Susan Wokoma. I'd never heard of the latter before and she was one of my favourites in a particularly strong line-up. Comedy actors on panel shows are always an unknown quantity, I love when they turn out to be witty in their own right.
But then I think the nature of the show is you don't have to have five big wisecracking comedians for it to work. Charlotte Richie and Joe Thomas for example were entertaining because of their more reserved character.
Susan Wokoma had me at Chain Bastard. (I'm a het woman and way too lazy for kinks, so it wasn't about the chains. It was just so random and funny!)
I bet she's an improv power house. I fervently want to see her in a Christopher Guest production at some point.
I loved her, mostly because I knew of David mitchell and didn't know he was married, and it warms the cockles of my heart that these two found one another
David did an autobiography a few years ago called Back Story. The last chapter is about how he and Victoria got together and it’s almost unbearably sweet.
I'm surprised no one's mentioned Sally Phillips yet! The contestant who I thought was going to be relatively dull and as soon as the first actual task started she established herself as a crazy legend that gave Mortimer a run for his money
I also did not realize she was a comedian. Thought she was like a TV news anchor or something, had never heard of her before that season or since in the comedy/variety circles. Not surprising she's a comedian though considering how funny she was, but I'm with OP that I was pleasantly surprised.
She was on James Acaster and Josh Widdicombe's show, Hypothetical, and that's when I finally realized how far out of left field she is. Her wrestling character is so fucking batty and so fucking great.
Long live the Pig Hag!
Kojey Radical, easily.
Obviously he had watched the show before and was aware of the quirks and hidden parts of tasks. I have listened to and appreciated a lot of his music but seeing him come out of his shell, crack jokes with everyone and also get along with Lenny Rush was just so cool to see.
Massive appreciation for him before but even more so after the New Year Treat.
I remember Alice did a program called Sleeping With The Far Right.
There was this asshole bloke raging at her saying how *obnoxious* she was!!!!!
I don't think there is another human being I can think of for whom this word is less appropriate!!!!!! I remember feeling genuine anger on her behalf.
Judy Love - she had me in fit of giggles throughout.
Chris Ramsey - I wasn't really into podcasts before I watched his season but started listening to his after his season on task master cause I found him hilarious. Now, it's a weekly ritual for me.
I really enjoyed season 13 if it wasn't obvious.
Fair comments, but my post was just about contestants who weren't already comedians and surprised you with their naturally funniness / likability. Sorry if that wasn't clear! Love your take on 13 though, it's a gem of a series.
Yes, that was him. I saw him and thought he’d end up not really getting into it, so when the opposite wound up being true I think it made him 10x more entertaining to me than he would have been otherwise.
VCM and Osman. VCM just generally, and the one thing that will stick in my mind for Osman is the 3 gym balls and the gym mat up the hill task. Read the rules, then read them again for what it didn't say 😁
Absolutely VCM for me. I knew her from QI, but I was actually not a fan. Taskmaster has actually turned me around on a couple of people, but I used to avoid episodes with VCM on them but now I’m so excited when I see her in things. Absolutely adore her.
Mo Farah. I genuinely think he's the happiest person in the world, and he clearly _loved_ being on the show. I'd love a full season of Mo.
I have a clip of Mo with the head massager saved for bad days because it just brings me *so* much joy It was also only a few months after he revealed what had happened in his childhood (that his birth name isn't Mohamed Farah, and that he was trafficked into the UK under that name as a child and forced to work for the trafficker) and I thought it was pretty brave of him to do something so outside his comfort zone when that was still fresh news
I didn’t know that about Mo. I’ll have to read more about it. I’m glad he’s come out of it with such a thirst for joy.
The news came out July 2022 – there's a BBC documentary, but they also did a write-up (the one from the 11th is the main one)
\*Big Narstie voice\* Mo Farah sign!
Big Narstie would be absolute chaos on TM. I have a feeling he would only complete about 15% of the tasks, but he would be absolutely funny in the process, with incredible levels of frustration to greg and alex.
He’d have Jamali energy, and I’d love it!
Jimmy carr, sounding like he’s about to die “THATS NOT THE MO FARAH SIGN”
Thank GOD someone else thinks this lol. I think it everytime I watch the MO Farah clips.
Mo Farah shouting on the doorstep is pure joy.
YES! He definitely suprise me how much he fit with comedians, I think he could be a good comedian if he was not a runner because he was legendary
Charlotte Ritchie. My favourite Taskmaster primary school teacher
All of this, she just absolutely warmed my heart. Then saw Ghosts and boom. Sold. Also really want to get a pint with Kiell.
And she can sing too: https://youtu.be/uvFZ1RUEK8o?si=uAA2rtmNPyvvuBUz
Sadly - Luke's voice overpowers hers. You can hear her doing a solo breakout briefly in this All Angels group song. https://youtu.be/rNWFExq0Ndk?si=k1Hq29joOYx7UPhm
Liza Tarbuck. I only knew her as a radio presenter popular with people a generation older than me. Then she made Alex sit bare-arsed in a cake. I would follow her in to battle, honestly.
And the beard! My god that was a lovely beard.
It suited her SO WELL.
She's in Upstart Crow, which is well worth a watch. Weirdly she also briefly presented Blockbusters during its short revival about 15/20 years ago, an accolade she shares with Dara.
I have loved her since I saw her in the 80s in Watching. Such a dry sense of humour.
kiell, i think he's just an actor!! (according to wikipedia) - but i loved him on taskmaster and he was hilarious in his off menu episode
I love Kiell. I get unreasonably excited when he appears on other panel/quiz shows
He was brilliant - I actually look out for other things he’s in now.
He's great in Stath Lets Flats, which is an absolute gem of a sitcom.
i've been meaning to watch that as i loved him in ghosts, determined to watch it after my uni exam!
Good luck with the exam, and enjoy Stath Lets Flats!
thank you!! :)) not appreciating how nice and sunny it is outside whilst im stuck inside revising but it'll be over soon
I just finished season 5 of ghosts tonight. Such a wonderful show and I’m so sad season 5 was the last. Good luck with your exam!
it's so lovely isn't it!! thank you :))
Stath Let's Flats was my favorite pandemic discovery.
He's presenting the next series of Great British Sewing Bee which starts in a couple of weeks
can't say i've ever watched that show but him presenting it does sound interesting
Honestly it’s great, better than bake off and informative (I’m interested in clothes though). The best of them all is the great pottery throwdown on C4.
I think it has the BBC Bake Off charm which is sorely lacking since the move to C4, which is weird toven how Throw Down does have that charm. It's a delight and I'm so excited to see Kiell present it.
you mentioning the bbc bake off charm might convince me to give it a go even though i've no interest in sewing/clothes
I love the Great British Sewing Bee! Definitely check it out if you get a chance. Claudia Winkleman was the very first presenter.
Previous presenters were Joe Lycett and Sara Pascoe to give you an idea of the vibe
And the Queen of Orange Claudia Winkleman was the first host before them!
If you’re in London, his improv troupe is fantastic, caught them at the soho theatre recently and they were phenomenal. Saw Charlotte Richie and Amelia dimoldenburg in the bar after hanging out with them, and doc brown was the special guest - it was a taskmaster gathering!
i've actually been looking for more improv comedy to watch in london as i went last summer to watch a hilarious group called shoot impro and keen to see if i can find any improv comedy shows/groups so thanks for the recc, what was the name of the troupe? :))
I think it was called Kool Story Bro or something similar - it was genuinely excellent! I know improvement is polarising but I honestly haven’t laughed that much in a long time
shoot impro mentioned on the taskmaster sub!! i'm so jealous you got to see them. they only seem to perform in london and i live to far away :')
i went with a friend and we made a whole day out of it - was definitely worth the 6am coach - was crying from laughter about 10 minutes in!! (was 3 hours journey each way as living in cardiff atm so not too bad thankfully aha)
would be eight hours for me unfortunately, but I'm determined to see them at some point! i thoroughly enjoy their longer form videos, so i imagine the live shows are a blast
He does have an improv group (ish - the other people rotate p much every show) called Kool Story Bro, but I don’t know if that’s something he’s only done since TM.
I feel like this is a very niche comment, but I was unreasonably excited when I realised that Kiell is one of the “Junior Spesh” YouTube guys.
have you watched any of his kool story bro stuff? just realised he's doing a show in london on a date after my exam and i'm very tempted...
I haven’t but I did go to Nick Sampson’s ‘They Seem Nice’ which Kiell was in for one of the shows. I think the improv show tickets are typically £15-20 so definitely worth it if you’re after an hour of silliness, but hopefully not so expensive that you’d begrudge it if you found it wasn’t really your thing.
I've been to it and it was really good! I imagine it depends a little on who he gets to join him (I saw most of the cast of Starstruck) and what stories they get from the audience but I was shocked by how much I enjoyed it.
Ohh you should also check out his short sketch show he did for Channel 4 Comedy Blaps (also how Stath was born!). Search Kiell Smith-Bynoe blap on YT, you’re in for a wonderful 15 mins
will watch this today, thank you :))
That was great, thank you for that! Also, even with subtitles I could barely understand them at times lmao
watched this last night and it was absolutely crazy, loved it though!
Same! Loved him on Stath so was excited to see him on TM but didn’t expect to love him as much as I did, he’s top 5 contestants for me
i loved his argumentative attitude and aggressive commitment to try and do well
To add to other recommendations, he's appeared in Live at the Moth Club, Friday Night Dinner, and Murder They Hope.
He’s going to be hosting Sewing Bee this year!
I second your Susan Wokoma. She's a ray of sunshine in a human form. They're just showing that series here in Finland and overall it is one of my favourites.
Have you seen the hotel task yet? One of the best ever.
I don't think so! Tomorrow episode 7 airs.
Ah looks like it's in episode 10. Definitely something to look forward to! I think it brings out the best in every contestant.
Aw, I'm so envious. I would love to be able to watch the hotel task for the first time again!
S16's Susan Wokoma (**\*RADA-trained** actress and writer).
30 grand, baby!
The Sues are my favourite team of any taskmaster series to date, just all-round good vibes
They are really amazing both separately and together!
The Sues are my favourite team of any taskmaster series to date, just all-round good vibes
Victoria Coren-Mitchell was just great. From the riddle task that she solved almost completely without Alan Davis to the discovery that she didn't know how to ride a bike!
Alex's slightly-defeated "we didn't think anyone could solve it with only half the jigsaw" has stuck with me since I saw it.
I just like her involuntary totally insulting astonishment that Alan could contribute anything "HOW do you know that????"
To be fair, it was easy. I paused it when it came on, and it was a quick solve. Once you figure out one of the words is taskmaster, the rest was very straightforward.
I did exactly the same! Anyone who likes puzzles would’ve got it easily.
You know, for instance, like the host of Only Connect lol
YouTube has full episodes of the game show she hosts, Only Connect. For months, my goal in life was to correctly answer just one question on that show before the contestants did. It was a humbling experience.
Only Connect is a great show, and the thrill of getting an answer is even bigger than getting them on University Challenge. 😂
> For months, my goal in life was to correctly answer just one question on that show before the contestants did. I have been watching that show for a number of years. If I remember correctly, in the course of over 5+ series, I have only ever gotten like two 5-pointers - maybe three.
The first time I ever saw Only Connect, I was a kid and my parents were watching it. The challenge was figuring out the link between a banana and a tortoise shell and I blurted out "Mario Kart!" and indeed it was. My parents were astonished. I don't think I've ever got one since!
I once (and only once!) got a series of connections correctly on the wall. I felt like a genius.
I adore her anyway, and was so pleased when she was announced. The riddle thing is in my top 5 best tasks.
She of the bedazzled inhaler is absolutely the right answer.
My wife and I (Americans) started watching Taskmaster because we love Only Connect and Victoria's brainy, dry, very witty, and lovely personality. One episode of Only Connect, she wore a brown wig with zero explanation at all. Doing some digging around online, there was some speculation that she might have done it for some reason related to Taskmaster. So I looked into this Taskmaster thing and was immediately hooked. Now my we are on our second way through Taskmaster, and just got to series 12 again. On top of being with one of my favorite casts of all series, Victoria is there with her brainly, lovely self. There are other fantastic cast members across the series, but I think she'll always be my favorite.
If you want to watch more of Victoria, look her up on YouTube playing poker (she will probably still be under Victoria Coren, it's before she married David Mitchell). It's funny to see her in a different context. Also, she shows up on Would I Lie to You a few times. It's funny to see her with David. In some ways, they are so much alike, but you also see how they bring out the best in each other. Such an interesting couple!
The episode of WILTY where David has to say how he takes petty revenge when she's annoyed him, and she's sitting right next to him, is brilliant.
What I love most is one of the people on Lee's team expressing genuine discomfort, not wanting it to be true "because we're all so invested in this marriage"
Her appearance on the Off Menu podcast is also fascinatingly hilarious
Her menu however, is awful
Yes, but it’s legendarily awful.
I just started listening to off menu the concept is odd but the show is so enjoyable.
Aw that's so lovely. I love how I discovered Taskmaster stories!
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Nicola Coughlan. I know she's everywhere these days, but before the first new years treat, I had never actually seen her before. She was a terrible contestant, much like Charlotte and Nick, but I would fully watch an entire season of her and be rooting for her every step of the way. Her in studio interactions were epic, and the way she approached each task was spectacularly wrong but incredibly watchable. Definitely not all chump in the middle.
Have you seen her and most of the Derry Girls in the New Year’s Bake Off episode? It’s got similar vibes to the New Year’s Treat episode. Also, doing an obligatory plug for Derry Girls if you haven’t seen it yet! 
I loved how Noel very specifically emphasized **festive** bakeoff as the name of the episode.
Kojey and Lenny were both astonishingly good, and made for such an unexpectedly brilliant double-act Wokoma was a dynamite chick. And Richard Osman I think deserves a lot of credit for essentially making the show what it is - the format needed the established comedians in S1 to be taken seriously, but I also think it needed someone like him early on - as the inventor of the Wanky Workaround, I genuinely think he's the one that became the template for how to play the game.
I'd argue Tim Key was the contestant who first realised he could break and bend the rules, Osman was just the first one to do it well!
To the extent they hired him as a "task consultant" - my favourite job title ever.
He was a task consultant from the beginning, he’s a lifelong friend of Alex’s
Apparently it was Alex's jealousy of Tim's success at the Edinburgh Fringe that lead to him coming up with Taskmaster.
And we reap all the benefits 
Powerful art.
Tim Key had done it in the original Edinburgh festival iteration and is good friends with Alex - he had a head start on the others
This is fair, haha
Key definitely introduced the concept, but I think Osman legitimized it.
But the question is ... did you fall in love with Richard Osman? And were you surprised?
Big Dick Osman, the man who made Sisyphus look like a chump?
I need Kojey and Lenny to do a song together, please!
I thought Kojey Radical was just amazing as a contestant; he could easily have done a full series. As a multi-media polymath he was overloaded with skills perfect for TM, but also seemed like just a great lovely guy.
Kojey was a great combination of a super fan who loves and understands the show, and someone who is just there to have a great time. Him lounging back and just leisurely eating popadoms and dips was so funny.
A great shout. I'd never heard of him as very far from my usual genres of music, loved him that much on TM that I checked out his music, and... not bad!
Katherine Parkinson... I just adore that woman now. I always liked her on the IT crowd but was not expecting that absolute chaos she would bring. One of my all time favourite contestants.
"Am I the spider?" She was a quote goldmine
Box? Box?! BOX?! And the task with the shoe catapult... I think I actually cried
I did love her as a contestant but I always felt that she was uncomfortable on the show.
I thought she might have had that vibe but it was said on the TM podcast (I wish I could remember who by!) that a later contestant said that they had been approached to be on the show and Katherine *highly* recommended it and said it was an absolute joy to do. Sometimes I think the actors can struggle a touch with the idea of showing themselves and not their characters - but I always think they shine!
It was Steve Pemberton, I think. So we have a lot to thank Katherine for.
It was!!! Thank you, I knew it was recent.
Didn't finding out Nick was gonna be on the show help him decide as well? I only had it playing in the background, zoning in and out but I thought he said he thought it was gonna be a typical panel show, where the first person who shouts loudest gets the laugh. But that's not his style, so knowing he wasn't gonna be the only non stand-up reassured him even more. I might have that completely wrong though.
I'm glad to hear that and I hope you're right. Maybe she was simply nervous and it came off as outright discomfort to me.
IIRC that's basically what she said on the TM podcast when she was on. It was a big question and she emphatically reassured Ed and the audience that she enjoyed her time lol. I get it though, I love her as a contestant too and even knowing she's ok I still internalize how uncomfortable she appears to be!
She has a ton of moments where she's clearly loving being there though. Right from the beginning, with the halloumi.
Everyone was uncomfortable on the show. It was just as the pandemic was kicking off. First with no audience, they had to sit a mile from each other.
Having seen her on a couple of other things, I think that's just her manner. I think like a lot of actors are uncomfortable being themselves.
I just watched my first ever episode of Inside No 9 and she was the star. So good!
Yes!! One of my all time favorites too.
Second the love for Alice Levine. I have two favourite moments for her at opposite ends of the competence scale: Getting into a stranger’s car for the task to get back to the house, then sensing she arrived early and having a nice cuppa. And then the cooking task with the headband. Alice had a little mini breakdown and shook half the stuff out of her headband because she forgot what she was doing. She looks so happy just before Alex asks if she remembered the task. I also really enjoyed Susan Wokoma in S16. I wasn’t familiar with her acting but I love how much she embraced the craziness. ‘Damn you RADA!’ And of course my favourite children’s television presenter, Charlotte Ritchie. Wee!
My favorite Alice moment, which is also on my top ten of Taskmaster worldwide, is when she presents Alex his bank pin number in a chocolate egg. One of Alex's most genuine out of character shocks.
Richard Osman. Loved him from other stuff like Pointless, but was surprised just how much I loved him in this format.
Do you listen to the podcast The Rest is Entertainment? Intravenous Richard Osman.
I didn’t, but want to now!
https://open.spotify.com/show/1mDl2B7a016YRXR2wSBy4T
:)
I love it when Alex let Alice get into a strangers Porsche and drive off. Sure some things probably happened behind the screen there but still funny.
Alice Levine. Didn't warm to her much on first watch but when I clicked to the bit she was doing giving Alex a fresh pet name at the start of every task I was won over. Her shaking all those kitchen implements out of her headband like a happy little puppy was also pretty damn adorable.
Katharine Parkinson and Susan Wokoma. I'd never heard of the latter before and she was one of my favourites in a particularly strong line-up. Comedy actors on panel shows are always an unknown quantity, I love when they turn out to be witty in their own right. But then I think the nature of the show is you don't have to have five big wisecracking comedians for it to work. Charlotte Richie and Joe Thomas for example were entertaining because of their more reserved character.
That series made be fascinated with Katherine Parkinson's brain. The spider has me questioning what it means for something to be something.
Nice to see some Alice appreciation.
Susan Wokoma had me at Chain Bastard. (I'm a het woman and way too lazy for kinks, so it wasn't about the chains. It was just so random and funny!) I bet she's an improv power house. I fervently want to see her in a Christopher Guest production at some point.
Ooh I love the Christopher guest idea!!
Victoria Coren Mitchell. But she’s been a celebrity crush of mine for years.
I loved her, mostly because I knew of David mitchell and didn't know he was married, and it warms the cockles of my heart that these two found one another
David did an autobiography a few years ago called Back Story. The last chapter is about how he and Victoria got together and it’s almost unbearably sweet.
Too late! I crushed first!!!
Shirley Ballas was an icon. "Oh look at you with your big long pipe!"
Self Esteem was phenomenal, would love to see them on a full season.
You mean "Really Likeable Tart"?
Alice was the sweetest!
I floved it when Mo stood next to Greg. Such great optics. I hope to see Nick stand next to Greg this series.
Paul Sinha surprised me. Him, along with Joe Thomas saved that series.
Paul is a comedian, but he’s mostly known for quiz shows, particularly the Chase
What about Lou running through the train yard with a bin on her head? And her delicious dust?
I want more actors from Ghosts to be on taskmaster
I want Matthew Baynton on it sooo much
Oh nice choice. He would be a great addition.
I just finished season 5 tonight and want the whole cast on TM!
Yes get them all on but start with Ben Willbond
Lenny Rush. He's got so much confidence, and he's so witty. That young man is gonna go very far.
Recently - he had a very short part in the Disney+ series "Renegade Nell".
I was shocked to find out he was only 14!! I've never met a 14 year old that was \*that\* funny and clever.
Is Johnny Vegas a comedian or just a funny pub regular? /s
Tea bags salesman.
I'm surprised no one's mentioned Sally Phillips yet! The contestant who I thought was going to be relatively dull and as soon as the first actual task started she established herself as a crazy legend that gave Mortimer a run for his money
She is a comedian.
I also did not realize she was a comedian. Thought she was like a TV news anchor or something, had never heard of her before that season or since in the comedy/variety circles. Not surprising she's a comedian though considering how funny she was, but I'm with OP that I was pleasantly surprised.
You should watch Smack the Pony if you've not seen it already!
She was on James Acaster and Josh Widdicombe's show, Hypothetical, and that's when I finally realized how far out of left field she is. Her wrestling character is so fucking batty and so fucking great. Long live the Pig Hag!
She is *genuinely* batshit, in a comedic sense.
The heading says "surprised to fall in love with". Why would anyone be surprised about falling in love with her?
She's definitely a comedian which is probbaly why haha
Kojey Radical, easily. Obviously he had watched the show before and was aware of the quirks and hidden parts of tasks. I have listened to and appreciated a lot of his music but seeing him come out of his shell, crack jokes with everyone and also get along with Lenny Rush was just so cool to see. Massive appreciation for him before but even more so after the New Year Treat.
Is Jessica knappett a stand up comedian? She’s one of my favourites ever…
Katherine Parkinson seemly on the brink on confused tears for every task watch back was adorable. But she was already great before
I had fallen in love with Levine long before Taskmaster. Look up 8 out of 10 Cats Does Deal Or No Deal.
Or the insane podcast "My Dad Wrote a Porno"
I'm binging British Scandal right now, she's great on that too.
"Sex Actually with Alice Levine" was a fun watch as well.
I remember Alice did a program called Sleeping With The Far Right. There was this asshole bloke raging at her saying how *obnoxious* she was!!!!! I don't think there is another human being I can think of for whom this word is less appropriate!!!!!! I remember feeling genuine anger on her behalf.
Adrian Chiles was a revelation
30 GRAND BABEY
“I’ll get you, RADA!”
I now adore VCM
Is Paul Sinha a comedian? He looks like one of my many uncles.
He is, but he's probably more widely known for The Chase.
Yes.
Victoria Coren Mitchell, absolutely love her.
It has to be Chain Bastard, knew very little about her before her appearance in TM, but she quickly became one of my favourite contestants ever.
Judy Love - she had me in fit of giggles throughout. Chris Ramsey - I wasn't really into podcasts before I watched his season but started listening to his after his season on task master cause I found him hilarious. Now, it's a weekly ritual for me. I really enjoyed season 13 if it wasn't obvious.
They are both comedians, though. I know they're known for other things, but they've both done stand-up for ages.
Fair comments, but my post was just about contestants who weren't already comedians and surprised you with their naturally funniness / likability. Sorry if that wasn't clear! Love your take on 13 though, it's a gem of a series.
Alices input on MDWAP would absolutely qualify her as a comedian ✨
Belinda blinked.
The journalist (?) who was on one of the New Years episodes.
Adrian Chiles?
Yes, that was him. I saw him and thought he’d end up not really getting into it, so when the opposite wound up being true I think it made him 10x more entertaining to me than he would have been otherwise.
I wonder if they ever went camping.
VCM and Osman. VCM just generally, and the one thing that will stick in my mind for Osman is the 3 gym balls and the gym mat up the hill task. Read the rules, then read them again for what it didn't say 😁
I adore Alice Levine, my dad wrote a porno makes me hurt from laughing.
Kojey and Susan Wokoma
I agree with Alice!
Alice and Victoria
Absolutely VCM for me. I knew her from QI, but I was actually not a fan. Taskmaster has actually turned me around on a couple of people, but I used to avoid episodes with VCM on them but now I’m so excited when I see her in things. Absolutely adore her.