Joanna Page / Taskmaster S21

Why did you want to do Taskmaster?

I’m a massive fan. I’ve been watching for years, but just dipping in and out, then last year my daughter, who’s thirteen, became absolutely obsessed with it so I got properly into it too. As a family, we’ve made this rule where we watch Taskmaster together, and I bought her the Taskmaster game for Christmas.

So when I found out I’d been asked to do it – oh my God. It’s the only job I’ve ever done in my career where I was like, well, I have to do it, regardless of how I feel — even if I’m scared, I have to do this because this is the only job that’s actually going to get my kids excited. I absolutely love the show. It’s my sense of humour. I was terrified, but excited. 

Do your kids not follow your career?

I put Nativity 2 on a while ago, and they were like, ‘God, Mum, it’s boring’, and last year was the first time they watched Gavin and Stacey. The girls loved it – Bo, my three-year-old, sat on my lap and Eva sat next to me, and we did the whole of Gavin and Stacey – but the boys didn’t love it. They couldn’t care less.

Your other contestants on Taskmaster are mainly stand-ups. Did that scare you?

Yeah, that’s why I was so scared – because I’m an actress, I’m just me. But I also really love quizzes and games. If we’re having a party at home, we get all the board games out. We’ve got this whole Traitors thing going on at the moment where we act it out. We even sit at the kitchen table and do the banishments.

So this is completely up my street, but the thought of being opposite Greg, with a load of stand-up comedians whose minds work another way, is the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done. My mind doesn’t work like that. I say things off the cuff, but I’m not coming up with gags.

Then I thought, you know what, everyone’s here for a different reason. It would be very boring if everybody was the same. I said to myself: you’ve got to stop worrying that you’re not the same as everybody else and embrace the thing that’s you. And now, after witnessing some of the stuff I did on the tasks, I don’t think I need to worry about not being a stand-up, because some of the things I do are insane.

Greg banned your fellow contestants from asking you any questions because you talk so much. What happened there?

It was mainly in the prize tasks because everything I brought into the studio has a meaning and a story. So when Greg asked me to explain them, I had to tell the whole story! I do talk a lot. I think I broke him a little bit. If I opened my mouth and said, ‘Well, when I was seven …. ‘ you could just see a bit of him dying inside. As soon as I start talking, it’s like, boof.

You also told a story about blocking the loo at your in-laws. You’re very open, aren’t you?
I’m a very open person. I never worry what I say. If I’m going to tell a story, I’ve made peace with it. And also, I wanted to get some bloody points! So if I have to tell an embarrassing story about poo to win some points, that’s what I’ll do. 

What will your family think when they see you coming out with these stories?

They’re going to love it. When it comes out, they’ll be glued to the TV. They’re used to how mad it is in our house anyway. My husband’s an actor so we’re always dressing up. The other day at half past ten at night, Noah came downstairs dressed as Caesar with a sequined dress and a sword. Kit came in wearing a hoop skirt, a padded bra, full makeup, and a bonnet and said, “I am Caesar’s wife.” So I don’t think they’ll be shocked by anything I do.

What about your mother-in-law watching?

She sadly passed away last Christmas. But I’ve been married 25 years, she was more than used to how wild our lives were. She would have absolutely given her blessing.

How did you get on with your fellow contestants?

It’s been gorgeous. From the first show, we all bonded. When someone wins, we all cheer. Nobody’s very competitive. Joel’s like a labrador puppy – utterly adorable, beautiful and handsome, then he turns into this gibbering, shaking mess with each task. He throws himself into everything. He’s hilarious.

We are quite similar in a way, because we both often don’t read the tasks properly. I read them really loudly and slowly because I’m taking it all in, then I make a decision straight away and go with the first thing that comes into my head. At Hampton Court, the acoustics were so fantastic, I got carried away enjoying my own voice reading the task, then realised I hadn’t got a clue what I’d just read. Joel did that too: he’d read the tasks out loud without actually paying attention to them. We’re both very bubbly and excitable.

What about Amy?

She’s so enthusiastic and lovely. My favourite bit of every studio record was seeing what she was wearing that day, and her hairstyle. She’s stunning. She’s earthy and dry and witty and beautiful – strong, feisty, talented, and clever. It’s lovely having another strong girl alongside you. She’s also excitable and bubbly. I love her accent, her dry wit, and the fact she’s a girls’ girl. We were always giggling, and there’s no rivalry, but she’s damn sharp. She sees an opportunity for a joke and – boom – she’s straight in there. 

It’s quite a filthy series, isn’t it?

Do you think I’ve been filthy? There’s been lots of innuendos, that’s true. You put us all together and we’re like teenagers, messing around. There’s a lot that probably won’t end up going out on the show, for sure. Everyone has very quick minds and so once we get going, we do get a bit carried away.

How did you get on with Kumail and Armando?

Kumail’s lovely, and funny, and he’s the one that’s gone for Greg the most. He’ll argue his point. He questioned all of us, actually. But he’s also smouldering and lovely and deep-voiced and very Hollywood.

Armando – I remember being in my third year of RADA and Steve Coogan came in to watch, and it was amazing because I was such a fan of the work he did with Armando. And now here I am on Taskmaster with Armando Ianucci. He’s a God and a legend to me. Luckily he’s also really nice! He’s got some amazing stories. I was quite intimidated by him at first, but after a while I could just listen to him and be cool about it. He’s quite fatherly and lovely, and looks after us all, but he’s also completely insane. My and Amy love him: we’ve said, you know if you’re looking to cast your next show, you’ve got two actresses here!

You do dramatic roles, but you’re best known for Gavin and Stacey. Do you prefer comedy roles?

I started out as a serious classical actress and I never thought of myself as funny. Gavin and Stacey was my first comedy thing, but I never think about it as comedy because I play it from a real place: what is Stacey thinking here, or what does she want? If I’m funny in it, it’s because of the character of Stacey or the circumstances she’s in. And working with Mat [Horne, who plays Gavin], he’s a stand-up and he’s brilliant with timing and he knows how to hit the beats, whereas I naturally just feel it as Stacey. 

As for the future, I don’t lean one way or another — I take jobs if I’m going to enjoy them. People do ask if I want to get away from the character of Stacey, or what part I want to play next, but I just want to have a laugh. But for me, even if I’m having a lobotomy or being murdered or my husband’s left me, I can still have a laugh because you get to emote all day and then go home and be normal again, which is also fun.

What was it like working with Alex?

I love Alex. I loved how gentle and calm and lovely he was. He made me feel safe at the beginning when I was nervous but, as the tasks went on, I quite enjoyed making him run in the heat. It was a joy putting lipstick on him and seeing him in my clothes for one task. I used him quite a lot because when you’re doing loads of back to back tasks, you get exhausted and you think, maybe I’ll just get Alex to do it. There was a period towards the end of filming when I was like, ‘Come on Alex, let me see you run’. Bossing him about was fun.

What about Greg?

He’s lovely but utterly terrifying. When you’re sitting opposite him, it’s not a joke. He genuinely has that authority. What he says goes, but I did try to fight for those points, even if I knew I probably wouldn’t sway him. I tried to find a chink in his armour and get him to soften and bond with me. But every time there was a slight glimmer of winning him over, it quickly became a lost cause. You can’t crack him. I was willing to do anything for a point though – even if that meant telling the story about getting my own poo on my mother-in-law’s floor.

Who would you love to see do Taskmaster?

Ruth Jones would be funny because she’s so strong and sexual as Nessa but very different as herself. It would be funny seeing how Ruth would cope with it. And Julia Davis — she’s quite shy and introverted in real life, but as soon as she’s in front of a camera, she’s zany and mad. Julia and Ruth together would be brilliant.

ends