Taskmaster Series 22 Press Pack
Category: Press PackThe Taskmaster Greg Davies and his unfailingly loyal, surprisingly hench assistant Alex Horne return with a brand new collection of comics who willingly signed up for definite fun and inevitable humiliation. The fantastic five hoping to win Greg’s golden bonce are: Chloe Petts, Isy Suttie, Matt Lucas, Nina Conti and Richard Ayoade.
CHLOE PETTS
Why did you want to do Taskmaster?
As a comedian, the dream is to do Taskmaster. I just really like the show. Sometimes I found in the studio records that I was sat there not doing my job properly and not being funny because I’m watching and going, ‘This is great’, and I forget that I’m actually in it too. Everyone else is so funny, and it’s so brilliant, but I have to remember I’m not sitting at home watching it on telly.
It honestly feels like a dream come true. I love it. It’s so funny.
Were you an uber-fan of the show, then?
Definitely, and I think that’s been maybe sometimes to my detriment because I can overanalyse certain stuff. But there’s other times where the others are floundering and I get it immediately because I understand a bit about how Alex’s weird little brain works. I’ll think to myself, “I understand you’re trying to catch me out – I don’t know how, but I’m suspicious of you.”
But sometimes that suspicion is unmerited and it’s a straightforward task. So it might be swings and roundabouts.
It has to be a benefit compared to, say, Matt Lucas, who has never seen it and doesn’t know what’s going on.
That man hasn’t got a clue what’s going on. But that’s what so great about Taskmaster: you need a variety of characters. Richard wants the world to burn, I want the world to be lovely but I want to do everything exactly right and perfectly, and then there’s Matt who’s just here. It’s like someone’s brought Grandad for a day out.
Why do you think you’re so competitive on the show?
That’s interesting to me about the competitive element is, firstly, I don’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want to win. But I also think what’s quite vulnerable about competitiveness is that it’s a feeling — and not just “I want to win”, but something deeper, something from your childhood or the therapist’s couch.
It’s not something I wear lightly, where I can just go, “Yeah, I want to win.” It’s more like, “Yeah, I want to win,” and then if it comes out in a big way, I feel guilt and shame afterwards — like, “Oh my God, that’s so bad.” So it’s been really interesting for me as a psychological experiment, having to manage all of that while the nation watches. It’s been interesting to learn about myself and to accept it.
I was in the shower today saying to myself, “Don’t be too competitive today, Chloe. Don’t want to win it too much.” And then I just went, why am I trying to stop it? Just admit you want to win this stupid thing. You want to do your best, and that’s okay.
You want the stupid gold head that doesn’t look anything like Greg?
Yes — and I want to sleep with it next to me every night.
Have you tried to argue your case with Greg when he marks you down?
Yes. There was one episode where I stood up to him, and it did feel a little bit like when my parents used to let me win at Uno when I was a kid to save a tantrum. I was like, he’s let me get away with one there because he just can’t be bothered with the argument.
Do you want to win because of your childhood trauma, because you want the stupid gold head, or because you want to be in Champion of Champions?
This is the best thing I’ve ever done in my life. I will be bereft if I don’t get to do it again — genuinely bereft. I personally believe there should be a retirement home for Taskmaster contestants where, once a month, we can all go and do tasks, not filmed, just for ourselves.
You have been quite aggressively full-on, on occasion.
I know! There were three episodes consecutively where most of the funny things I said did involve the C-word, and I’m like, well, I hope they make the cut — or the c**t, as it were.
I find that dichotomy quite funny, because I’m actually quite a gentle soul. That’s why, when that side of me comes out, it’s even funnier. I go to the football a lot and I know how to fight for space. But I also find one of the funniest things ever is just being grossly unreasonable to someone who doesn’t deserve it. I just find it really fun.
That’s why my favourite task I’ve ever watched on Taskmaster is Bob Mortimer, Sally Phillips and Aisling Bea doing “Rosalind’s a Nightmare”. The first time I saw it, I sobbed with laughter, because this poor woman had done nothing wrong. It was so unreasonable, and that’s what was so funny about it — just completely undeserved malice.
How did you get on with Alex during the tasks?
He’s quite hard to manipulate. But what I will say is that I’ve always given him credit where it’s due. I’m in this for the love of the sport — if there’s a good task, I’ll be like, “Oh Alex, this is a good one. You’ve absolutely smashed this.” I’ll give him credit where it’s due. But in the next breath I’ll be like, “You’re a little b**ch, Alex, this is really unfair.”
There’s no rhyme or reason to this show, so why would there be any rhyme or reason to the way its contestants treat Alex?
What do you make of Greg and Alex’s relationship?
It’s been quite incredible watching Greg and Alex work together in person. My main thought has just been: you two are so good at your jobs. Every bit of back-and-forth banter between them is so funny, every single time. It’s been a real pleasure to watch how they’re enemies and friends and teammates and lovers — they’re just everything.
Greg is so funny, and they’re both incredible. You can’t have one without the other. It’s just the perfect comic dynamic. The other day we were just talking, and Greg held Alex’s wrist, and I was like, that’s so funny. They’ve created an amazing thing together.
Tell me about the other contestants. What moments have you enjoyed from them?
Nina’s song had me crying — she had to do an impassioned duet with herself. It was so random, and obviously there were two of her, so she couldn’t possibly be in the room at the same time, but both versions of her were reacting to each other in such an authentic way. She looked genuinely surprised by herself and kind of puzzled by what she was doing. It made me laugh so much.
She’s quite mad, but insanely lovely, and she has a really lateral brain for it. She’s also a very good artist, so a lot of the arty tasks she’s really excelled at.
Isy is my little buddy. It’s really nice to have her as an ally because she has a real sense of justice and she’ll go to bat for me — she’ll fight for me, and I’ll really try and fight for her. But a lot of the stuff she says and does is f***ing moronic, so I’m like, I don’t know how long I can keep backing this. She fights with Greg even when he’s actually in her corner, and she’s about to ruin it. I’ll have to be like, “Isy, stop arguing — you were about to get an extra point.”
I feel like she’s really emotionally supported me through it, and I’ve coached her through the gameplay to try and make her a bit more cut-throat. Maybe we’ve had to learn from each other.
We were next door to each other in the dressing rooms, and I’d knock on and be like, “Can I eat dinner with you?” or we’d chat about whatever we were reading, or gossip about comedians. So yeah, I feel like Isy and I have become really close, which has been lovely.
What about Matt?
I know Matt quite well because I used to write for him on Fantasy Football. He’s actually quite different on this from what people might expect. He’s just quite a chill guy. I’d say he’s the most interested in people — he’s very sincere in the green room, asks a lot of questions, and he’s asked me a lot about my identity and how I identify. He’s been really open to just asking questions. He really doesn’t want to be a dinosaur; he wants to learn.
And Richard?
Richard has been a really interesting one. He’s such an interesting comic because off-screen he is the loveliest, shyest, most humble, gentle person in the world. Maybe he wouldn’t want me to say that because he wants to keep the persona up, but he’s so smart, so intelligent, really interesting.
He’s really kind and really gentle, and then obviously when he comes on screen and we get the character of Rich, he’s really funny. He’s had years of perfecting being the belligerent man. As soon as you try and argue back with logic, it’s like he’s turned up with a gun to a knife fight and you’re just like, “Okay, well, I guess I’m getting shot now.”
Who would you love to see doing Taskmaster next?
Catherine Bohart and Olga Koch. Both of them would be sensational. They’re both so good at certain stuff and so inept at other stuff, which is exactly what you want. Olga would be good at everything. Catherine Bohart would be so, so good at some things, and then she’d absolutely flip out on certain tasks. You’d get some of the worst performances you’ve ever seen — like two hours to complete a task.
ISY SUTTIE
Why did you want to do Taskmaster?
I’ve been a massive fan, for years. I watch it with my daughter Beti, it’s our comfort watch. I didn’t realise there was a bleeped version until she’d watched two series with lots of swear words! I had to say, ‘Don’t repeat any of these words at school’.
I’ve had mates in every series. I’m good mates with Jo Brand, and Josh Widdicombe, and Sian Gibson. From the early days I’ve known about it, but I held on until Beti was old enough to watch it with me, so I’m still catching up on old series now.
I always really wanted to do it because I love creating stuff. I especially used to think about what I’d make for the prize task. I’ve taken jobs before where I wasn’t familiar with the format and had to watch it to prep, but I very much already knew and loved Taskmaster.
Has that knowledge helped you?
It helped me with the format, I think. I’d go, ‘That’s that bit, then this bit is coming up,’ and so it wasn’t a completely new landscape that I had to navigate.
It’s been a nice combination because Chloe’s very familiar with every series as well, probably more so than the rest of us. I thought everybody would know it because it’s such a long-running show, but we’ve all come in from different angles. It’s been fun watching some of them come in and go, ‘What’s going on, who’s Greg?’.
But I don’t know if being a fan of the show helps all that much. I texted one of my mates who’s done it when I first got it and she said, ‘It’s amazing but you do feel like you’re losing your mind sometimes’ and I know what she means now.
Alex has tried to gas-light you a couple of times and then admitted he’s got it wrong.
I know, and that’s unusual for him! Alex is getting more of a personality! Is he trying to be a bit more like Greg? But he backs down really easily so it didn’t have any impact on me.
It’s funny, he’s exactly the same age as me. I don’t know if it’s because of that, but I feel like I’m on an even footing with Alex. Whereas Greg’s ten years older than me, and I was in Man Down with him as his love interest.
I had so much fun with Alex and we chatted a lot. I called him ‘Al’ and it drove him mad. Every time I called him ‘Al’ he’d correct me and say, ‘Alex’, or even just ‘-ex’.
What was Greg like to work with on Man Down?
I’ve never seen him get cross or snap at anyone. When you’ve got your own sitcom you often have to do rewrites at the last minute and it can be horrendously stressful, but I’ve genuinely never seen him be anything other than really professional and fun.
I’ve known them both since the days of us doing Edinburgh Fringe, including Alex doing an early version of what would become Taskmaster. He always did really inventive shows with Tim Key and Mark Watson. I remember seeing him twenty-odd years ago where there would be comics on stage and it involved the audience making suggestions. He’s always had a passion for silliness, but the detail is key.
Have you tried arguing with Greg in the studio for more points?
I’m not competitive in any way. I do like the feeling of having completed something, and I get a big satisfaction of doing something to the best of my ability, but I don’t care about beating people.
I have tried arguing a bit, when I felt I’d done better than the points would indicate, but Greg’s logic is all over the place.
I did manage to charm him sometimes. He was really mean about a prize task and made me start to freak out, but then I kept arguing and in the end he gave me an extra point. Eventually he does sometimes cave in, so he does have a heart deep down.
You told a story on the show about something you did at school. Can you share it here?
Me and my friends wrote out every letter of the alphabet and we had to snog a boy whose name began with every letter. We found a Xavier! Once you’ve done stand-up, all your inhibitions disappear, so I was happy to share that on national TV.
Have you learned anything about yourself?
I really have. In life, I get stressed when things aren’t organised. And I don’t mean I’m tidy, because our house is really messy. But if I’m going away, for example, I will pack my bag the night before, and I get really stressed. I can’t order an Uber until I’ve got my shoes on because I can’t cope with the stress of it arriving before I’m ready.
With work, I get things done a week before the deadline, which sounds quite swotty but it’s because I’m trying to avoid stress.
With the tasks, what I’ve discovered is that I’ve got this ‘f*** it’ gene that I didn’t realise I had. I have just gone, ‘Wah’ and thrown things in the air during a task. Most of the tasks I tried to do properly, but sometimes, especially with the clock ticking, I’ll just shout out something random or throw things everywhere.
The only time I do that in my real life is when I’m driving. So many times I’ve scraped the car. The other day I was reversing out of my childminder’s drive and I started to drag the bins with me because I’d got too close to them. And instead of getting out and moving them, or going forwards a bit and trying to reverse again, I just went, ‘Oh well’ and reversed into the road dragging these two bins with me.
It’s been really fun to be like that on the show because I always feel I’m a bit too sensible in real life.
Can you tell me about making the balaclava of Greg’s face?
Before we even heard what the prize tasks were, I knew I wanted to make a balaclava of Greg’s face. I just knew it. And I made it fit into the task. I loved doing it. The pattern is from an amazing seventies book called Son of Stitch and Bitch. It’s actually based on a Mexican wrestlers’ mask.
I didn’t want it to look too creepy. I’m really pleased with how it turned out. The person who won that episode will take great care of it, I’m sure, but if Greg wants it then I’d be happy for it to take on a life of its own.
How did you get on with the other contestants?
I’ve loved sitting next to Chloe, I’ve gigged with Chloe at a new material years ago and maybe seen them at the Taskmaster football game, the charity one that Alex does. It was a joy to sit next to them because we’re really different people and I’ve really enjoyed the developing dynamic between us. It’s been genuinely really fun.
That’s chance because you’re sitting in alphabetic order. I think the alphabetic order thing is good because it stops any ego-driven demands of, ‘I need to be nearest to the audience or Greg or whatever’. It ends up being an experiment because you sit next to people you don’t know, which is in keeping with the sense of fairness of the show.
So Chloe and I nurtured this dynamic. And Matt, on my other side, is glorious as well. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know everyone: I didn’t know anybody that well beforehand.
Matt’s a really lovely, quirky character. He does different voices, as you might expect from him: the other day he did an old-fashioned train announcer which was delightful. But a lot of the time he’s just himself and he’s lovely.
I’ve really loved, over the years, watching comic actors like Charlotte Ritchie or Mat Baynton or Katherine Parkinson on Taskmaster and getting to know them, because you don’t know them through stand-up and so you don’t really know their personalities that well even though they’ve been on telly for years.
And that’s true of Matt Lucas, too. He’s been on telly for decades playing these big iconic characters but it’s been really lovely to see him being himself, being allowed to just play, with no pressure or expectation. He also comes out with loads of gags. He’s really quick and he loves word play.
I adore Nina. I’ve been a long-term admirer. She’s a true clown, a bit like Bridget Christie. She revels in the unusual. I think she’s hilarious, and we also had wonderful chats in make-up.
Richard’s actually really sweet and warm. I’ve met him a few times over the years but he’s the one I knew the least. He’s provided a foil for lots of moments. He’s been how I thought he would be: the antagonist. And it’s fun to play against that.
Your Peep Show co-star David Mitchell told me recently he’ll never do Taskmaster because he thinks he’d be so bad at it. But I think he should do it anyway!
I totally agree! He’s wrong, and he should do it. I don’t know why he won’t. I’ve always thought David would be brilliant. It’s a commitment, I suppose, and I think he might feel pressure to be the way that people perceive him to be. But he should absolutely do it. He’d be so good.
Could you text him and try to talk him into it?
I will! I will start a campaign. Although, what’s that expression? You can bring a horse to water but you can’t make them drink, right? As much as Richard Ayoade looks like he doesn’t want to be there, I’m sure he’s actually having loads of fun. You want people to want to be there. So if David doesn’t want to do it, fine, but one can only hope that over the years he’ll soften and eventually do it, because he’d be brilliant.
The other people I think would be brilliant, in the meantime, are Miranda Hart and Harriet Kemsley.
MATT LUCAS
Why did you want to do Taskmaster?
Well, it’s nice to get out of the house.
But also, I’ve worked with Avalon a few times before — I did Fantasy Football League there and a pilot for something else — and they’ve always been great. They asked me, and although I hadn’t watched Taskmaster, I’ve seen lots of Alex’s work and Greg’s work and they both make me laugh a lot. They’re both very distinctive.
I’d also met them socially. I worked with Greg on Doctor Who — my first episode, “The Husbands of River Song”. We were both in it and shared a nice long journey back from Cardiff, and we got on well.
Then I’d done a show called The Matt Lucas Awards and Alex had been on it a couple of times, and again I had really fond memories of working with him.
So at this point in my career, when something comes my way, I mostly think: are the people nice? Is it something a bit challenging? Because I’ve been very lucky in my career and there aren’t many things left that I feel I absolutely have to do.
Had you really never seen it before?
I hadn’t seen the show, no. And I’m not going to be watching my episodes. Too much shame and embarrassment.
But it’s good to come out of my comfort zone and be challenged. It’s almost like being back at school, except you also have to surrender control. It’s a show in which you have no control and no power — you just have to let go. That’s a weird sensation, and it’s not something you get in a lot of jobs. That’s been nice.
How have you found the tasks?
I found them pretty difficult, actually. They’re quite overstimulating and overwhelming, and there are a lot of distractions, so it’s not always easy to know where to focus when you have a task. To think outside the box is hard, especially under pressure. I have this feeling of remorse after almost every task, where I think, “Ah, I should have done it… oh, I should have done that… oh, I should have done…”
And there’s also the fact that it’s all at the whim of the Taskmaster. Sometimes you can do something you think you did pretty well — or terribly — and the Taskmaster takes the opposite view. But it’s good fun, and it’s nice that the competition isn’t fierce.
Well, Chloe is in it to win it, and the rest of us are just having a nice time. I take my hat off to Chloe, because they know what they’re doing. I’d say that if I were ever in a pub quiz, I’d want Chloe on my team. They’re brilliant, really nice and really supportive as well, and there’s a lot of camaraderie between us.
I’m just the old man. I’m just mystified. They call me Grandad.
You missed Arsenal winning the league during filming: was that annoying?
Well, I couldn’t go to the game. But lots of people get to go to football matches; not many people get to be on Taskmaster.There was a TV in the wings, so I could go and check in on it during recording breaks.
And that morning you picked up your OBE – what a day!
It was overwhelming, actually. My mum was happy, though. I took my mother, my brother, my stepfather and my stepmother.
What did Prince William say to you?
Apparently it’s not protocol to go into too much detail about what you discuss, but I will confirm that I brought up football. He’s an Aston Villa fan and they were playing in a big final that night too, so I asked whether he was going to the match and he said yes. I won’t go into any more detail than that.
I had actually met him once before, in November, because I was doing a segment from Les Misérables in the Royal Variety Performance. I had very bad teeth at the time, so I was quite happy this time that I didn’t have very bad teeth.
What was the day like?
Jaw-dropping. Windsor Castle is amazing. It was a real buzz. Cynthia Erivo was there getting an honour as well, and so was Luke Littler. I didn’t see Luke, but I saw Cynthia, and I know her a little bit, so I was really pleased for her. Cynthia looked amazing — she’s so talented and just brilliant, and I’m such a fan.
So I felt very honoured. There were lots of other people there too, and I don’t know what they were all receiving honours for, but it was a lovely day. My mum has had to sit through a lot of rather grotty comedy over the years, so for her to be able to watch her son have an investiture is sort of every mummy’s dream — a bit of payback, hopefully.
Speaking of your mum, you brought her in as a prize task, which I think is a first.
Yes, though she was as baffled as I was. She didn’t really understand what was going on, but they gave her a sandwich, so I think she was quite happy.
You said earlier there isn’t much in your career you haven’t done before. That doesn’t mean you’re thinking of retiring, does it?
I’m not retiring, but I started when I was 18 and I’m 52 now, and it’s been great. So when something new comes along, I think: are the people nice? Will there be a sandwich involved?
The production company are really nice to work with. The team are so kind and thoughtful, and they pick up on little details — like sorting out a subscription so I could watch the football in the wings during recording breaks. Little thoughtful touches like that always start at the top, so that comes from Alex and Greg. Greg might be a meanie on screen, but off-screen he’s delightful.
And Bob Mortimer had also said to me, “If you ever get asked to do Taskmaster, do it.” So I took his advice.
I could never imagine myself doing Big Brother or I’m a Celebrity or something like that, because that feels a bit stressful to me. But I was told that with Taskmaster you’ll have fun and you’ll do things you haven’t done before — and that’s exactly what appealed to me.
When something comes my way now, I just think: is it going to be enjoyable? Is it going to challenge me? Even with Les Misérables, there are always different people playing my wife, different dynamics, different cities, different theatres, different audiences, different versions of the show — so there’s always something to keep it alive.
And this was a challenge too. That’s really why I did it: because it was something I hadn’t done before.
How did you enjoy the studio records?
I think the thing about the show is that everybody responds differently to the tasks, and none of us knows how anyone else has responded. We also don’t know how well we did, and half the time we can’t even remember what we did. Sometimes a task comes on in the studio and you think, “What was this one again?” because you did so many and not all of them are used, and it was a while ago.
The nice thing about the show is that no two people ever make the same gag — everyone responds differently. And Richard is a force of nature. I sit in awe of his genius.
It’s a masterclass in comedy. But I never look at Richard and think, “Oh, I should do it more like that” or “be more like him.” Richard is a complete one-off. What he does can’t be replicated, and you wouldn’t want two people like that on the panel anyway.
Have you learned anything about yourself?
I’ve learned that I’m even more of an idiot than I thought.
I learned that I can write a song in twenty minutes. And I learned that taking the obvious route one is sometimes good.
You seem quite laid-back in the studio. Did you know that about yourself already?
No, not really. I did Shooting Stars at the beginning of my career, but I haven’t done a million panel shows. I think if you’re just doing one day on a panel show, you can kind of act up a bit. But if you’re doing a whole series, you sort of have to be yourself.
And from a practical point of view, the studio record is three hours long, and the finished show is 43 minutes — and half of that is VT. So I think it’s good to relax in the studio and trust that the bits they use will be good.
You said on the show that your career began wearing a babygro, so you can’t be humiliated.
That’s a theory I still subscribe to. The things I’ve worn and the things I’ve had to do on television — that battle is already lost, so don’t sweat it.
This is definitely a show where you can’t worry about vanity.
I completely agree. And I actually think there’s no place for vanity in comedy generally. You’re just heading for a fall if you think like that. Also, it’s a waste of time being vain with this face!
I just try to go with the flow and enjoy it. And the other thing is that so much of the work I’ve done over the years — less so recently, but certainly in the past — involved a lot of responsibility. I co-wrote things, co-starred in them, sometimes produced them, sometimes even directed them. So much rested on me. Whereas on this show I don’t have to do any of the heavy lifting. I get to sit there, watch other people be funny, and occasionally say something myself.
We’ve talked about Richard and Chloe. What about Nina and Isy?
I’m a big fan of Nina’s. I’ve been to see her shows, and obviously a lot of what she does involves ventriloquism and Monkey, so it’s been great to see what she’s like without all of that, because she’s a comic force in her own right. She’s very, very intelligent, very smart, and I think she’s given a really good account of herself.
With Isy, I know her husband because I worked with him on Fantasy Football League, and I was at their wedding, but I didn’t really know Issy well before this. She is so quirky and so left-field — a complete one-off.
She’s got such warmth and such mischief about her, and I never know what she’s going to come up with. It’s either going to be brilliant or disastrous.
Would you recommend Taskmaster to other people? What about Vic Reeves, do you think he’d be good?
He’d be great! And I think there’s a whole brilliant generation of people coming up through Saturday Night Live UK. George Fouracres is amazing. There’s a whole new bunch of really funny people filming it in the studio next door to Taskmaster, so they know where Taskmaster is, and vice versa.
Elis James would be amazing, too. I also worked with a comedian called Andrew Mensah and I think he’d be really good too. If we’re widening it out beyond comedians, I think Rob Rinder would be really good. He’s so intelligent, with such a sharp mind. I think he’d give Greg a real run for his money.
NINA CONTI
Why did you want to do Taskmaster?
My kids watch it, and they had shown me their favourite clips, like John Kearns sabotaging the sand, and Romesh and Tim Keys with the watermelon, which will never be beaten. And I loved it, and it looked like a mini adventure.
Each task is like a sort of birthday treat. Even though sometimes the tasks are awful, the surprise element does make it feel like a surprise birthday party. Everyone’s creating a fun thing especially for you to do.
And did your kids encourage you to do it?
Yeah, they did, they really wanted me to do it. As a rule, I don’t do panel shows or anything like that. They frighten me. I wasn’t scared of the tasks but I was a bit frightened of the studio bits because that’s a bit like a panel show. So I was a bit nervous at the start, but you’ll hopefully see me slowly start to thaw, and I might be fully thawed by episode ten.
I’ve made a really special exception to doing a TV appearance, just because it’s such a fun show, and because of Alex and Greg and all the other contestants. It’s got such good vibes. So I made an exception to the kind of “I can’t do that” for it, and I’m really glad I did.
What was it that made you so nervous?
I’m used to doing work where I speak for everyone. No one else gets to talk. I get ten people on stage and I do all the voices, and suddenly I’m here on Taskmaster and everybody has their own voices, and I’m just thinking, “Oh, whose voice am I doing? Just mine? I don’t think I know how to do mine.”
Usually I have controlled conditions for me to thrive doing my funny stuff, and that’s totally inverted on this show. It’s been like being thrown in at the deep end, but it’s been fun, and I think it’s been good for me.
I think it’s very healthy for me to have to swim in these new waters. By episode eight, I’m doggy paddling, and I really hope I’m doing full crawl by the final.
You were brilliant from the start!
Well, it’s just that feeling, you know. There’s a sort of women-on-panel-shows legacy of it being difficult and hard to get your words out, and you don’t want that.
Even when it’s definitely not the case, and it really isn’t on Taskmaster, but just the ghost of that can get into your head and you think, “Oh no, I’m being a smiling woman. This is not good for the sisterhood. Don’t do it. We need to unlearn this polite s**t. Come on, speak, speak.” I really didn’t want that to get me, you know?
But Taskmaster is an exception to the rule and I’m really glad of that. It was just me bringing my own ghosts to it, but they don’t belong in this studio, so I got rid of them and got that out of my head.
How did you get on with Alex and Greg?
I think my second gig ever as a comedian, I was on with Alex. I met him at the Comedy Café, in about 2001, so very distant history!
He was on stage and he was asking people in the audience, “What’s the biggest thing you’ve ever seen?” and you could see, in that little kernel of that joke, the mind behind Taskmaster, I think.
I remember really liking him. He did a very funny thing with his microphone where you thought he was speaking, but he was actually pre-recorded, and then he became detached from his own voice. It was so clever and so well executed.
And very soon after that, I lost a comedy competition to Greg Davies. I was second and he was first — bastard!
Have you brought that up with him?
No. He probably does remember it though, because it was one of his first gigs too, and these things matter to you when you’re really new. It was called the Laughing Horse competition, and everyone just does five minutes. It was quite fun to share that throne with him. It was a tiny bit annoying, but he was very funny that night.
And it’s lovely to see them both in their element on Taskmaster. The king and queen of the house. Greg’s the queen.
How did you get on with the other contestants?
I’ve been on the circuit with Isy. I remember Matt very well from television, but I didn’t actually ever work with him. I was just in Montreal Comedy Festival with Chloe not long ago, and I’ve done Melbourne with them. And it’s the first time I’ve ever met Richard.
He’s funny. He’s delightful. He’s such a reliable persona for television. He’s a television gift, that guy. Amazing.
He’s doing that kind of person-who-doesn’t-give-a-s**t-about-the-show very, very well. But even then it’s not just that one note he’s playing, because sometimes he really likes something and gets competitive.
There was one task where he said he was happy, and it was so funny.
Have you stolen anything?
No. I spent a lot of time staring at Greg and Alex’s socks, though. You would not believe how much time I spent looking at those socks and thinking, “What is that — a mushroom or a baby?” And then I also look at that head of Greg a lot and wonder why it doesn’t look like him.
I could ask them for a pair of socks as a souvenir, but then I’d have to choose whose feet, and I don’t want to take sides. I love them equally.
Have you learned anything about yourself?
I feel completely split-personality, because that woman who did the tasks — I look at her with total detachment and think, “Who are you? What are you doing? Are you having a lovely day?” It’s so funny now.
But what have I learned? I mean, there’s something funny about watching me try to do something. It’s given me a third-eye perspective to what I must look like, just wandering about like some clown, I guess. Just an incapable clown.
But also what Greg picked up on is that sometimes you turn into a quite strict school ma’am type. Did you know that about yourself?
No. I’m learning a lot about myself. I can be very strict. I can be my dad, actually. I can be like a sort of authoritarian, incredulous grump — or just like a very happy lady at the seaside. These two things live in me, I guess. They are my mum and dad right there.
How did you get on with the prize tasks?
I put in a lot of effort. I feel like there was big encouragement to find something personal in your house. I don’t know if that’s written anywhere, but it’s certainly what I felt like we had to do. So I brought in my things, and I realised I hadn’t been thinking outside the box at all. I was thinking inside the box I live in at home.
I loved the one where you put the ventriloquist mask on Alex and had him sitting on Greg’s lap.
Oh, thank you. Yeah, that really caught fire, I felt, and he did look especially hilarious in it because he had cross eyes. His eyes looked so perturbed. He did a great job of it. It really suited him.
I just can’t get over Alex Horne’s generosity of mind, ideas, spirit, play — the generosity of that. That guy’s output is endless, boundless. And what people might not realise is that before the show starts recording, he comes on with Greg and they do a bit of a sketch, and Alex has to do a dance for the audience. I would buy a box-set of Alex’s dances.
What do you make of their relationship to each other?
I absolutely love watching them together in their beginning bits, because it’s like seeing somebody having total freedom after years of developing a really comfortable dynamic. It just flows like a river of comedy. It’s really nice to see that they’re both in their element so much, and Alex is such an incredibly good sport. Greg says the most awful things about him and he rides it so buoyantly.
He does, and he did when you called him a ‘little b***h’, too.
Did I? Oh dear, I don’t remember that. I definitely called myself that a lot. I even said it to an audience member! But I said it with love.
I’ve always been a big swearer. I’m a hearty swearer, and I love it in my home life. It’s hard to rein it in sometimes because it’s my comfort zone. But we’re all sweary on this show.
Once you start C-bombing, you set Greg off, and I could just picture the editors upstairs going, “Oh my God, will somebody stop it? We’re never going to be able to edit this.” But I couldn’t hold back.
Who do you think would be good on Taskmaster next?
A lot of my closest friends have already done it, like Kerry Godliman and Sarah Kendall.
I mean, I really feel like it’s something that politicians should be put through. Really, I do. You would learn so much about who’s trustworthy and who’s capable. I feel like it should be public service, because it strips away the façade. You can’t be anybody but yourself on it. It’s a really 360 perspective on the way a person functions.
So, politicians should do it, and world leaders, if you can get them. Let’s see what they’re made of. Let’s see if they can build a sandcastle of eggshells or whatever. It’s a good leveller.
And apart from that, I guess I’d like to see someone like one of the grand dames. Judi Dench, Maureen Lipman, Celia Imrie, Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet. Those women roll their sleeves up and get into it, and they should be running the country.
RICHARD AYOADE
Are you having a lovely time?
Yes, very much. Although it’s quite a punitive show. There’s a sort of atmosphere of continual attrition — I don’t quite know how else to describe it.
You did describe it at one point as “national service for comedians”.
I think it is like that. I think Taskmaster is probably the closest comedians come to national service — or jury service. You get the call, and you might feel excited at the start because you think you’re going to get a little window into something interesting, but once you’re in there, you just want to leave.
You’ve been discussed on fan forums for years – everybody has wanted you to do this show.
Really? If I was ever on fan forums, I’m sure I’ve dropped off them in the interim. So maybe it’s a double disappointment — that people have thought, “Well, that name’s been considered, we can relax, it’s never going to happen,” and then suddenly this dreadful prospect has been codified.
I think they’re going to be furious. I think people who watch the show will know instinctively that I’m not suited to it, and, without spoiling anything, they will receive a lot of things they know they don’t want.
But it’s not about winning — it’s about being funny.
It very much feels like it’s about winning. In the discussions afterwards, that certainly seems to come to the forefront.
That said, I didn’t have winning on my mind while I was doing a lot of the tasks. A lot of it was about trying to end the experience as quickly as possible. Sometimes that was weather-related; or sometimes I might have been in the middle of a film on my laptop and just wanted to get back to it. I liked the tasks that had a sort of followable logic, but there were many where new elements were sprung on you halfway through, and I found that upsetting.
There was one task that may have been the first time in Taskmaster history that someone genuinely asked if they could just stop.
I actually tried to stop quite a few times. With that one, I insisted on stopping because there was a chance I might end up running into minus points if I carried on. And I think that’s legitimate. Freedom has to include the freedom not to do something; otherwise it’s tyranny.
Have you tried to turn Taskmaster into an egalitarian competition? You know it’s a dictatorship, right?
I have. I don’t feel I’ve particularly wanted to win or debase others. I’m very happy when other people win; I’m happy with their efforts. There were a few word definitions I quibbled with, but broadly I’ve tried to be fair-minded.
Have you not been competitive at all?
Occasionally I’ve become very competitive. I’m trying to provide peaks and troughs. Mainly I’m providing troughs, but occasionally there are peaks.
So you’re not always consistent in your own principles?
Hugely inconsistent. I would in no way recommend the way I’ve played it. In almost every direction it’s been a poor showing from me. I feel I’ve essentially taken the wrong path every time.
There was one time when I guessed an answer immediately and that was good — I did that quite well. I also think I’m quite good at estimating the height of things, or judging what will fit into what. Leftover chilli, for example — I can get that into a smaller Tupperware than you’d think.
That’s a great skill. So if you’ve learned anything about yourself from the show, is it that you’re into estimating?
Yes, I think I’ve realised I quite like guessing amounts or distances, and it’s quite satisfying to get relatively close. That’s something I didn’t know about myself, and now I do.
Given your feelings towards the show, what made you finally agree to do this national service?
After a while it starts to feel like you’ve got a problem with someone if you keep saying no, which I don’t. Also, Greg and Alex are very funny. Possibly the most enjoyable part of the whole experience for me has been not doing the tasks, but sitting there and watching them do their double act. If the whole show had just been me watching them, I think I’d have had a lovely time. The bit I didn’t like was doing any of the tasks.
Tell me a bit about your relationship with Greg and Alex. You went to Russia with Greg for your show Travel Man.
I didn’t know Greg especially well before that, but I knew him through that. Alex I didn’t know that well either, but I’d encountered him and always found him very funny. So really, the reason I did the show was because I like them and find them funny — not because I thought I’d be good at it.
How would you describe their relationship?
It’s an odd sort of master-servant relationship, except in a way Alex is the source of the power. It’s quite toxic in many ways, and it goes up and down. Sometimes I watch them and think, “You need to break away from one another so you can live.” But at other times it has a sort of Samuel Beckett quality to it — two people stuck in a situation together.
In fact, I think they could do a very good Waiting for Godot, and possibly should. Someone at the National should book them.
It’s become a running joke that you’re incapable of smiling. How true is that?
I don’t have much of a smile. Actually, that was one of the things that happened in Russia with Greg. In Russian culture, smiling is frowned upon — it’s seen as a sign of feeble-mindedness. So in Russia I felt very relaxed. No one was smiling. My dad was Nigerian and didn’t smile much; Norwegians, in my experience, don’t smile much either. Smiling can feel a bit aggressive, almost like an active pursuit of sympathy or approval. I prefer to keep my face neutral.
It’s difficult on Taskmaster because it can make you look like a very bad-tempered person, but really it’s just my face.
Who do you think should do Taskmaster next?
Chris O’Dowd would be very good. I think he’d have the right spirit for it, and I think he’s quite good at puzzles and things like that.
Has Last One Laughing given you a whole new audience, younger fans who perhaps didn’t know your work?
I honestly have no idea, because I’m generally only ever on a bike. Unless someone stops me at an intersection — which most people are kind enough not to do — I wouldn’t really know. I tend to assume that if people are looking at me, it’s with hostility.
GREG AND ALEX
Let’s talk about this year’s contestants. Shall we start with Richard Ayoade: fans have wanted him to do it for years, so how did you eventually get him to agree?
Alex: We found out a secret about him that he didn’t want made public. And it wasn’t even that interesting, was it?
Greg: Well, it depends if you think killing someone is interesting, I suppose.
Alex: Yeah, but the victim was very old. Richard was everything I hoped for and more. He just suddenly decided to do it. He’s quite a peculiar character, obviously. His choices are odd, and he just said he fancied it. So I got to spend a few days with him in the house, and then we all got to spend time with him in the studio.
Greg: He entered into the spirit of the arguments more than I thought he would. I’ve spent a bit of time with Richard previously, and he is very much his own man. His comedic sensibilities are well-defined, and the thing I slightly worried about was that he would just be brilliantly dismissive of everything he did, but he wasn’t. He had a go at some of the tasks, and he also had a go at defending them in a more full-throated manner than I thought. I loved having him on the show. He’s endlessly funny and he really brought a new dynamic to the room.
I enjoyed his physicality; we often see him behind a desk and he has a stillness about him, but he does a commando roll at one point in the series.
Alex: Yeah. He also does a lot of maths. He was just endlessly funny. He was so funny, which is what we want.
He also might be the coolest man you’ve had on.
Greg: He is. His clothes were great.
Alex: He does have a certain style, doesn’t he?
Greg: But he is also the least cool person we’ve ever had as well.
Alex: He walks the line.
Greg, you went to Moscow with him for his show, Travel Man. What was that trip like?
Greg: It was intense for all sorts of reasons because I’d never really spent time with Richard before, and I’m a huge fan of his, so I was quite frightened for that reason. He’s quite shy, in a way, and I don’t know whether it’s his way of dealing with that or if it’s because I’m boring, but he would often take himself off into a corner and read a book when we were off camera. But I really had a lovely time with him.
I always admire people who know exactly what they will and won’t do in life, and I think that came across in Taskmaster. When we were in Russia, there was a request for us both to be topless in the gym at one point and he went, “I will not be doing that.” And I went, “Well, I guess I’m the topless guy, then.” So I got beaten by a Russian masseuse with some leaves while Richard sat and read a book, and then I went under a horrible ice bucket while Richard sat and read a book.
That is quite typical of him. As Alex says, his comedic persona is very well defined.
Alex: It is, absolutely. Even just when you go down the line at the start of the show and everyone’s waving to the camera, he’s consistently doing something slightly off-kilter.
You mentioned that most of the time he was dismissive of the tasks, but sometimes he got really into them. Can you expand on that?
Greg: He got quite competitive from about the midway point. He suddenly started arguing his case a bit more often, which I enjoyed. I don’t think for a second that he really cared, which I almost enjoy more. If someone’s quibbling with me over points but they don’t actually care, it’s a bit of a sweet spot for me.
He became the first ever contestant to try to walk off mid-way through a task.
Alex: Yeah, he was tempted just not to do it at all, but I made him give it a go. And even when he did do it, he left it halfway through. He said, “No, that’s enough for me.”
Greg: I think it has happened before, once … Katherine Ryan refused to eat a raw egg. But that was many, many years ago.
Let’s talk about Matt Lucas next.
Alex: He was so interesting. I think we had glimpses of Shooting Stars Matt, or even Come Fly With Me Matt, where he was leaning into big characters and doing voices, but you saw quite an introspective Matt as well. I think he was learning about himself.
Greg: He claimed at the beginning of the show that he’d never watched it before — I think that was during the first task. And now we’ve been through a whole series together and I still don’t know whether he had ever watched it or not. I don’t know whether it was a gag and whether he was pretending, but I suspect he hadn’t.
Alex: Yeah, I think he hadn’t. I quite liked that as well. You don’t want five super-fans. I thought it was refreshing.
Greg: Absolutely. And he had this sort of obsession with his mum as well, which was bordering on quite weird but also quite amusing. He brought her into the studio. I spoke to her backstage and said, “Are you having a nice time?” and she said, “I don’t know what’s going on.” Bless. Mother like son. They were both truly baffled by what was being asked of them. He got more and more into it as it went on, though. He was very funny, and engaged.
Alex: In the first episode you see him sing a song, and it’s so nice to have Matt Lucas singing a song on your show. It’s so special. I love his musical stuff.
Greg: He also popped off to get an OBE in the middle of it all, so that was quite a distraction, and then Arsenal were about to win the league while we were recording a studio show. It was actually quite sweet because he was doing his job on set, but it was hell for him that that was happening, so every time we broke off for the adverts, he would sprint off stage and try and find out what the Arsenal score was.
He has quite an odd career. The day after we finished, he immediately flew to join the cast of Les Misérables to go on tour around the world, which is a whole different drama. He said he really loved doing this because there was no script and it was mad, but he also loved going to that world of the theatre. And I really liked that every now and again he would just jump into a character. Obviously I’ve been watching Matt Lucas doing characters since way before I started comedy, so I’m always a little bit starstruck when those character voices come out.
Alex: I would say there’s one episode where he has to shout, and Matt Lucas shouting is a joy. He’s a good shouter.
Let’s talk about Chloe Petts next.
Alex: Chloe’s definitely a confident character. They knew the show, knew themselves. Chloe’s clearly a big fan of the show and laid out their agenda early doors: they wanted to win at all costs.
Greg: Yes, that was very clear. Sometimes terrifying.
Alex: Had a go at everybody.
Greg: There was a moment where they called Matt a ‘little b***h’, I think.
Alex: They talk about that in their normal life — being sort of two people at once, being a butch football fan at the same time as being sweet and gentle. We definitely had that in the house. To be fair, I’m not surprised they got angry sometimes because the weather for them was so awful. You’ll see in the tasks that they had rain and mud and snow as well at one point, but it didn’t stop them at all.
Greg: That was weird actually. They were the only person who had to put up with the adverse weather conditions. It always seemed to be chucking it down in there. But it was quite fitting, I think. It was like Vietnam, some of it, with them crawling along with blood on their face. It went quite well with the aggressive side of their personality.
Alex: Yeah. And there’s no point denying there’s a hint of Ed Gamble. They tour with Ed Gamble and there’s definitely that competitive streak in Chloe, which we blame solely on Ed.
One of my favourite prize tasks was the life size Greg Davies that Chloe made to spoon in bed. Did you enjoy that, Greg?
Greg: Listen, I like to be spooned whether I’m there or not. I’m happy to have that put on record. It did look amazing. It’s one of the great prizes of this series, it really is. I want to be spooned more often. I’ve been a spoon for decades but I’d like to be spooned for a change.
Well, it’s on account of your height. You’re the de facto spoon.
Greg: I don’t think that’s why. I just think people are lazy and I demand change.
Let’s talk about Isy Suttie next.
Alex: She kept calling me ‘Al’, which really wound me up. Other than that, I really enjoyed Isy.
Greg: My thing with Isy is that when I’m quizzing some of her decisions, particularly with the prize tasks, she always tries to explain by illustrating it with a bizarre story about her life, often her childhood. As the host, I’m supposed to keep things rattling along, but I sort of want to dig into all of Isy’s past every time she does a task and what inspires her to respond in that way. Or when she talks about being in the Brownies or Girl Guides — I want to delve into that, and frequently did. It won’t make the edit, but I could do a whole different show called Greg Quizzes Isy About Her Childhood.
How did she get on with the tasks generally?
Alex: She’s pretty mad. But I like it when, similar to Richard, people are on their own agenda. They have to bend to our will to a degree, but it’s nice when there’s something else bubbling away in the background. I enjoy it.
Another Peep Show alumni, David Mitchell, is adamant he won’t do it. Is there any persuading him, do you think?
Greg: I think we’ll break his spirits eventually. I don’t know why I think that, but I just feel we will.
Alex: Quite often we get people like Lee Mack if their kids like the show, and I think David’s daughter is about five now, so he might do it for that reason. Or maybe Victoria might persuade him.
Greg: Yeah, I think Victoria will be an ally in this. I think before we wind this project up, Mitchell will be there. And I hope this doesn’t come across in the wrong way, but I’m pretty sure I could physically force him into the studio. I’m not an arrogant man, but I think I could bring him against his will.
And last but not least, let’s talk about Nina Conti.
Alex: She brings ventriloquism into the show with almost every prize task. She’s so comfortable in that world, so that’s where you get to see ‘normal Nina’. But then in the rest of the show we see the other side of Nina, where she’s all over the place, which is great.
Greg: She’s bonkers. I enjoyed her. And Alex is right, I think Nina almost makes more sense when her voice is coming through someone else.
Alex: She was very pleasingly nervous and wanting to do well.
Greg: And I am a big fan of that, from my point of view. I like it when people really want to do well but trip themselves up as a consequence.
Alex: She said she only works instinctively, so she just did things in the moment, which I really like. She’s such a dynamic actor. There was an unhinged song where I think she was allowed ten minutes or possibly more to write it and plan it, and she went, “No, I don’t want any planning time, I’m just going to ad lib,” and it was unhinged but in a really good way. I love that. She says that’s how she always performs. Obviously there’s a structure, but she loves being in the moment, improv-style. Sometimes it worked for her in the tasks, sometimes it didn’t.
She had a complete inability to stand up for herself, and would just collapse whenever you critiqued her, Greg.
Greg: She didn’t really put up much resistance, which I don’t mind at all, because I find it quite tiring arguing with people.
At one point she had Alex sitting on Greg’s knee being a ventriloquist’s dummy. Did you both enjoy that?
Alex: I looked so weird in that mask. Obviously I couldn’t see what it looked like at the time. It was a really out-of-body experience, because I’ve seen her do that many times. I’ve been in the audience of shows where she’s done it. So to be the person was a real privilege. And then sitting on Greg’s lap for it – that was all my dreams coming true.
Greg: It’s not the first time he’s sat on my lap, I don’t think. And that experience is characterised by — and I don’t know if you can use this quote — the warmest gooch I’ve ever experienced. It radiates heat in a way that is almost certainly a medical problem.
She spoke very warmly about her father, Tom Conti.
Greg: Yeah, I was a huge fan of Shirley Valentine in the ’80s and I really enjoyed quizzing her about that. Her humiliation as a teenager, having her dad saying, “I want to make f**k with you,” in one of the biggest films of the decade— that was a great bit of insight.
Alex: But Nina is a bit of a national treasure herself, isn’t she? She’s on a different plain to most of our other comics because she does her own thing. I love having her in the show without Monkey. She sent me a message afterwards thanking us for ‘all the adventures’. She saw the whole thing as an adventure, which is quite a good way to approach life, I think.
Josh Widdicombe, one of the original Taskmaster contestants, has landed a job presenting Strictly. What do you think of that?
Greg: Fair play to the young lad. As a young 45-year-old, I imagine he’s very excited about it. I’m thrilled for him. If he’s happy, I’m happy.
Alex: And you know what? I think he really is happy. He’s such a little puppy. I’ve had a couple of messages from him and he can’t believe it. He’ll do a really good job. And it’s good to confound public expectation, isn’t it? It’s quite fun.
Would you guys do Strictly?
Greg: No, thank you.
Alex: I’d do it with Greg if Greg was my partner, because that’s something we could swing. Otherwise, no.
Greg: I think it would be too rigorous for my knees, for a start. But I wish everyone involved in Strictly all the best.
Ends