JAMES ACASTER, JESSICA KNAPPETT, KERRY GODLIMAN, PHIL WANG, RHOD GILBERT Thursday 5 July 2018 The double BAFTA nominated and Broadcast Award winning comedy game show is set to return for its seventh series with 10 brand new episodes this September. Greg Davies, the almighty Taskmaster, once again makes himself comfy on his majestic throne, painstakingly polished by his sidekick and assistant Little Alex Horne, as he welcomes a new host of brazen contenders for the latest series of the international hit show.
Setting perplexing challenges, the Task Tzar will preside over the inspired genius, or utter ineptitude of a new host of comics, each scrapping for his fleeting and often fickle respect, praise, and points. Record breaking stand-up James Acaster (Netflixs Repertoire), comedy writer and actress Jessica Knappett (E4s Drifters), actress and stand-up Kerry Godliman (Channel 4s Derek), internationally acclaimed comedian Phil Wang (BBC Twos Live At The Apollo, Daves Unspun with Matt Forde), and renowned Welsh comic Rhod Gilbert (BBC Twos The Apprentice: Youre Fired) are the new line-up battling for a chance to win the most prestigious title in showbiz, and possibly the world, and be crowned a Taskmaster Champion.
Series seven is the second installment of a four series commission marking Taskmasters growing success for UKTV. Following the two-part special, Taskmaster: Champion of Champions in 2017, series six launched with its biggest overnight to date of over 700K and quickly consolidated to over 1.1 million viewers. Taskmaster remains the biggest show on UKTV Play with over 7 million views.
Taskmaster is one of the top UKTV Original commissions on Dave having been crowned Best Entertainment Programme at this years Broadcast Awards (beating Strictly Come Dancing, Im A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, Love Island, The Voice UK, and All Round To Mrs. Browns), receiving a 2017 BAFTA nomination for Best Comedy Entertainment Programme followed by a 2018 BAFTA nomination in the same category, a 2017 International Emmy nomination for Best Non-Scripted Entertainment, as well as previous nominations for RTS and Broadcasting Press Guild Award.
Since its inception, an increasing number of other countries have developed their own versions of Taskmaster, including Comedy Central in the U.S. (starring Reggie Watts as the Taskmaster), TV 2 in Denmark, VTM in Belgium, TVE in Spain, and two series on Swedens SVT channel. The format is also in development in five additional territories while the finished programme has been sold to New Zealands TVNZ and UKTV in Australia.
Taskmaster, produced and distributed by Avalon Television, series six, seven, eight and nine of Taskmaster have been commissioned by Hilary Rosen, deputy director of commissioning at UKTV. Executive producers for the series are Alex Horne, Richard Allen-Turner, Rob Aslett, James Taylor, Jon Thoday, and Andy Devonshire (The Apprentice and The Great British Bake Off), who also acts as series director, and Hilary Rosen for UKTV. Andy Cartwright is series producer.
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What the press have said about Taskmaster Funny, revealing, and glorious...Caitlin Moran once wrote that the comedy panel game is one of the glories of British TV. A new one shone bright last night
***** Andrew Billen, The Times
Brilliantly madcap comedy game show
**** Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail
Fabulously unpredictable
**** Mike Ward, Daily Star
Daves hit show is pulling in record audiences for the channel
**** Sean Marland, TV Times Magazine
Funny, silly, surreal, charming, imaginative and a bit rude
David Butcher, Radio Times
Taskmaster is an unashamed celebration of the bizarre and the mediocre
Sam Wollaston, G2 Guardian
Never before has anything so absurd, so stupid, so utterly pointless, made such good television
Sara Wallis, Daily Mirror
Inventive
Mike Ward, Saturday Magazine, Daily Express
The funniest show on telly
The Sun, TV Magazine
Creative Chaos
Emma Messenger, TV Choice
Taskmaster is one of the most consistently innovative and funny series on telly
Joe Clay, The Times, T2
The kind of Dave thing that shouldnt quite work but is actually wildly stupid fun. Mainly thanks to Alex Horne, late of so much splendid radio, and Greg Davies...a winner
Euan Ferguson, The Observer
The keynote themes are ludicrous absurdity and moderately cruel sadism. Somehow, however, it all works brilliantly, with the presence of Horne adding the barest modicum of civility to proceedings...prepare for tears of laughter
Mark Wareham, Mail on Sunday, Event Magazine
The show routinely delivers the funniest, most unexpected comedy of the TV week...The cleverest spin on the panel show format in years, its must-watch TV
Wesley Mead, Den of Geek
This delightfully daft game show was a big hit for Dave last year, and it makes a triumphant return this week
Inside TV
This seems to be a series that really brings families together
Bruce Dessau, Beyond the Joke
Splendidly silly
Sunday Times Culture
Clever
David Stephenson, Sunday Express, S Magazine
**** EVENT, Mail On Sunday
**** TV & Satellite Week
**** TV Times Magazine
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For more information, please contact:
Gem Pinkney, Publicity Manager, UKTV or Florrie Sheehan, Avalon, FSheehan@avalon-entertainment.com, 0207 598 7222
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Since bursting onto TV sets in 2007, Dave has been putting in hours at the gym and is now a beefed-up powerhouse of brand new and original commissions from some of the biggest stars and production companies in entertainment. Romesh Ranganthan, Jon Richardson and YouTube sensation Yianni Charalambous are just some of the latest additions to the channels ever-increasing slate.
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