The essential episodes of Taskmaster
Watch these 25 in order and you've got Taskmaster — each pick states its reason.
- 01
In the first ever episode, Greg Davies and Alex Horne challenge Frank Skinner, Josh Widdicombe, Roisin Conaty, Romesh Ranganathan and Tim Key to paint the best picture of a horse while riding a horse
- 02
Greg Davies and Alex Horne set madcap tasks for five comedians: can they identify the mystery pies? But these are no ordinary pies - these are Taskmaster pies!
- 03
How do you make a Swedish man blush? And can you take a giant boulder on a train? Find out as Greg Davies and Alex Horne torment their captive band of comics.
- 04
Doc Brown, Joe Wilkinson, Jon Richardson, Katherine Ryan and Richard Osman tackle tricky tasks, including a potato hole-in-one that will surely go down in television history
- 05
Al Murray goes to extreme lengths to maximise his point potential with an egg cup. Sara Pascoe swiftly becomes one of the greatest sporting minds of our time using a few balloons and a loaf of bread.
- 06
In the penultimate episode of the series, can the comedians impress Greg Davies by giving an item of clothing to a passing cyclist and whispering to an old man?
- 07
It's the series finale, but who will lift Greg Davies's golden head? Noel Fielding finds his soulmate, and Mel Giedroyc bites off more than she can chew.
- 08
Aisling Bea, Bob Mortimer, Mark Watson, Nish Kumar and Sally Phillips tackle futile tasks: basketball (no hands), rowing (no oars) and cuddles (no kissing)
- 09
Greg Davies and Alex Horne bear witness as Aisling Bea bleeds on bread, Nish Kumar pretends he's Robin Hood, and Mark Watson feels the wrath of yoghurt
- 10
Our five comics continue their quest to win Taskmaster Greg Davies' great golden bonce. This time: darts, eggs and a doomed wind-up man on a penny-farthing.
- 11
The series reaches its majestic climax. Which of our contestants will win Greg Davies' coveted golden head and become only the seventh Taskmaster champion in history?
- 12
Water, sand and beach balls contribute a seaside feel to this episode, but the jovial tone is soured by one contestant's flagrant cheating.
- 13
Greg Davies' assistant Alex Horne is powerless in the face of Ed Gamble's creative vision. Plus: bare chests and bucking donkeys.
- 14
Mawaan Rizwan attempts a farm-related illusion in the hope of impressing domineering Taskmaster Greg Davies. Plus: pasta disasters and catapult calamities.
- 15
The Lure of the Treacle Puppies
The contestants argue about facial hair. Mike Wozniak vaults a high fence. Lee Mack struggles to see a balloon.
- 16
Greg Davies sets more tasks to contenders Alan Davies, Desiree Burch, Guz Khan, Morgana Robinson and Victoria Coren Mitchell, while his loyal sidekick Alex Horne gets all excited over a task involving a fiendish riddle. In this edition Morgana drenches herself in peas, Victoria learns a new skill, Desiree makes a political statement with jam, Alan piles on the sunglasses and Guz pens a new song.
- 17
This time, in an unexpected interpretation of a task, Bridget Christie shoves a cuddly toy inside a traffic cone, to create a scene that almost reduces Little Alex Horne to tears. Taskmaster Greg Davies is surprisingly sympathetic to his PA's distress but is less forgiving of Sophie Duker's dinosaur impression. Meanwhile, Ardal O'Hanlon is defeated by a robot, Chris Ramsey is impressed with a hose, and Judi Love is confident about everything except marbles.
- 18
Greg Davies sets more tasks to Dara Ó Briain, Fern Brady, John Kearns, Munya Chawawa and Sarah Millican, the intrepid players hoping to become the 14th Taskmaster champion. As the quintet of cowering comics heads out into the wilderness, Alex Horne takes notes and records numbers with admirable - bordering on irritating - efficiency.
- 19
It's nearly the end of the series, and the pressure is so intense that Mae Martin immediately forgets the only rule to a task. Greg Davies demands to be educated about history - but the five comics only seem to know about the year 1066. And there's paint, stomping, poor time keeping and some impressively sneaky prizes in this sort-of semi-final.
- 20
The series reaches an exhilarating climax as Sam Campbell designs a small bikini, Sue Perkins forgets about the milk, Lucy Beaumont feeds her young, Susan Wokoma pairs cornflakes with hot sauce and Julian Clary gently assaults an innocent Taskmaster Assistant.
- 21
Sophie Willan shouts the name of a body part in Alex Horne's flustered face. John Robins demonstrates the power of his forearms. And can Joanne McNally act out the word 'beer'?
- 22
The Taskmaster's much-admired assistant, Little Alex Horne, has many talents. He can use a stopwatch, he can record statistics and he can comb Greg Davies' hair every night for exactly 20 minutes. But can he competently wield a pair of pliers? Rosie Jones is keen to find out. Elsewhere, Andy Zaltzman finds a really important pen, Jack Dee adopts a charismatic New York accent, Babátúndé Aléshé creates a lovely little otter and Emma Sidi enjoys some horrible wine.
- 23
The contest continues, with Jason Mantzoukas trying to befriend a fisherman, Rosie Ramsey displaying a talent for trotting, Fatiha El-Ghorri boasting about her seductive scent and Stevie Martin pitching for a role in Downton Abbey. Meanwhile, Mathew Baynton spectacularly forfeits any remaining dignity. In a not-unrelated instance, Little Alex Horne's shoes are doused with yoghurt as Taskmaster Greg Davies casts his judgements.
- 24
Little Alex Horne has a lot of fun administering a task involving ducks and mystery. But while that may be his favourite sort of task, it's not appreciated by everyone - especially Sanjeev Bhaskar. Ania Magliano makes a noise like a small cat, Maisie Adam becomes smug, Reece Shearsmith balances on one leg for an impressive length of time, while Phil Ellis struggles to open a door as the challenges continue to be dished out by Greg Davies.
- 25
As the series reaches its halfway point, the Taskmaster is starting to know what to expect from his current crop of comics. But even he's surprised by the outrage Armando Iannucci causes with an ostrich, how Amy Gledhill struggles to remember the word for 'tube', and what Kumail Nanjiani does to time itself. Meanwhile, Joel Dommett has hours of fun with pots and pans, and Joanna Page and Alex Horne have an intimate conversation about guinea pigs while they wait for Armando to come and join them.
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