No Comedian Is Prepared to Be on Taskmaster

Summary

Good One (Vulture) | "No Comedian Is Prepared to Be on Taskmaster"

Released: February 12, 2026
Host: Jesse David Fox
Guests: Greg Davies (host of Taskmaster), Alex Horne (creator and co-host of Taskmaster)

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Episode Overview

In this episode of Good One, Jesse David Fox interviews British comedians Greg Davies and Alex Horne, the host and co-creator of the cult TV show Taskmaster. Across nearly 90 minutes, the trio dig deep into the creative DNA, evolution, and international appeal of Taskmaster, exploring everything from its uniquely human casting, its comedic philosophy, and the impact of YouTube distribution, to tales from their US tour. The two reflect on their creative partnership, the show's cautiously anarchic spirit, and field fan questions with generous good humor.

Taskmaster brings together five comedians each series to tackle outlandish tasks whose solutions often reveal more about personality than prowess. It has become an international sensation, beloved for its blend of absurdist competition and deeply relatable human moments.

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Key Themes and Discussion Points

1. Personal Anecdotes & Warm-Up (03:03–05:40)

• The episode opens with Greg and Alex sharing unusual stories from their week in America, including encounters with a man who holds the record for America’s longest tongue and a memorably awkward massage.
• Notable Quote:
  • Greg Davies [04:45]: "She came really close to my ear and said… thank you for being my canvas."

2. Taskmaster’s US Tour & Popularity (05:40–07:24)

• Greg and Alex are surprised and humbled by the American fan reaction during their recent live shows:
  • Greg Davies [06:29]: "We have underestimated the popularity of the show... the reaction in Chicago was insane and not like the reaction we're greeted with in the UK."
• Discusses how YouTube made the show accessible to a global audience, letting it thrive on its own terms.

3. US Adaptation: Lessons and Vindication (07:24–09:39)

• Looks back at the short-lived US adaptation on Comedy Central:
  • Alex Horne [07:44]: “It definitely didn’t work commercially...I love that we just put it on YouTube and people have found it naturally, rather than us having to pander to a broadcaster.”
• Discusses why Taskmaster’s appeal is universal, not just British: “We all laugh at people falling over, which is what the show mainly is” [08:36].

4. A Potential All-American Taskmaster? (09:40–10:31)

• Alex is open to an all-American cast, but highlights the unnecessariness of a huge format revamp.
  • Greg Davies [10:01]: "If we put five Americans into our world, it would be no different… The wheel doesn’t need reinventing.”

5. Taskmaster’s Origin Story (11:56–14:14)

• Alex Horne tells the show’s creation story under “task conditions,” blending earnestness and wry humor:
  • Alex Horne [12:23]: "I decided to set my own awards thing, which was called the Taskmaster. And every month for a year, I set 20 comedians a challenge."
• Greg jokes about the “gravitas” lent by the show coinciding with his children’s birth.

6. Show DNA: Childlike Innocence vs. Comedian Bitterness (15:11–17:14)

• Discusses how Taskmaster balances 'petty bitterness' with community:
  • Greg Davies [15:17]: "In many ways, it’s the rabies shot of the petty bitterness of comedians—the other half being this community of supportive human beings."

7. Attempting to “Game” Taskmaster (16:17–17:38)

• Some contestants try to craft a persona, but the format strips that away, often in “glorious” fashion.
  • Example: James Acaster curated an on-screen anger that broke down into genuine rage.
  • Greg Davies [17:14]: "Some of his anger is curated, and I think that got put to one side for genuine anger."

8. Evolving Greg & Alex’s On-Screen Relationship (20:19–25:32)

• The “Taskmaster” character emerged over time; Greg initially played him as a pantomime villain but was advised to be less mean.
• The show shares “kayfabe” with wrestling: a blend of real and performed persona.
  • Greg Davies [21:14]: "I take a real aspect of my personality…and I just become him. But it's not dishonest—it is me.”
• The show’s fans have picked up on a “romantic” element in Greg and Alex’s dynamic, which they playfully acknowledge but have never discussed formally.

9. Casting the Show: Instinct Over Formula (25:32–32:36)

• Casting isn’t as formulaic as fans might think—it's instinctive and step-by-step, prioritizing “funny and nice.”
• There is, however, a focus on a wide range of ages and backgrounds, emphasizing family-game energy.
• Alex Horne [27:15]: "It's not formulaic. We’re not ticking boxes, just thinking, ‘Oh, this person would be great.'"
• Reflects on Series 7’s chaotic dynamic and how lineups confound expectations.

10. Inclusiveness and Controversy (35:54–37:11)

• The show doesn’t “analyze a lot” about diversity and progressiveness; it aims to cast nice people and be naturally inclusive.
  • Greg Davies [36:45]: "I love how inclusive the show is just naturally… it’s open to all."

11. The Making of Memorable Tasks (38:49–44:16)

• Alex details the creative process, using the “twins” task as an example of engineering a “magic trick moment.”
• The production team helps logistically, but the core comes from Alex’s scenarios and vision.
• They prize the organic, “small scale” nature of victories.

12. Judging & Narrative Structure (44:30–52:44)

• Greg judges “in the moment,” rarely considers narrative, but may subconsciously favor underdogs.
  • Greg Davies [51:14]: “As an ex-teacher, I probably am tickling things up subconsciously, but never consciously.”
• Alex confirms points are never manipulated for narrative.
• They record more than they broadcast, making arcs naturally emerge in editing. An upcoming series will explicitly highlight the contestants’ first task for the first time.

13. Taskmaster Fandom & YouTube Impact (53:23–69:08)

• The fan community is described as a “benign cult”—devoted and inclusive. Jesse highlights the Reddit fandom’s encyclopedic recall.
  • Greg Davies [54:36]: "A man tells you to do a thing, then a kind man with a whistle tells you you don’t have to do it again. I sort of love that."
• During COVID, Alex’s at-home tasks helped build community and global awareness via YouTube distribution, which they both see as a stroke of luck rather than grand plan.
  • Alex Horne [68:24]: “I love the YouTube model. It’s free and it’s there.”
• Taskmaster stands out on YouTube for high production values amid lo-fi viral content.

14. Balancing Comedy and Competition (57:21–61:46)

• They balance measurable vs. creative tasks in each episode, with Greg’s role as judge remaining crucial.
  • Greg Davies [58:48]: "My judgments are often unfair. But I would argue that’s life.”
• Some contestants approach the show as “a comedy show first,” playing comedic game rather than trying to win.
• Others focus on winning, and their competitiveness is an important dynamic.
  • Greg Davies [61:21]: "Sometimes… having an argument with a grown adult about perhaps one of the more preposterous tasks… does bring out a weariness in me."

15. Fan Questions and Lightning Round (75:23–88:28)

• The episode wraps with candid and sometimes ribald jokes, and comical stories of encountering legendary comedians or memorable on-stage bombs.
  • Street joke:
    • Alex Horne [76:15]: “Why did the man fall down the well? He couldn’t see that well.”
    • Greg Davies [76:36]: "What's the last thing you want to hear when you're sucking Willie Nelson's cock? 'I'm not Willie Nelson.'"
• On critical moments of failing on-stage:
  • Alex Horne [85:11]: "We started doing our scientific dissection on what makes people laugh. It wasn't us."
  • Greg Davies [86:17]: "I did my act of virtual silence in front of some pretty overweight businessmen under a blue whale."

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments with Timestamps

• [06:29] Greg Davies: “We have underestimated the popularity of the show...the reaction in Chicago was insane and not like the reaction we're greeted with in the UK.”
• [08:36] Alex Horne: “We’ve always said it’s a human show, not a British show.”
• [12:23] Alex Horne: “I decided to set my own awards thing, which was called the Taskmaster. And every month for a year, I set 20 comedians a challenge.”
• [15:17] Greg Davies: "In many ways, it's the rabies shot of the petty bitterness of comedians—the other half of the show, which is this community of positive, supportive human beings."
• [17:14] Greg Davies: “Some of [James Acaster’s] anger is curated, and I think that got put to one side for genuine anger. In a glorious, wonderful way.”
• [21:14] Greg Davies: “I take a real aspect of my personality...and I just become him. But it’s not dishonest—it is me. But it's very easy to mute the other, more savory sides.”
• [27:15] Alex Horne: "It's not formulaic. We're not ticking boxes, just thinking, ‘Oh, this person would be great.’"
• [36:45] Greg Davies: "I love how inclusive the show is just naturally...it's open to all."
• [54:36] Greg Davies: "It's because a man tells you to do a thing and then you do it, and then a kind man with a whistle tells you you don't have to do it again. And I sort of love that."
• [58:48] Greg Davies: "My judgments are often unfair. But I would argue that's life. I would argue that inconsistency adds to the show."
• [61:21] Greg Davies: "When I'm sometimes having an argument with a grown adult about perhaps one of the more preposterous tasks, it perhaps does bring out a weariness in me occasionally. But...they're an important part of the dynamic."
• [68:24] Alex Horne: "I love the YouTube model that it's free and it's there."

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Highlighted Segments & Timestamps

• 03:03–05:40 – Week’s weirdest moments (Ripley’s tongue and the canvas massage)
• 11:56–14:14 – “Origin story” of Taskmaster told as a task
• 25:32–29:14 – The instintive, informal casting approach
• 38:49–44:16 – Designing memorable and “magic trick” tasks
• 54:36–56:02 – Taskmaster fandom explained (“benign cult” community)
• 75:36–78:12 – Favorite “street” jokes by both guests
• 85:11–88:28 – Most memorable comedy “bomb” stories

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Conclusion

A rich, playful, and revealing conversation, this episode offers a comprehensive look at what makes Taskmaster unlike anything else in comedy television. It explores not just the nuts and bolts of constructing quirky tasks or casting the perfect mix of comedians, but also the intangible chemistry—the "benign cult" sense of belonging—fostered between hosts, guests, and fans. Both Alex Horne and Greg Davies are self-deprecating, candid, and insightful as they discuss their philosophy, the pitfalls and rewards of their approach, and reflect on the joy of sharing their world with an ever-growing audience.

Ideal for both Taskmaster superfans and newcomers alike, the episode distills the show’s magic: a carefully controlled laboratory for chaos, warmth, and, above all, laughter.

Transcript

[Greg Davies]

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[Jesse David Fox]

Coming up on Today Explained I talked to one of the top stars of the Democratic Party and one of the most divisive about her run for Senate in Texas. I wonder, like, is there times in.

[Alex Horne]

Which the rhetoric goes too far? Are there times in which you should say, you know, maybe I messed that one up?

[Unknown Speaker]

No, not in this environment, I don't.

[Alex Horne]

I think that, you know, we are really in unchartered territory.

[Jesse David Fox]

Representative Jasmine Crockett this week on Today explained, Listen, wherever you get your podcast.

[Greg Davies]

I meant well. I knew it wasn't working because I said something rude about one of the contestants and someone who I knew vaguely because I had it in my head what my role was going to be and he was like, what a horrible thing to say to me.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Alex Horne]

And we had a debrief afterwards in the dressing room and all five comedians were saying, you need to not be quite so mean. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

This is good one. I am Jesse David Fox, senior writer, Vulture and author of comedy book what is the best show on YouTube? To answer this question, my guests today are Greg Davies and Alex Horn, two British comedians best known as the host and the co creator of Taskmaster, respectively. Taskmaster is a comedy competition show that's been airing in England for over a decade, but has become an international sensation over the last six years when full episodes started getting put up on YouTube. Each season or series, as they say across the pond. The show brings together five comedians of different ages and experience levels to compete in a series of quirky, frustrating tasks. Designed by Horn and judged by Davies, it has been a launch pad for many British comedians over the last decade, but more recently American comedians have wanted to join in on the fun. Jason Mantzoukas and asked to be part of season or series, as they say across the pond. 19 and Kumail Najiani will be on next season or series, as they say across the pond. I'll be honest with you, Taskmaster is one of those weird things to conduct an interview about because to some people it will be completely new where to others it's something they know every single detail about. So my task make Everyone happy and you can be the judge. So here are Alex Horn and Greg Davies. I'm here with Alex Horn and Greg Davies. Thank you for joining me.

[Alex Horne]

Thank you for having us. Just see.

[Jesse David Fox]

I expect all answers to be said in unison.

[Greg Davies]

Yes, it's the British wave.

[Alex Horne]

The British wave. Okay, here we go.

[Jesse David Fox]

What is the funniest or strangest thing that's happened to you this week?

[Alex Horne]

Last night I met a man with the longest tongue in America. He's in Ripley's Believe it or not now.

[Greg Davies]

That's interesting, because I also met the man with the big tongue, but I didn't know he was a record.

[Alex Horne]

Well, I like the tongue. You didn't like the tongue?

[Greg Davies]

Oh, it's one of the worst things I've ever seen.

[Alex Horne]

I was very fond of the tongue.

[Greg Davies]

I'm. I'm sort of prone to melodrama, but. But I would stand by. I would stand by the statement. It ruined my night. Seeing that tongue ruined my night.

[Alex Horne]

And complete opposite to me, it made my night.

[Greg Davies]

And I told him as well.

[Jesse David Fox]

How did you meet him?

[Alex Horne]

Well, he was taking photos of us all evening for maybe four or five hours until finally, professionally, he wasn't unleashed the tongue.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah, but it was at 2 o' clock in the morning, he suddenly went. I was surprised. Look what I've got.

[Alex Horne]

And out it came all the way down.

[Jesse David Fox]

Horrible. Really? That long?

[Alex Horne]

Oh, well, beneath the chin.

[Greg Davies]

He would, he would easily be able to pick up pencils with it.

[Jesse David Fox]

That's how they, that's how they judge it. Yeah, Ripley's.

[Greg Davies]

They're like, okay, pencil test, Ripley Standard.

[Alex Horne]

So mine is tongue. What's yours?

[Greg Davies]

My massage. You know what mine is. I had a massage at my hotel in Philadelphia. All above board, professional. But she wouldn't let me wear my underwear. And we don't, we don't do that anymore. We keep our underwear on. That's the first time I've taken my underwear off since I was 8. And so, so that was. She covered me with a sheet. But that's not the surprising thing. The surprising thing is what she said to me right at the end of the massage. And she came really close to my ear and said it. She said, thank you for being my canvas.

[Alex Horne]

That's the right reaction, Jesse.

[Greg Davies]

And just in case she hears this, I'm in no way suggesting it was a negative experience. I was uncomfortable with taking my underwear off, but I still don't. I don't know what to make of. Thank you for being my canvas.

[Jesse David Fox]

I think it's quite beautiful. I imagine her life is quite beautiful and that she's. She sees what she does as an art.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah, exactly that. And was it an artistic experience for you? Did you. It was good. It was fine.

[Greg Davies]

It was a fine massage.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah.

[Greg Davies]

But anyone who's seen my body certainly wouldn't describe it as a canvas.

[Alex Horne]

No, I've seen it of any kind. I saw it all last night.

[Greg Davies]

Most artists would reject that calmness.

[Alex Horne]

You saw me angle you were sitting at. I couldn't see that you weren't wearing underwear because you were just wearing your underwear.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah.

[Alex Horne]

But your knees were up so it looked like you were fully naked.

[Greg Davies]

Can I say something? Thank you for looking at my canvas.

[Jesse David Fox]

What were you expecting from this US tour and what has surprised you?

[Alex Horne]

I think. Well, personally I don't want to speak for Greg. I don't go in with many expectations. I don't think. I think I just had it in my diary. We're going to America. I was excited, I was really excited but I wasn't expecting anything. I was just sort of looking forward to the trip and it. So it didn't meet expect. I mean it's just been brilliant. But I don't know why. But that's funny thing about I never sort of look forward. Here we go.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah, I think I'm probably the same. I'm very much a glasses half empty man in my approach to life. So I presume everything will be a disaster. Even though the shows had sold out fairly quickly, I still think, well, they may have sold out but it'll go very badly. But the moment we stepped on stage in Chicago.

[Alex Horne]

Chicago.

[Greg Davies]

It would appear, it would appear that we have underestimated the, the popularity of the show amongst people who found it on YouTube because the reaction in Chicago was insane and not like the reaction we're greeted with in the uk.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. If we come in expecting that reacting reaction that would have been very strange.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah, I would say, if I didn't know, I would say that they were going to attack us.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. There was a wall of sound and people were standing up and it felt like they were brandishing weapons.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah, it was just wonderful. And you know, if you've been in this business for a while as Alex and I have now, it takes a lot to sort of surprise you. But we were both just wide eyed on stage for a few beats while we took in that enthusiasm. So. And we've found that in every city.

[Jesse David Fox]

We'Ve been to in 2018. Alex, you were part of a US adaptation of the Taskmaster TV show for comedy Central. That you admitted didn't work both creatively and commercially. Have you had moments, this tour where you felt vindicated, where you're like, they were wrong. I was right. This would work in America. This is how.

[Alex Horne]

This is not really. I don't really live my life like that. I also say. I would say it definitely didn't work commercially. I think it was actually fine, just not as good as it could have been. I don't look back at it and think, oh, that's awful. There's lots of good bits in it. The people were great. I didn't mean to sound quite so defensive, but. So I don't think vintage. But I think there is a thing. I love that we've just put it on YouTube and people have found it naturally, rather than us being sort of having to pander to a broadcaster and do what they told us.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah, it's sort of wonderful, really, isn't it, that we've. You know, it's taken us years for everything to settle in and for us to feel fully comfortable with it. So now what we're. What we're offering up is a thing that's been fairly honed and it's nice that people have discovered it on its own terms. On its own terms, yeah.

[Alex Horne]

I do also, like, by the way, just. People used to think it was. Used to say it's a very British show, that's why it didn't work every year. I guess that's a slight vindication. We've always said it's a human show, not a British show. And, you know, I think everyone's the same. You know, we all laugh at people falling over, which is what the show mainly is.

[Jesse David Fox]

Did you learn anything about the American entertainment industry from working on that show?

[Alex Horne]

From.

[Jesse David Fox]

Well, positive or.

[Alex Horne]

I'm not sure I learned anything, but I saw things. For example, we recorded that some of the episodes at half nine in the morning with an audience who had been shipped in, who were told to whoop and they didn't know what was going on and there was too much whooping. So I thought, yeah, that was strange and felt slightly less organic than. Than the British way. But that might not be the same on. Yeah. On every channel. I'm sure it's not. And, yeah, it was. It was. Some of the things were strange. Yeah. But.

[Greg Davies]

But the thing that definitely isn't the reason that that perhaps didn't take off is that it was an American audience. They were American contestants, you know.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah.

[Greg Davies]

It's a. As Alex has already said, it's a universal Format of just putting people in a situation.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Does Party want to take another stab at an American version of Taskmaster, or do you feel like now, ultimately, the YouTube version is the American version of Task?

[Alex Horne]

Interesting. Now, we did. We would love to have five American contestants and say, okay, this is a Taskmaster America. Yeah, I think we would love that. Whether or not we need to do it in terms of we are getting Americans in the show anyway. And actually, the contrast with the Brits and the Americans is funny.

[Greg Davies]

And it doesn't need redesigning. That's the point. It doesn't. You know, if we put five Americans into our world, it would be no different than having two Americans and Welshman.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah.

[Greg Davies]

It's so. So the wheel doesn't need reinventing.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Greg Davies]

You know, and the Americans we have had have just slotted in and been well.

[Alex Horne]

And also this week, we've just done five shows with five Americans every night, and it's felt like Taskmaster. It hasn't felt like a different show at all.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

It's funny that you now think of John Oliver as an American.

[Alex Horne]

He is, I think, officially a citizen of this country.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yes. Well, he says dual citizen, but I don't know how often he goes back.

[Greg Davies]

It was great to repeatedly remind him of the country he rejected last night.

[Alex Horne]

He still sounds British, but he's looking a little more American now.

[Greg Davies]

Do you think?

[Alex Horne]

He looks all confident.

[Greg Davies]

And you know how we feel about that.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. No, thank you, John.

[Greg Davies]

We do not like our confidence worn on us.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Alex Horne]

This is fair.

[Jesse David Fox]

This is fair. He did win. He did.

[Alex Horne]

He did win.

[Greg Davies]

Oh, you were there.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Alex Horne]

Ah.

[Greg Davies]

I didn't realize you were there.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Alex Horne]

I tried to get a chant of UK going, but I stopped very quickly because I was nervous, I think.

[Jesse David Fox]

Well, also, it didn't take hold.

[Greg Davies]

But the US we don't do it. We don't chant UK in the uk.

[Alex Horne]

It sounds very aggressive.

[Jesse David Fox]

It needs a third.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Syllable. It's just sort of like uk.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. And United Kingdom's too long. Yeah.

[Greg Davies]

I mean, we will often sing ancient songs that talk about us being in charge of the seas. So there's a different. There's a different kind of confidence.

[Jesse David Fox]

That would have been different. You should have started one of those ancient songs.

[Alex Horne]

That one.

[Greg Davies]

Rule Britannia. Britannia rules the waves.

[Jesse David Fox]

I want to back up a little bit and capture how the show developed creatively into the thing it is now. And some of this might be familiar territory. So I have a bit of a task for you, Alex. Here. You can read it. I even printed it you want me.

[Alex Horne]

To read it out loud like in the show? I'll just open it. Tell the origin story of Taskmaster. You must tell it enthusiastically, as if this was the first time an interviewer ever asked you to tell it. This is good stuff, Jesse. Thanks. You will lose a point for any key detail missed and you will gain a bonus point for any new information you reveal for the first time. You have 100 seconds. Now, I know the show well, so I'm not going to read that last line for a little bit. I don't have to.

[Jesse David Fox]

You don't have to?

[Alex Horne]

I don't have to.

[Jesse David Fox]

You take the an hour.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. But I also think it's against the spirit of the show to leave too long before reading the last line. Okay, so it's enthusiastic telling of the origin story of Taskmaster. Ready? Mm. Your time starts now. 2009, May 19th. My wife gives birth to our first son, Horn Alex Panic. So I didn't go to Edinburgh that year. Tim Key did. He won the Perrier award. I was sat at home. I couldn't be more enthusiastic, jealous of my friend, colleague. And so I decided to set my own awards thing, which was called the Taskmaster. And every month for a year, I set 20 medians, had challenged. The first one was put some money in my bank account. Mark Watson put in 200 quid. No one else put more than the fiverr that paid for the experience. At the end of that year, I went to Edinburgh with this one year old child and my wife and we told the story of what had happened. She was pregnant again at this point and. And it was a fun experience, but that was meant to be it. But our manager, James, said, no, you should do it again. So we did it again next year with 10 people, which was more reasonable. And then we filmed that one as a sort of taster and we started pitching it around, but with five comedians and with the taskmaster, Greg attached to it. How long have I got?

[Jesse David Fox]

Like another 30 seconds.

[Alex Horne]

Okay. We persuaded Frank.

[Greg Davies]

How did you get up the enthusiasm?

[Alex Horne]

Oh, we persuaded Frank Skinner to be in it by saying that Greg's gonna do it. And we persuaded Greg to do it by saying Frank Skinner's gonna do it. Slightly.

[Greg Davies]

It wasn't a factor.

[Alex Horne]

There's a colorful detail anyway. And the first series happened about five years after the first child was born. Now there are three boys. Um, and there's been 21 series seasons. And many, many channels did not commission it before Dave eventually did. Channel 4 refused it, but now we're with them.

[Jesse David Fox]

Okay. Your time is up.

[Greg Davies]

Okay.

[Jesse David Fox]

How do you do?

[Greg Davies]

I thought it was great. Yeah. What I would have liked to have seen is a little more faux surprise at the question. Up top.

[Alex Horne]

Oh, really?

[Greg Davies]

Still a weariness at the beginning.

[Alex Horne]

Oh, I'm sorry.

[Greg Davies]

But I felt like it picked up.

[Alex Horne]

It wasn't worried about the question. I was worried that you kind of got one over me. That was the frustration.

[Greg Davies]

I like that you tied it into the birth of your children. It gives the show gravitas.

[Alex Horne]

Well, I do look at my sort.

[Greg Davies]

Of life and death. Yeah.

[Alex Horne]

Well, he's nearly 17 now, that kid, and that's. That's a weird situation.

[Greg Davies]

I don't know his name.

[Alex Horne]

Right. That kid. Yeah, yeah.

[Greg Davies]

What you call him?

[Alex Horne]

Well, he's one of them. Horn. Mr. Horn. Mr. Mr. And Mr. Horn is what I call them.

[Greg Davies]

The swift mister.

[Jesse David Fox]

The children is the. It had both the key details that I hoped for. The thing about the origin of this of Taskmaster, which I feel like is part of the DNA of the show, is it is both these sort of like having kid renewal of a childlike innocence mixed with the sort of petty bitterness comedians have with each other.

[Alex Horne]

Wow. Petty bitterness is. Yeah, you've got it. Well, we don't need to answer that.

[Jesse David Fox]

It's just a thing that I realized.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah, that's absolutely spot on. Yeah. In many ways, it's the sort of. It's the rabies shot of the petty bitterness of comedians is the other half of the show, which is this sort of community of positive, supportive human beings.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. If you had a series without any petty bitterness, it wouldn't be as funny. We don't want all five to be. There are some joyful comedians out there who are not tarnished by bitterness, but there's enough to give it the edge.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. And I think there's the always jockeying of both wanting to win the show points wise, but also win the show fan support. Funny Creates a frisson or whatever.

[Alex Horne]

And I will say that was in evidence last night with Seth Meyers and John Oliver in that they did both want to win. And they also wanted to be the funniest person in the room, because comedians do. But they also gave it. They were so professional and fun. They gave each other space. They gave the members of the public space. It was really fun for us to see them at work in our. Yeah. Office.

[Greg Davies]

I always find it fascinating when people come in with a. When a contestant comes in with an agenda. I am going to. I'm going to do this show in this way. I'm going to show this side of myself. I will. I will be this character in the show. And it never works out for them.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Greg Davies]

But not in a bad way. Often in a glorious way, it doesn't work out.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Is it partly because the. It's almost like the people that are easiest to hypnotize, supposedly, are people trying the hardest not to be hypnotized.

[Alex Horne]

Is that right? Yeah. Oh, I like that.

[Jesse David Fox]

So I imagine maybe the people trying hardest to hide it, then they are more. It's like more potential energy being. This is the show, this is the comedian.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. That's a good analysis. Well, I mean, I suppose James Acaster's an interesting one because he did come in with a slight plan, which was not to acknowledge me and to do the James Acaster thing. Yeah. That fell apart in a very funny way. So he was still extremely funny, but not in the way that he was intending.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah, no, no, because some of his anger is curated and I think that got. That got put to one side for genuine anger. Yeah. In a glorious, wonderful way.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. Almost a more truthful humor.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. I do think. I think. I think it revealed even to himself that he had a real anger, that he was using, a faux anger that I think you see in his comedy afterwards.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah, yeah.

[Greg Davies]

And that's what I mean. It never pans out the way any of them or us think it will.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

What do you remember about the courtship of getting Greg on the show that now, when you look back on, is quite funny. As people who now have known each.

[Alex Horne]

Other and worked together, I like courtship. It was the only person I was thinking of and the production company was Greg.

[Greg Davies]

A legit bit.

[Alex Horne]

This is completely true. And, you know, it's clear why. And it's not just the stature, it's the style of comedy and the quick wit. You know, he can hold the show very easily. So I think we asked, and I don't think you took that long to.

[Greg Davies]

Well, I remember. I remember my response to we have the same manager. I remember my response which was sort of, oh, God. And the. The reason was I was. I was really busy at the time.

[Alex Horne]

Right.

[Greg Davies]

And I have no desire to be a presenter and was focusing on other things. But the truth is I was. I admired Alex and I. So it was kind of irritating because I would have turned. I would have turned it down in most other situations. But I, you know, I. I didn't know Alex, but I was an admirer of his work and I. I remember very clearly going, oh, God. All right, then. Because I felt like I had no choice.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah, they are funny when you get those calls when you've got a really busy week, something comes in which is good, but it's going to be a fair amount of work as well. Yes.

[Greg Davies]

That thing is, you know, I had a sitcom and they told me I had a Christmas special. And I similarly, I went, ah, fucking sorry. Can I swear on this one?

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, yeah, go for it.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah. And that's how I felt because I knew I had to do it because I knew he would have done something clever.

[Jesse David Fox]

Were there conversations about who the taskmaster was?

[Greg Davies]

Yes.

[Jesse David Fox]

And.

[Greg Davies]

I think that's interesting in that we didn't get it right. Certainly not for the pilot. We didn't get it right.

[Alex Horne]

We did a show zero with those five people and they did tasks and we did it in the studio. We were never gonna broadcast it, but it is something. The tape exists and Greg had a stick with a tee on and he was very pantomimey.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah. And I was playing a pantomime villain. And I remember, I remember. Well, I knew it wasn't working because I said something rude about one of the contestants and someone who I knew vaguely because I had it in my head what my role was gonna be. And he was like, what a horrible thing to say to me.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Alex Horne]

And we had a debrief afterwards in the dressing room and all five comedians were saying, you need to not be quite so mean. Yeah. And they were right.

[Jesse David Fox]

And.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

How do you think of it now? Do you have the term kayfabe in England is like a wrestling concept, which is.

[Alex Horne]

Please explain.

[Jesse David Fox]

In wrestling is essentially the acting as if the fictional reality of wrestling is real. But more recently it has been used more broadly to be the sort of blurring of sort of the stages of public Persona, especially with social media. Right. With like the onstage, this person's a character. This is a fictional universe. But also there is your real life that you might put some pictures on social media, which is all. And then there's the real person and then you sort of blur it. And I do think this show. I was curious about how you see the evolution of the Alex and Greg characters and how it relates to your own relationship. And like, is the blurring. How do you. Where do you see the lines of. We still need to act certain ways while on camera can't fully be this.

[Greg Davies]

What I would say is the thing I love about stand up comedy is that you can offer up whatever part of yourself you want to offer up, you know, and. And there's a Lot of talk in stand up circles about this being an honest show and people being honest and. And sort of, you know, confessional and giving of yourself. And I. I mean, I can't speak for other comics, but I never give of myself. I never give of anything of myself that I don't want to. So I think that as a stand up, you're being very selective about what you offer up, and I think that that's. Well, I can't speak for you, but in Taskmaster, that's exactly what I zone in on. So I take a real aspect of my personality, which is an obnoxious sort of bombastic attention seeker, and I just become him. Yeah, but it's not dishonest. It is me. It is an aspect of me. But it's very easy, I think, to. To mute the other more savory sides.

[Alex Horne]

I think it's.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah.

[Alex Horne]

The same answer. I think as soon as we put the suits on, we are different to the people we are.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah.

[Alex Horne]

Here. That's our little costume.

[Greg Davies]

It's okay. Your children don't like watching Taskmaster. And I don't know whether it's true or whether you even want me to.

[Alex Horne]

Say it, but you can say your wife.

[Greg Davies]

Your wife said they don't like watching it because it's not him.

[Alex Horne]

Oh, that's interesting. I didn't know that.

[Greg Davies]

Oh, yeah, she said that to me. But because it. Because he is being, you know, subservient to a bit of a bully, I.

[Alex Horne]

Think they also just find it weird, and I don't really want them to spend their leisure time watching their dad.

[Greg Davies]

No, I don't think they're traumatized by seeing the scene.

[Jesse David Fox]

Well, there are traumatic things. The character of Alex, I think about watching the show, there are moments where you have a job as producing the show, but when you're on camera, you're doing it. And there's moments where you're legitimately getting Chinese water tortured. Or I think about the moment where a rod ties you up and you're in a chair.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah, I know.

[Jesse David Fox]

And then you have to respond in character, but you're also like, I'm in charge of this.

[Alex Horne]

Well. And also you're thinking, that's really good telly. Because he found a way around the task. We can never remember all the details, every task, but I know he absolutely nailed that one by tying me up. And as you say, he's tying up the assistant to the taskmaster, but also the producer of the show, which is quite funny. And people seem to the fans, which is A grand word. They know how the show works. So there's this funny dynamic that Greg's in charge, but I'm also in charge, and that dynamic is funny. So.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah, but that's an example of Rod Gilbert accessing. You know, part of his. Often part of his comedy shtick is to. Is to mess with formats and to make sure that his agenda cuts through. And that's how he approached Taskmaster. And it's interestingly how he told me he was going to approach Taskmaster. He said, I am going to. I'm not going along with this. I'm going to.

[Jesse David Fox]

And he succeeded.

[Greg Davies]

System. And he did a good job.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah, he was very funny. We've had many people. His name comes up a lot when we talk to people about who they like the best, just because he stood out and he was his own.

[Greg Davies]

Subvert is the word I've been clumsily looking for.

[Jesse David Fox]

There it is.

[Alex Horne]

I think he did it. Do you.

[Jesse David Fox]

The romantic element between your characters, do you. Is that something that at some point you determine to deliberately once you realize there's an element of the show that people were responding to?

[Alex Horne]

No, I don't remember. It sort of crept and romantic is a funny word. I guess. It's just we have a relationship. Yeah.

[Greg Davies]

But I think we've responded to fun fiction. We've never sat down and said, let's respond to the suggestions that are out there.

[Alex Horne]

I guess comedians, you know what's funny.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah. You naturally do it. And there's something, you know, there's something funny about playing with our relationship, I think. But we've never discussed it.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

No, you just know.

[Alex Horne]

Maybe we should.

[Greg Davies]

This is the time when we kissed, I was as surprised as everybody watching.

[Alex Horne]

Was it in the script? Was it like, oh, oh, dear? Yeah. There's a very loose framework, obviously, because you've got to go in and out of the breaks and introduce the next bit. And people say, do I know what's coming from Greg? And I don't, and vice versa. So, yeah, well, I've wiped that from my brain.

[Jesse David Fox]

Well, anyway, so much of the show is the casting, and I was curious what the conversations are. Are, like, how deliberate it is. Are you literally like, okay, well, we need one chaotic person. We should have one person that's more straightforward. Oh, we have this person already. Because I imagine not only is it a sort of creative decision, the I. In my head, it's like a huge list of people, and they're like, this is their schedule. This is their window of time.

[Greg Davies]

We.

[Jesse David Fox]

Oh, actually their window of time would fit for this series. How what is literally like the conversation.

[Alex Horne]

Look like is not as grand as a. A big map of faces. It's that we build it one by one so there'll be someone we know we need. Well, I don't think the show needs it, but we. A household name helps in. Even though here people haven't heard of any of the. Often haven't heard of any of the contestants and it still works. But anyway, people like us to have someone well known and that person, as you say, might be low energy. So we think, okay, the next person probably should be high energy. So we just do one at a time rather than trying to get all five at the same time. Because, yeah, it's. Are you free? Okay, this person's doing it. Let's try the next person. And it's just step by step. And Greg and I and the production company and the channel all have an equal say. So if there's someone. Someone thinks now they're not right. Unfortunately for them, they won't make it. We listen to each other as well. If I'm passionate about someone, Greg will say, okay, let's. Let's go for it.

[Greg Davies]

You know, the, the lineups get presented to me after initial discussions and it's very rarely that I've said, no, I don't want that person.

[Alex Horne]

Right.

[Greg Davies]

I just. Because they become such a bizarre entity. Each group of people become their own identity. Yeah. It's very rare that I think, well, that won't work. I just think, well, I, you know, I know that they're gonna. Yeah, they're going to find their way.

[Alex Horne]

I guess I'd stress it's not formulaic, so we're not thinking, okay, we need a man in his 60s, then a woman in their 20s. You know, it's not like that. It's just, oh, this person would be great. So, for example, we are.

[Greg Davies]

There is an element of making sure there's a range of backgrounds and ages.

[Alex Horne]

There's gotta be a balance to be a better not to tick boxes just to be a better show.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. But like, for example, series seven, I think is a sort of atypical version of the show, which is James A. Castor Full Wayne, Carrie Gondelman, Rod Gilbert and Jessica Knappett, where they had four energies of a sort of more chaotic energy. Usually there's maybe one and one and a half. And we don't need to get too specific. Like, okay, well, Noel is a this. But like, it does feel like that was an atypical series and it's a lot of people's favorite, but it is different. It's very. Was that something at the time? You didn't know what they were going to be like. They just sort of were funny.

[Alex Horne]

Where are you putting Phil Wang's energy in that? Because he's pretty low.

[Jesse David Fox]

Low energy. But he is not dutiful like his approach to tasks. Right. There's different. There's both comedic energies and their relationship to tasks.

[Alex Horne]

And we could see his penis.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yes. And you can see a penis. Right. That. That made him sort of Testicles. Testicles, sorry. A more chaotic presence. That he might be a more, though a low energy person. More chaotic person in a season.

[Alex Horne]

I think we look at it afterwards rather than before. I'd say in that series, probably Rod and James, the slightly higher profile than the others. But we knew Jessica and Carrie well. They're both great. And Phil actually was our original task guinea pig back in the day. So, yeah, it may be atypical, but I don't think there's a real standout for me. It's not much different to anyone else. It's the five people who are great.

[Greg Davies]

And I feel guilty about saying this because I've said it in every interview we've ever done, but I'm going to say it. They always confound expectations. It doesn't matter how much you plan it. They never respond in the way. I mean, okay, Rod Gilbert did respond in exactly the way I thought he might, but most of them don't.

[Jesse David Fox]

Kumail Nanjiani discussed how he ended up being cast in series seven on this show.

[Alex Horne]

Series 21.

[Jesse David Fox]

Sorry, sorry, yeah, sorry, I'm just. Series 21, which is his version, is he asked Tim Key at a party and Tim texted you and the short answer was you said sure. But I imagine there's a variety of conversations that happen. But how do you then build a cast where a person like Kumail is on it?

[Alex Horne]

Yeah, he's an interesting one because he's a well known person here. I would say he's a well known person to some people in Britain, but he's not a comedian. He's not a comedian on the circuit, he's not on British television. So I think we still had to have. I mean, I think 21, which has not been on air yet, would be a slight outlier in that you've got Kamel and then you've got Armando Iannucci, who is extraordinary for me to have him in the show. But then you've got these three other pretty big hitters Joanna Page is on the biggest sitcom in our country. We've got Joel Dommet presents some of the biggest shows and is also a great comedian. And then Amy Gledhill won the Perrier Award recently and is in these big shows and is a great comedian. So, yeah, I don't. I don't think we thought, okay, we've got Kamel. What do we do now? Yeah, I think.

[Jesse David Fox]

Do you have a call to be like, what do you have? Try to get a sense of what. You don't know him necessarily, so you try to get a sense of what his energy will be.

[Alex Horne]

I think I texted Ed Gamble because he's got his finger on the pulse more than me, and he said, yeah, he's funny. I don't think we look at energy, if I'm honest. We get with Sophia, it's all instinctive. Yeah.

[Greg Davies]

Funny and nice, and then we'll see what happens. A lot of the time, I think.

[Alex Horne]

It'S less deliberate than you might think.

[Jesse David Fox]

That's what I'm trying to suss out. There's the thing that once Kamal got cast, it did feel like Jason. Plus, that really opened the door where it's like, there's. I can name. If you gave me an afternoon, I can name maybe 200, 300American comedians that could be on the show.

[Alex Horne]

Please do.

[Jesse David Fox]

That would help. Well, not now. I can't do it now, but I have 100.

[Greg Davies]

That's going to take a lot of the time.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, yeah. That's why I'm not gonna do it now. But if you need me to, I it now. Like, who knows their availability? But there just is a lot of American comedians that I think are fairly nice who I. Who knows their availability. But I do think at this point where. How do you manage the. The expectations of it? How do you personally do about it? As, you know, fewer and fewer comedians. Do you have a net of people being like. I think of it like there's an American show, Top Chef, which is a food competition show, and they only cast by referral.

[Alex Horne]

Right.

[Jesse David Fox]

Is it more like that or.

[Alex Horne]

Well, the British ones, we are not running out, but obviously we've had a lot of comedians. We've had over 100. So that number is dwindling, which in a way makes it easier because we keep trying people who aren't available. Maybe there will be this time, but the American one's difficult. Sorry.

[Greg Davies]

But the production company that makes it is also agency that represents comedians and has lots of people going out and seeing comedians who are coming through. So you know, I, as a grumpy, out of touch old man, would never have heard of someone like Anya Magliano, but someone who came fully formed and. Yeah, you know, was an interesting thinker and just.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah.

[Greg Davies]

You know, as. As exciting as any other name. We might.

[Alex Horne]

So that is referral, really. So word of mouth and. And somebody needs to.

[Greg Davies]

There's a whole network of people who contribute to the choices ultimately.

[Alex Horne]

But I'd say we don't want it to be predictable. So we don't want to have an American necessarily every series or even every other series.

[Jesse David Fox]

Then it'll be. That would be the rhythm of it.

[Alex Horne]

That's the thing. Yeah, we wouldn't. But if there are people who are great and who are up for it, we're open. But we could do with recommendations.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, I'll let you know later.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah, please do.

[Jesse David Fox]

As you mentioned, one of the most amazing things about the show is sort of a consistent commitment to having age ranges. It really is like nothing on TV I've seen. And I think last season was the most striking because there's someone in the 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s. I know memory specific seasons is hard, but do you remember any moment where you specifically felt the benefit of having such a wide age range?

[Alex Horne]

Probably from the beginning.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah, absolutely. And it's one of the things I love about the show and I suspect the genesis of it is that you as a family played games, you know. Yeah, it's a very old fashioned idea.

[Alex Horne]

When granddad says something, it's really funny.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah. The different generations get together and all do the same thing. So it's quite old. Well, you tell me. But it's quite old fashioned in its genesis.

[Alex Horne]

It's accidental, but. Yeah. And we had Lenny Rush in the New Year special who was literally a child when he did it, and again, really funny when he's up against whoever he was up against. Yeah, sure. The range is great and.

[Greg Davies]

And I love the weariness of older people who've been in the business for a long time. I love that energy. But which. Which never stays. They always get engaged. Yeah.

[Alex Horne]

I'd also say that it's sometimes really good to have two people the same age. So when we had David Badill and Joe Brown together, we don't want the older person to be an outlier necessarily. You know, when they were friends and just stopped and had a cup of tea during it, it's very funny.

[Jesse David Fox]

So, yeah, I found that season quite moving. So something about their pace of movement and when they succeed, there was something there was something really like. Oh, because especially that group of young people were very gung ho about, like trying hard. So there was, I think, a really nice contrast of like, this is.

[Alex Horne]

What.

[Jesse David Fox]

What are you in a rush for?

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. I mean, I really don't want to analyze things too much, but that theory said three women and two men and I think that's really good because it doesn't happen very often. And there's still four men because we're in it as well.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Alex Horne]

But I like it when there's more women than men. But there's a bit of a numbers game going on because there are still more male comedians in Britain than female. It's so true.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yes. Has the show changed as you get closer to the older age of the older age comedians than compared to the young comedians?

[Greg Davies]

Well, I mean, it's a regular feature of the show that I berate comedians for being old and suggest that they're ready for the care home and they're more often than not the same age as me. But the world allows that allows me to take the higher ground.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. I guess you don't notice yourself aging too much until you look at the. Oh, God.

[Greg Davies]

But we do though, right?

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. But in terms of our personalities and me, I'm still the little boy with a clipboard, I think.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. Despite being, I think many ways for the viewers, you freeze. You're still the people from whenever the sort of ageless middle age and the world is the.

[Greg Davies]

Remains the same. The. The goals of the world remain the same. The Taskmaster kingdom hasn't evolved.

[Alex Horne]

It's so. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Taskmaster has a reputation as a comfort watch for a lot of people. And I think a certain progressive politics gets projected upon that show and especially in terms of accepting people of different identities. I won't name names unless you want me to, but there are certain famous transphobic of British comedians. Would you have any of those people on? Oh, wow.

[Alex Horne]

That's quite a big question. And we do have maybe a reputation for avoiding big questions. We just do it as in we just do the show. We take each person on as a person on their merit. I. I would say our policy is to not have any people we think aren't nice. But everyone said things in the past, you know, again, without naming names. We've had people on the show who have definitely said things which I don't agree with and that doesn't mean they're banned from the show. So I think it's case by case.

[Jesse David Fox]

That's fair.

[Greg Davies]

I love how inclusive the show Is just naturally. It isn't something we analyze a lot and we're not drawing graphs. It just is naturally an open thing, and it's naturally a gang show. Analyze it a lot. But I think we're both pleased that. That it's open to all.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. We don't want to make either viewers or contestants uncomfortable or let down by, you know, we're not gonna make bad choices. Hopefully.

[Jesse David Fox]

I'm just gonna name some names, and you'll tell me if they'll be on the show or not.

[Alex Horne]

Okay, here we go. We might not be able to tell you.

[Jesse David Fox]

Sure.

[Alex Horne]

We might have to wink. Short time, I think.

[Jesse David Fox]

Well, we'll see John Oliver from last night.

[Alex Horne]

I mean, we would so love him. He's a busy, busy man. He showed last night how natural he would be.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah. I mean, well, you saw that he was on last night, and he would be incredible on us. Very high. I think his schedule might get in the way.

[Jesse David Fox]

Maybe take a sabbatical.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. Or kidnap him.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. Susie Izzard.

[Alex Horne]

Susie. Interesting. I mean, one of my heroes growing up as a comedian. So. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Both Demetri U siblings. On the same season.

[Alex Horne]

Oh, on the same season.

[Greg Davies]

I wonder if Susie is out to come on. Have we ever approached?

[Alex Horne]

We have. And I mean, at the time, they were trying to be the mayor of London, I think, in that direction.

[Greg Davies]

Or running 30 marathons. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Alex Horne]

I think we have approached. Not for a while, but. Yeah. But we quite often approach someone then remember six years later that we should try them again because people change their minds.

[Jesse David Fox]

What was the longest gap between. Is there a person you asked early on that then came on much, much later?

[Alex Horne]

Yeah, Someone like Jack D. Yeah. And with the Dimitris. So Jamie's actually been a big supporter of it from the beginning. And quite often we text and he. Again, schedule wise is tricky. And Natasha is so funny. I mean, I think we wouldn't have them necessarily in the same season because it feels like it's a bit of a shame for either of them. It's like we don't have married couples. We could, and they did it in Australia, but I think each person should be there in their own right. And it's a bit unfair on the other three people. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

So I want to get a little bit more into the process of them making the show, both the sort of task and the crafting of the narrative of a season. Alex, you've talked generally about the process of writing tasks, be it in a hot tub or not, but essentially you sit down and you Go. Time to write the task. And you write the task. But I was curious what that looks like in practice and how your thought process works. I want to ask you about a specific task from last series. I will read the task description. I will not spoil it. I will give the audience watching an opportunity to go watch it. So the task read. Discover the name of the person in the lab. You must take it. You must take it in turns to ask one question and the person may only say yes or no. The other team members must remain in this room until the questioner returns. Each person in your team must address the person in the lab by the correct name before the task is complete. Fastest wins. Your time starts now. Okay. Again, watch it. We will not spoil what thing is. Okay, you're back. Welcome back, everybody. So spoiler of the trick is there's twins. Walk me through. How do you start with an idea of what would be a task like that?

[Alex Horne]

Well, there's certain things I do like it if every series or every other series there's something quite big like we did a heist or we turned the house into a hotel for a task. And that one, I'd always thought twins would be good at some point and I don't know why it suddenly landed. Then we thought, okay, I've got quite a long list of ideas. We thought maybe let's do this one now. And then it's how to use them. You only have one shot at it especially because it's a team task. So team tasks are quite. We only have one day with the contestants of the team so we had to make that one bulletproof. But it's just going into your little headspace and thinking scenarios how it would play out.

[Jesse David Fox]

So start. Do you start with twins? What can you do with twins?

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. So you're thinking they're going to be switching in. You want to keep them. It's a bit like a magic trick, I suppose, that one specifically. I mean I always think of the tasks as jokes in that I'm sort of doing the setup and they're doing the punchline so they're being funny. But that one was a pretty mechanical task I suppose rather than an open ended one which tends to be Greg's favorite. It's like a song about a stranger or whatever. But yeah, that one was literally practicalities of how best to make to get that moment from the comedians of discovering it. So yeah, you saw it in the task that they thought they solved it and then they realized they hadn't. Then they've got to get to the twins bit. So we put the clues, like they said Thompson on there. Yeah, yeah.

[Greg Davies]

The high drama of the reveal that there were twins was. Must have been really satisfying for you.

[Alex Horne]

Really satisfying. But also didn't go how we thought it would go. I don't think we thought they would look behind the curtain. So, yeah, you're hopefully foreseeing what's going to happen, but you also hopefully leaving enough wiggle room that other things might.

[Jesse David Fox]

Happen with the heist. Watch it now. Come back. Will you have go to the production team, be like, this is all the parts of this heist task, or will that be a sort of conversation?

[Alex Horne]

That's definitely a conversation. So I'd come up with the wording and then they'd go away and go, how about this? And I go, yeah, that sounds cool. In the old days, I was there much more. Now we rely on the team much more. Thank you, team.

[Jesse David Fox]

I think of Noel Fielding as a sort of pivotal contestant in the history of the show, in that every show in this broadly lined genre has a person who has, like, almost like a. Can control the Matrix a little bit more, who's able to enter the show and be like, I can bend this show to my will. And I think showed other people how to do that. Whereas, like, you give him a sketch, you give him a task, and he goes like, cool, I'll make a short film. Even though that is. It's not that type of thing. And you see that periodically. I think there's some contestants. That is their way of approaching it. On the most recent series, there's Reece Shearsmith, who did a challenge. You're like, I'm gonna do this short film. You give them a task. What are the conversations like to be like, cool. You now work for me as we produce a short film together.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. So the times on the tasks are real. So you've got five minutes, your time starts down, the clock goes. But when it's something, like create something, and you've got half an hour, we do say, look, it's got to be done in the half an hour, but we can pause the clock if we need to go and get props, because we want to also make good tv. We want to make something that's satisfying to watch. And when you've got someone like Reese Shearsmith, who's so creative and brilliant, you want to enable that. So we. And we want him to trust us. So, yeah, he suddenly becomes a director.

[Jesse David Fox]

And producer, but he does not seem to edit of the tag.

[Alex Horne]

No, no, no, no. So he has to trust us with all the pieces, and we put it together for them.

[Jesse David Fox]

When that first time that happened, were you surprised that that. Or you're always hoping that, like, I think that's grown.

[Alex Horne]

And I would also have to credit Andy Devonshire, the director who's endlessly creative, and he sees each one as a mini short film. You know, each task, he takes pride in making it look as good as possible.

[Jesse David Fox]

So this is the nerdiest question I have, which is in series, I believe, 4. Mel's response to I can't. I can't remember what it was, but she drives to the baby, get the.

[Alex Horne]

Camel through the smallest gap, and she.

[Jesse David Fox]

Wants to drive to Gap Kids. I spent a long time trying to figure out where that Gap Kids in.

[Alex Horne]

Relationship to that clock was working.

[Jesse David Fox]

Okay.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah, that's.

[Jesse David Fox]

I was like, this drive seems so lucky.

[Alex Horne]

The house is in London. Yeah, it's in Chiswick. And that was in Chiswick High Street. Yeah, Yeah. I mean, the reason it has to be is because viewers will go out. Look on Google Maps.

[Jesse David Fox]

I did. I was like, I think this is a minute, but all right, I'll take a word for it.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah, yeah.

[Greg Davies]

Oh, I think we're. We're pretty strict about.

[Jesse David Fox]

That's why I was wondering if there's little. When you feel like, oh, this is too.

[Alex Horne]

If it's a time one like that, if it's making a film, occasionally you think, well, okay, there must be hair and makeup. How have they done that? So we will say that doesn't count as part of the time. There's slight bending of the rules, but not when the time matters, if that makes sense.

[Greg Davies]

And, you know, the thing we're asked all the time is, is whether it is happening in real time and whether the judgments are real. And, you know, we. Without even discussing it, we take. Take Alex's format pretty seriously.

[Alex Horne]

It could be a much slicker program if we said, okay, they'll have another five minutes, because sometimes the tasks don't work because they all run out of time. And that's. That's what we put on telly, especially.

[Jesse David Fox]

As the show has grown. You can be like, oh, well, everything. We should just make it everything a little bit slicker. And we'll, like. We'll do full camera setups. When you do, like, everything is full.

[Alex Horne]

I mean, you could film the whole thing in a hanger. So I know, dude, perfect. From my children. I don't know the people, but my children watch that a lot. These are the YouTubers. There's some overlap with our show, and they've got this whole aircraft area which would, you know, we film in this stupid house where there's planes going over all the time and it's raining. Life would be easier, but it would be less funny.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. One of the most impressive things about the show that when I rewatch it is your ability, Greg, to almost instantly figure out what these sort of. Do you have the idea of comedic game in England. Have you heard this? Basically, it was created by the ucb, but essentially is in improv comedy that the sort of comedic drive of a scene or a sketch is called the game, which is useful for thing like this master, because there's obviously the game of the show, but there is a comedic game a lot of these people develop on the show. And I think it is a credit to Greg in that you're able to essentially turn it into almost like a sitcom in that you're like. You're not just getting. They're not just saying funny things. They are saying, essentially you're getting character laughs like you would get on a TV show.

[Greg Davies]

Right.

[Jesse David Fox]

How do you do that? Well. And is it the thing that you think ahead of time or is it just. You did even last night. It is unbelievable. Within two minutes you're like, I know who this person is going to be. This is what we're watching with those.

[Alex Horne]

Three members of the public as well. I think it's because he's really good, but you can tell. Well.

[Greg Davies]

Well, thank you. I hope my vocabulary doesn't let me down. What I would say is it's instinct. And it's my instinct as a comedian to find some sort of form. And I almost. They're sort of grab rails. When you identify a characteristic in someone, it's a safety. For me, as the host, it's a safety grab rail. I go, oh, cool. I can rely on this person to be. To be like this. And I can keep doing running jokes with them. But I. I don't always get it right. But I think you have to be adaptable as well in the. You know, we do record for two and a half, sometimes four hours, but. And I think you have to be careful not to pigeonhole people. And I don't always get that right. So just as an example is if I take someone like Sam Campbell, who. It would be very easy for me to say, well, Sam's this crazy guy who's always gonna do something crazy, you know, But Sam is endlessly inventive and, you know, his jokes are actually ingeniously structured.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah.

[Greg Davies]

And So I don't always get it. Right. I hope I do, but you have to let go of those grab handles during the show sometimes and go, okay, stop saying Sam Campbell is the weird guy and interact with him a bit more.

[Alex Horne]

I mean, 10 episodes is a lot of episodes as well. If you don't want to repeat the joke, the main thing you try to do with the show is not repeat ourselves.

[Greg Davies]

And I'm certainly guilty for repeating the joke for safety and for my longing for some sort of structure.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. And sometimes repetition makes it funnier and funnier.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Greg Davies]

I mean, I think it's organic and you just have to feel it.

[Jesse David Fox]

Also, I mean, you are filming all these tasks. I think that because you don't air the tasks in the order that they're done, which is the easiest way you can show an arc of a person's. Whatever. Right. If you did in the order, you're like, oh, they started like this, and you see their slow decline. But because you're doing it, is there people on staff or anything that is close to, like, what a reality show has in terms of, like, story editors? Like, are there conversations like that?

[Alex Horne]

No. I mean, we do. I. So what I'm writing my clipboard during the task is what's happening. So I'm writing down Jason Manzoukas, who's breaking my equipment, and I will. And then I then type that up and send it to the editor. So I will say, bear in mind, this is their first task. So let's make sure we remember that this is their first task. So we will mention that at the time. But, yeah, we don't really look at a story. There's a natural arc in terms of their relationships, but that's not planned by us. That's just what happens, I would say, in the.

[Greg Davies]

And it evolves. That's the tricky thing.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah.

[Greg Davies]

You know, those narratives evolve over 10 episodes.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. If I can give something away to your viewers, a little exclusive. People like that, don't they? In the next series, which we're filming the tasks at the moment, we haven't got to the studio, but we have deliberately highlighted what is the first task, because they don't know the house and they behave differently. So I don't. But we don't yet know whether that will be the first task of the series or the last, you know, because it's interesting. They'll look back.

[Jesse David Fox]

So it will be. Not aired the first test, but everyone will know.

[Alex Horne]

Wording even says your first task is. Which we've never done before. But I think it is an interesting thing because they are a different person at the beginning to.

[Jesse David Fox]

Why did you think to do that?

[Alex Horne]

Because it's.

[Jesse David Fox]

You haven't done it.

[Alex Horne]

Interesting. Yeah, yeah, we know.

[Jesse David Fox]

What was nice is that essentially, like, turns the show into, like, either like a Rorschach test of these people or like, play therapy and like psychology when you're. When you have kids. Play therapy, psychology. Yeah.

[Alex Horne]

Right.

[Jesse David Fox]

So I think there's a little bit of, like, you're seeing these people not on purpose. You're sort of. How they do it reveals it, opposed to, like, the sort of narratizing itself, which is good for comedians because I think a lot of comedians inherently narrativize their entire existence.

[Alex Horne]

I mean, I'd say two people. So at the beginning, Tim Key and Joe Wilkinson were hesitant to do the show because they've got quite strong Personas. Tim's not often himself in things and nor is Joe. So they had to trust us a bit that play therapy would be a good thing for them. And they're still slightly, you know, not themselves because when the camera's on. Yeah, you perform, but.

[Greg Davies]

But it's very difficult for them to stay within the parameters of the comedy Persona they've beautifully crafted.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah.

[Greg Davies]

The format doesn't. Doesn't allow it.

[Alex Horne]

But we did. There's a bit of unfinished business because the first series only had six episodes and the next two only had five.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Alex Horne]

So it's kind of half a series. So it would be quite interesting to get them back to complete the set. But we're not going back.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. Not to do another whole series, but just do four more episodes.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. Would be funny. Wouldn't it be funny 10 years later?

[Jesse David Fox]

Do you ever, Greg, do you ever find yourself giving people points for narrative reasons where you're like. Or even spirit reasons where you're like, well, this person almost needs this win.

[Greg Davies]

I would say the answer is consciously no, but I think probably with the wisdom of hindsight, I probably have done that just in a human way.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah.

[Greg Davies]

You know, as an ex teacher, I probably am tickling. I probably am tickling things up subconsciously, but never consciously.

[Alex Horne]

And I'd say never narratively. You're never doing it for the story of the show. But if somebody looks like they need a boost subconsciously, you may probably.

[Greg Davies]

My instinct, the part of me that's kind may have done that, but I've certainly never. And we've never discussed something backstage going. Not once in 21's series have we said we should tickle up someone's.

[Alex Horne]

I'd also say that points quite often. Greg, I'm very aware of who's got what points. I think you go into an episode, Greg wouldn't know who's in what order in terms of the series, never. And it's not. That's not why he's doing this. So I'm thinking, oh, it'd be great if this person won.

[Greg Davies]

But I mean, the idea. The idea that I'm in charge is preposterous because, you know, all of the statistics and the organization is. Is all done by Alex.

[Alex Horne]

But I'd say it's a little bit like sport that if you knew who was going to win, then the football, you know, if you were writing it, it wouldn't be as interesting as what actually happened. So, I mean, again, that's a weird comparison. You know, it's not as grand.

[Greg Davies]

And it is. There is a temptation. There have been times where. Where after the show's finished, we've gone, oh, it would have been nice.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah.

[Greg Davies]

If this.

[Alex Horne]

From behind, for example, the four champion of champions so far have all been white males. If we were writing the show, we wouldn't do that.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Alex Horne]

So I think that proves it's real. Even though there have been, I think, the exact same number of male and female winners. Maybe one more male. So it's a pretty good.

[Jesse David Fox]

Good.

[Alex Horne]

Which again, is not deliberate. It's panned out that way. But that's. That's what happened. So you can't do anything about it. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

I wanted this interview to work for both people new to the show, but also the fans that you have that are very passionate, let's say, because it's a rare opportunity to get you guys both to sort of talk about the nature of things. So I did open up this. The questions to some fans, which is a thing I don't do very often. But I was curious, how would you categorize, especially the most, the current state of taskmaster fandom post YouTube. You know, what are they like and why do you have any sense of why they're so passionate about this show?

[Greg Davies]

Well, it's. It's for community reasons. I, I think I. I think they feel like they belong to the show and we were joking.

[Alex Horne]

Belongs to them as well.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah, but we. We were joking last night about the sort of cultish nature of the show, and I think there's something in that, but I think it's a benign cult of where everybody feels like. Feels like they belong a little bit.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah.

[Greg Davies]

And I read that I. I Don't know. It's a. I. I read. I told you that quote. Yeah, I really loved. I read a quote online yesterday that's. I think it was on Blue Sky. Someone said, it's no surprise that neurodivergent people are drawn to Taskmaster. And then they explained it in the following way. They said it's because a man tells you to do a thing and then you do it, and then a kind man with a whistle tells you you don't have to do it again. And I sort of love that. That structure would appeal to some people, but the whole thing is inclusive, which is mad when I think about my role in it, which is to be fairly obnoxious.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. On paper, it doesn't seem like a.

[Greg Davies]

Lot of the time.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah.

[Greg Davies]

But I. I always come. We always come away from every series thinking, oh, look at this weird little family we've created who. Who will all stay together. And I think that lots of the fans feel part of that family. And I think that's joyous thing.

[Alex Horne]

I would also say I. I've been off social media for a while. I have someone who does it for me, which. It sounds like a luxury, but actually it's a sanity thing. And I've never looked at Reddit. Some of the team do, and if there's something relevant, they will tell me. But it would not be good for our health to see what the depth that people can dive into it.

[Greg Davies]

No. And I very rarely. Look, I just happened to because I'm. I was in a car.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah.

[Greg Davies]

Okay.

[Alex Horne]

So we know the fan from, like, the event we're doing at the moment, and they're so lovely and passionate. And also they have been so good on stage, which is, yes, quite an interesting thing. They know.

[Jesse David Fox]

Oh, I've been.

[Greg Davies]

I've been blown away that not one of the people we. We've had on stage has. Has overplayed their part or underplayed.

[Alex Horne]

They get it.

[Greg Davies]

They. They have sat within the world just like any contestant would.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. I mean, it's definitely the world aspect of the world building of the show. Again, even though it's a fairly limited space. There's something especially, I think, being available to people online during COVID of certain things that have. That have proven, I think, to create these sort of relationships to people. And I think Taskmaster is an example.

[Greg Davies]

I think that's a huge part of why a taskmaster has caught on in America, is that Alex did these during COVID did these tasks for families and communities to join in with. I think it's a huge part of why we're here.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. So people did that, and then they also found the show, and like you said, they come for watching, and you don't want to benefit from a pandemic. But, yeah, it probably did happen.

[Greg Davies]

I'm not suggesting you.

[Jesse David Fox]

No, I didn't put that. It is a thing.

[Greg Davies]

You know, this. This global disease is my chance.

[Alex Horne]

But, yeah, if you look back, you go, you probably would see, oh, the world had an awful year. Taskmaster did all right.

[Jesse David Fox]

All right. So now it's time for our first fan question, which is a video. Greg and Alex, Sam Reich here, Taskmaster, super fan, and some would say imitator. Here is my question for you. Some taskmaster tasks have objective winners, whereas others require Greg to make a more subjective rule in. Is taskmaster leaning one way or the other as a show, as seasons go on, do you each have preferences in terms of type of task, or do you try to strike a balance of one versus the other per episode?

[Alex Horne]

What an erudite question from Sam. Thanks, Sam.

[Greg Davies]

Thanks, Sam.

[Alex Horne]

Well, I think we try to strike a balance. We try to make sure Greg is involved enough in every episode, because if it was all just and this person wants. Because they got 20, then Greg's role is diminished considerably. He can't just say a funny thing. So it's important you judge at least one task per show. Normally two. It's a balance. It's probably half enough. We call them creatives and measurables, and we just make sure that there's a balance. Yeah, there's simple, boring answers, Sam. But it's true.

[Greg Davies]

I mean, you know, I. One shouldn't be too lofty about this.

[Jesse David Fox]

This is why you're here.

[Greg Davies]

No, but I, I.

[Jesse David Fox]

In America, I mean, where you're allowed to be.

[Greg Davies]

No, but I don't think. I, I don't. I, I don't think it is deliberate, conscious, or lofty, but my judgments are often unfair. But I would argue that's life. And, and as I've said many times, I've never deliberately judged something badly or based it on the character of the person who's on or the narrative that is emerging. I really do judge it in the moment, sometimes correctly, sometimes incorrectly. But I, I would argue, and I think some fans would disagree, I would argue that that inconsistency adds to the show.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Greg Davies]

And, you know, some people would say, no, I want this to, you know, I could name people who we've had on the show who I know would like this to be a strictly fair Contest. But I would argue, obviously, because it's my role, that human element adds to the show.

[Alex Horne]

I think in terms of preference through his question, which do we prefer? Measurable? Depends on the task. I think, you know, my favourites include both.

[Greg Davies]

And so do mine. But I always gravitate towards the open ended creative tasks are always the ones that delight me.

[Jesse David Fox]

I was curious about the sort of balance of it as a show of games and it is a comedy show. And Jason Mancukis did an interview with Vulture after he was on it and this was his take of how he approached it. And I was curious how it is similar, different from what you've heard. So Jason said, the minute I'm on camera, I know that I'm participating in what is fundamentally a comedy show. I'm very much trying with the task. But like in a good improv show or scene, if something comes up organically that starts to look like a game, meaning comedic game that I can play on top of what I'm doing, and if I see that that game could trump the actual correct solution to the task, I'm gonna play that game.

[Alex Horne]

He's a. He's a great contestant. And there's a sort of notorious math versus math debate where he stopped doing the task even though the clock was still ticking. And he. And he talks about, we've shown the clips here in America. We might release it at some point where he says, I'm wasting my time doing this bit, which is a good demonstration of that. But not everyone gets that line. Jason. Some people just do the task and some people just try to be funny. And I think he really nailed it.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah. One of my favorite, and I don't really know why, but one of my favorite moments from Jason is that at one point he just sardonically looks down the barrel of the camera and goes, oh, this season's theme, science.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. He knew the show so well. Yeah. To be a part of it. Yeah.

[Greg Davies]

But to, you know, to be horribly sarcastic about a format that you've asked to be part of is very Jason.

[Alex Horne]

Then he dropped the jar as he said it. I think he then spilled the water.

[Greg Davies]

Messed up. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

But some people, even though they're comedians, they are there to win. Do you ever hold against it if someone feels like they want to win too much?

[Alex Horne]

It's important to have someone like that.

[Greg Davies]

I do.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. Multi man. Like, personally, it felt like I do.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. But I love that there are some.

[Greg Davies]

People who want to win, but I think they're ne. I think those people are necessary and.

[Alex Horne]

They all have to win.

[Greg Davies]

They're an important part of the dynamic. But I, you know, when. When I'm Sometimes when I'm having an argument with a grown adult about perhaps one of the more preposterous tasks, it perhaps does bring out. It does bring out a weariness in me occasionally, but I do. But that said, I think it's important.

[Alex Horne]

If no one wanted to win, it would fall apart on some level. They've all got to want it and they all want to win an episode. Everyone wants to have that moment on stage.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah, of course.

[Jesse David Fox]

At. Gamble said in one of the episodes of the podcast that not he wanted to win episodes. He wanted to win the show. But then he was disappointed because he didn't have enough things he said were the titles of episodes. And you're just like these people. These people being competitive people.

[Alex Horne]

So that we do deliberately try to balance to make sure everyone names an episode. But that's the Andes who are in charge of that.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. So the next few questions I asked for the Reddit that you don't. You don't read. I called these. These are nice questions.

[Greg Davies]

Can I honestly say I've never once looked at Reddit.

[Alex Horne]

I'm reading a. I don't know what it is.

[Jesse David Fox]

I. I asked for questions which again, I literally have never done before. I was just sort of curious and I've never seen anything like this, which is. I. People would suggest questions and then people be like, no, actually they said. They said this on this.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

And. And. And it's like, got it. Cool. Cool. Which was. That was the goal. I don't want to. The goal is what you've not answered before. And they knew.

[Alex Horne]

It shows. We have to be careful about what we say because people do listen.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yes.

[Alex Horne]

But also we change our minds. And, you know, we'd say something and then we'll say something different another time. Especially about favorite tasks. That changes all the time.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yes. The.

[Alex Horne]

Don't take our word as gospel.

[Jesse David Fox]

The things that people. They all know the things you don't like answering, but they also all know the. Even they. The. You once said once there's someone you didn't like or something which was a.

[Alex Horne]

Joke in a radio.

[Greg Davies]

And it was a joke and in.

[Jesse David Fox]

And so it's just like circles and circles.

[Greg Davies]

And I so wish I'd never made that joke because it just keeps coming back like waves on the shore. There is no person that he said he didn't like. I was just being silly.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah.

[Greg Davies]

You know, let's put that on the Record now, there is no disliked contestant.

[Jesse David Fox]

All right, so here are the questions. Has Alex had any real life consequences from any of Greg's intros?

[Alex Horne]

No. Genuinely not. No. I mean, everyone knows it's so clearly a joke, which means you can get away with saying absolutely anything, which we've done here in America as well.

[Jesse David Fox]

So.

[Greg Davies]

No, I would be very worried about the person that took any of those seriously. It's not even a sophisticated joke.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Greg Davies]

So if you thought that.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah, I mean, I would say when he says it, I do think, oh, that is gonna make life fiddly if that person sees it. But I, you know, if they don't know it's a comedy show, then I do try.

[Greg Davies]

There's no hope. I do try and write things that will make his head sink.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. So I'm not pretending to be upset, but I think I'm safe.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. What tasks. Are there any tasks you would have contestants do if there weren't health and safety officers?

[Alex Horne]

Well, more fire. More climbing on roofs. I think it's occasionally frustrating that we can't make things explode. It's also health and safety and also the world. We used to waste more food, and it's great. We don't. And we used to set fire to more plastic, which obviously is good that we don't. But it means I think food is funny and destroying a cake, and we wouldn't do that task anymore. And I think it's a shame comedically, because we're a tiny show, so we're not wasting a lot of food, but it's good to. There's more. The message, don't waste food, don't burn plastic. But I think comedically we're missing out on a few things there.

[Greg Davies]

But often the small scale of the victories is part of the show. I think that you can see people punching the air. Having done something that isn't particularly spectacular, I think is the part of the nature of the show.

[Jesse David Fox]

Are there interesting ways a contestant has solved a task that influenced you to adjust the rules for another task?

[Alex Horne]

Probably not specifically, but so people. So Richard Osman had to put the three exercise balls on the exercise mat. The balls were with him. The mat was on the top, but instead of taking the balls up, he brought the mat down. And I think at that point, you think, oh, this is great. A part of this show is people solving things in an ingenious way. And before that moment, that wasn't necessarily part of the show. So we are hopefully designing the tasks to be solved in a way we don't yet know. Which is a strange. We try to leave them a bit more open ended.

[Jesse David Fox]

Do you also have to account for their. Now people who have watched the show.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

But also people that haven't.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah, yeah. We don't want to make the things too wordy. So occasionally if it is the case of. By the way, you can't do this. I know you could, but you can't do that.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Alex Horne]

Because it would not be funny.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Alex Horne]

But we do also have to just put in loads of words like you're saying here, as if this was the first. Sorry, this isn't a good example.

[Jesse David Fox]

But yeah, if you didn't put it then. Then they wouldn't do. Exactly. They wouldn't be even in the ballpark of the rules. And then it's like there's a. What's it called? There's another improv term which is essentially it's like if it's too many crazy things on top of each other.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

It becomes a hat on a hat. Yeah, yeah.

[Alex Horne]

Well, yeah. There's also. Last night we did a task. This is going to go out after tonight's show. So I can say it.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yes.

[Alex Horne]

They have to call the taskmaster's cell phone and someone in the audience called the taskmaster cell phone, which is a sort of clever way of solving it and we have to acknowledge that and go, that's great. But no, on this occasion we need the task done properly and that happened.

[Greg Davies]

Oh, that's great. I would say shut up.

[Jesse David Fox]

Oh, what's the question? This person said, I'd love to know about the YouTube distribution deal, how it originated, whose idea was to get at the international audience in such a no frills way and what the conversations were like with the various rights holders around shifting to the same time release model. I'm just generally curious.

[Greg Davies]

I mean like YouTube, obviously, I know nothing of this.

[Alex Horne]

I weirdly know nothing as well. All I would say is that it was not a strategic decision. It was a.

[Jesse David Fox]

We can.

[Alex Horne]

We've made the show, let's put it. Let's make as many people watch it as possible.

[Greg Davies]

Let's see how many people we can get to like it.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. But not to make more money. Like let's spread. We've made this thing. Why would you not put it on the. And I. There's stuff like I did a show in Edinburgh we've talked about recently called Monsieur Butterfly in an Edinburgh show. I filmed it and I'm really proud of it. But we can't put it on YouTube because I used lots of other people's music. So you pay PRs, but if it's due on YouTube, it would cost a lot of money.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Alex Horne]

And I think that's just. I still regret that. Whereas with Taskmaster, it's all ours, so we can do what we want with it.

[Jesse David Fox]

Have there been conversations that you could allude to where someone asks you to take it off for money to put it somewhere else, like another.

[Greg Davies]

Service?

[Alex Horne]

We're just not part of that conversation, so we just get on with it.

[Jesse David Fox]

Do you have any feeling about it? Do you ultimately like the YouTube?

[Alex Horne]

I love the YouTube model that it's free and it's there.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah, there is. Neither of us are motivated by. By monetizing everything.

[Alex Horne]

But I just. The thing I do like is when it says, a million people have seen this person do this thing. That's great.

[Jesse David Fox]

It does add to the comedy of it that it's. It's one thing to have a person do a thing on a TV show. It's another thing to be like, a million people, watch this person do this thing on a TV show.

[Alex Horne]

This is what we're all doing around the world. Yeah. That's what blows us away. When you go somewhere extraordinary and someone says, oh, you. I watched Taskmaster, you know, I was in Iceland or something like that.

[Greg Davies]

And that's just such a genuine, uncynical joy for us to come, to go to other countries and to have people who have discovered our strange little world.

[Alex Horne]

And that can only be through YouTube.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

I mean, the wild thing I was thinking about is, like, it is ultimately the best TV show on YouTube. Like, YouTube is mostly created by people who are in the YouTube space, and then you have your show that is.

[Alex Horne]

It's a bit of an outlier, isn't it?

[Jesse David Fox]

Yes. So, but to people whose YouTube is the way in which they consume whatever you would call, I guess, content or video content, there's like, wow, this show's. There's so much production, even compared to, like, Mr. Beast, right?

[Alex Horne]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

You're like, well, Mr. Beast does one thing, but, like, there's no.

[Alex Horne]

Doesn't seem like anyone catching up, though. I think there are YouTubers out there who are putting more and more production values into it, and I think that it will end up being more like TV and TV will be more like YouTube.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. But it is now like, oh, this is. Yeah, you hope it's the standard that they feel like, oh, I guess if YouTube is going to be TV, then you might as well.

[Greg Davies]

Like, I guess the fact that we went through a traditional Sort of production company to TV system and that there has to be certain standards and then. And then it's gone to YouTube, I guess. Probably makes it stand out a bit.

[Alex Horne]

Must be 99 of YouTube content isn't graded.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah.

[Alex Horne]

Whereas we have a whole team of people making sure it looks as beautiful as possible. So.

[Jesse David Fox]

But not so beautiful that it feels like it can't be on YouTube. Right. It's like.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah, but people watch it on the YouTube, on the telly or on their phones.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, yeah, I guess so. It's a whole blur.

[Alex Horne]

It's a blur. Yeah.

[Greg Davies]

I think that. And you know, a lot of that's Andy Devonshire, our director, has an amazing knack of making something look lo fi and sophisticated simultaneously. You know, I remember seeing Andy respond once to a review of our show that had said, it's cheap and it's made. It's made cheaply.

[Alex Horne]

Which was meant to be a compliment.

[Greg Davies]

Oh, it's so nice to see this sort of gorilla sort of thrown together show. But, you know, it couldn't be further from the truth. It looks like that by design and.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

How many cameras are you working with it? Like, is there just cameras everywhere? There are cameras in every trash can.

[Alex Horne]

What there aren't is a lot of camera people. Sure. So when we did it in America, there were at least three people for every position. But no, it's. So there's two. There's one camera person, the DOP Sam, and then one other camera person. And then Andy, the director has a camera around his neck. He's operating the other. There's GoPros everywhere. He loves the 360 cameras. But they're all operated by three people.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Alex Horne]

And sometimes Holly, who is our wrangler, has to. Gets dragged in. Yeah. So small team, loads of cameras. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Because otherwise often I imagine it's spoiled.

[Greg Davies]

Right. GoPros being dropped in vases.

[Jesse David Fox]

You can spoil tasks by if there's a camera person standing in a specific place.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. Although we use that to our advantage sometimes and point the camera at something that isn't relevant because people are so savvy. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

I apologize if people really wanted me to ask this one. So, Greg, are you a child of divorce?

[Greg Davies]

It's my favorite thing that any contestant has ever said to me.

[Jesse David Fox]

Funny.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah. And I had nothing. I had nothing in response.

[Alex Horne]

No, just laugh.

[Greg Davies]

You just have to laugh at something like that. For the record, though, I'm not.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, good.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Sorry. For the record. Yeah. Sorry. I didn't mean to be as a joke.

[Greg Davies]

Not that it matters.

[Jesse David Fox]

No, of course, you know, periodically you'll see people talk about the death or the decline of the panel show in Britain and it's a similar conversation that's happening here in the sort of death of late night television. Why do you think that is the case and what do you think people can learn from the success of Taskmaster in the face of it?

[Alex Horne]

Yeah, I hope people don't try to learn too much. There's a bit of a problem in commissioning where if there's something that works, they just want more of the same thing. Whereas I think Taskmaster worked because it wasn't the same as anything else.

[Greg Davies]

There was a glut. The truth is, in the uk, there was a glut of panel shows. Thank you. It was a format that worked well and. And then everybody sort of did a big collective sigh that this, you know, this format is dead. But if you. If you take any of the big panel shows in the UK and watch them in isolation, they're great. Yeah, I think.

[Alex Horne]

And what a lie to you is just guaranteed every single episode will make you laugh.

[Greg Davies]

Well, it's always funny. It's never boring, it's never repetitive because of the nature of, you know, that. That format. So I don't know, it's a thing in. In tv, as Alex has already said, it's sort of, oh, we need the next X. So if something puts its head above the parapet and gets a few more viewers, then the industry seems to respond by going, let's do a version of that, just with that.

[Alex Horne]

In the same way, the traitors. People are trying to imitate the traitors and there's no need. That will kill the traitors if you have more shows like it.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, I imagine that. I mean, it's been on for so long. I'm sure there's been waves of. We need. Each place needs. We need a taskmaster. We need a taskmaster.

[Alex Horne]

I get that fairly often. Yeah. And it's a compliment. But you still think, just do something different because that's where.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. You want to honor the spirit of how Taskmaster was created, not the result of what Taskmaster is.

[Alex Horne]

I would also say one of the secrets of Taskmaster is just we work really hard, we don't throw it together. I think that sometimes. Yeah. That yields results. If with a bit of luck and a bit of alchemy, my day kicks.

[Jesse David Fox]

Off with a refreshing Celsius energy drink.

[Greg Davies]

Then straight to the gym, pre K pickup back home to meal prep time.

[Jesse David Fox]

For my fire station shift. One more celsius Gotta keep the lights.

[Greg Davies]

On when the three alarm hits. I'm ready. Celsius Live Fit. Go grab a cold refreshing Celsius at your local retailer or locate [e-mail].

[Unknown Speaker]

This week on net worth and Chill, we're joined by Victoria Garrick Brown, former Division 1 athlete turned body positivity advocate and entrepreneur who's dismantling the lies we've been sold about our work worth. From battling eating disorders as a student athlete to building a platform that's reached millions, Victoria's journey is a masterclass in turning personal pain into purpose and profit. She opens up about the real financial cost of chasing beauty standards, why the skinny girl industrial complex is designed to keep us broke and insecure, and how she's built a business around authentic self worth without selling out her values. We dive deep into the economics of body image, the influencer money game, and what it actually costs to love yourself in a world that profits from from your insecurities. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or watch on YouTube.com YourRich BFF so now.

[Jesse David Fox]

It'S time for the final segment of the show, a little laughing round. It's like a lightning round, but it's laughing because this is a comedy podcast. But also I don't know why I call that. The questions are actually quite. They can be long answers. So it's not lightning in any way. It's just at the end.

[Alex Horne]

Okay, but I'm ready.

[Jesse David Fox]

But now I change the name.

[Greg Davies]

But now I'm all revved up to.

[Jesse David Fox]

Be like, oh, it's towards the end. Let's rev you up a little.

[Alex Horne]

Finish, sprint finish. Okay, here we go.

[Jesse David Fox]

There are general questions you can both answer or one can answer your favorite joke. Joke. Like a, like what we. The term we have here is called a street joke. A joke that like is not a comedian authored thing, but a thing that you've just heard.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah, I've got one, but it's really dirty.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah, I've got one which is really clean.

[Jesse David Fox]

Great. But can I do dirty is fine. Often they are.

[Alex Horne]

Can I do mine first? Because otherwise it will. Yes, I think that's fair.

[Greg Davies]

Well, yeah, yeah.

[Alex Horne]

Why did the man fall down the well?

[Jesse David Fox]

Why?

[Alex Horne]

He couldn't see that. Well, it's such a good joke.

[Jesse David Fox]

It's lovely.

[Greg Davies]

It's really lovely. And I think I will dirty it by saying mine. And I think a lot of your, a lot of your people will have heard this because it's done the rounds on American podcasts. But it made me laugh so hard. What's the last thing you want to hear when you're sucking Willie Nelson's cock. You've heard it, right?

[Jesse David Fox]

Yes.

[Greg Davies]

What? I'm not Willie Nelson. It's just a. It's just a joke with a couple of layers that I enjoy.

[Alex Horne]

Why.

[Jesse David Fox]

Please go through the layers.

[Greg Davies]

Well, why was the fact that it. It was Willie Nelson. Why was that enough motivation for you to perform fellatio on him? And then, of course, there's the reveal that you've just been sucking an old man's struck. I guess there's not that many layers. There's two layers.

[Alex Horne]

But similar brevity to my joke.

[Jesse David Fox]

That's.

[Alex Horne]

That's the other good thing about your joke.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah. It's the fewest amount of words to communicate something awful.

[Jesse David Fox]

What's beautiful about both is they're both. They. They create almost a visual, like they do. You feel like a space is created. They aren't just words. They do feel like when you imagine this.

[Alex Horne]

Well, you sort of like probably quite similar jokes.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah.

[Alex Horne]

They both solve a little puzzle.

[Greg Davies]

They are.

[Alex Horne]

Oh, that's why that's funny.

[Greg Davies]

But sort of in keeping with our characters on and off screen. Mine is gritty.

[Alex Horne]

Just put that out.

[Greg Davies]

But it really, really made me laugh for structural reasons.

[Alex Horne]

What I found funny is because we're comedians, we often get asked to tell a joke if you're in a taxi or with someone's children. So you've got to have one in your head. I can only have one joke in my head.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah.

[Alex Horne]

That's all I've got.

[Greg Davies]

And I've been answering that question with that joke for some months now. But it is. It is also true. It did delight me if I think of another one that you can at.

[Jesse David Fox]

Any moment, feel free. At any time ever. Feel free to.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Record yourself telling a joke directly to camera. And I will put it up somewhere.

[Greg Davies]

I sort of don't want that. That Willie Nelson cock joke because other people have so many other.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. Although you did tell it well. And the layers was.

[Jesse David Fox]

I mean, that the layers thing is what really adds to it.

[Alex Horne]

And you did caveat it with other people who said this. Yes.

[Greg Davies]

And I'd also like to say I think that Willie Nelson is a perfectly attractive man of his generation. And I understand, very thoughtful and kind individual.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yes. That you. You almost. Don't you hope that joke does not harm Willie Nelson's ability?

[Greg Davies]

I hope. I. I hope that Willie Nelson would find that funny.

[Alex Horne]

I. I guess he's heard it. I have to. Must have been a weird thing when he heard it.

[Jesse David Fox]

I'm writing that down.

[Alex Horne]

Ask Willie Nelson if he's heard the Willie Nelson joke.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah, yeah.

[Alex Horne]

It's a huge compliment to have that.

[Jesse David Fox]

Joke about you that he is.

[Alex Horne]

That. Yeah, it wouldn't work with my name in that joke.

[Jesse David Fox]

I would also be curious because the nature of these street jokes that you'd be. You'd have. It's possible that joke, Willie Nelson was an update of a version of that joke from like the 1930s. And it was whoever do either or both. You have a short story of an interaction with a legendary comedian, living or dead, you were willing to share.

[Alex Horne]

I mean, all my interactions have been recorded.

[Greg Davies]

I've got one. But I don't know how relevant it is over here because I don't.

[Jesse David Fox]

Doesn't.

[Greg Davies]

I don't think that did Only Fools and Horses catch on in America. I don't think it did. Well, it's a real. It's a real institution in the UK. It was a sitcom that ran for, I guess, 20 years and ended in the 90s. And it was about some working class brothers. There is a very famous scene where Delboy, the main character, is trying to impress some girls in a bar and he goes to lean against the bar and at the moment that he leans against the bar, the barman lifts the bar hatch and so he just falls out of shot. And it's iconic in our country, that scene. Now, I went to a BBC meal that was fairly arbitrary, sort of fairly early on in my career. I think the director general sort of selected 15, 20 people that he thought might be significant in comedy and invited us for a really awkward meal in a restaurant. And I was very aware that the actor who plays Delboy, David Jason, was there and I was very excited to say hello to David Jason. Unbeknownst to me, David had been drinking an awful lot during. Of wine during that meal. I was chatting to Hugh Dennis and David Jason came over and I was like, oh my God, I will get to shake the hand of Delboy. And he came up very close to me and looked up. Cause he's quite a short man. Looked up at my height and I went, david, I'm so thrilled to meet you. And he looked me in the eye and went, you're not funny now, with the wisdom of hindsight. What he was actually trying to say was, you're. Cause he didn't know who I was. He was trying to say you're too tall to be funny or you can't be a comedian because of the height differential between us. I Mean, that's what I hope. That's what Hugh and I decided. But what he said undeniably was, you are not funny. And then. And you're thinking, I'm making this up. He fell down the stairs in a very similar way to the way he fell through the bar.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah.

[Greg Davies]

Sorry, that was very long.

[Jesse David Fox]

No, it did perfect.

[Greg Davies]

But I felt I had to give you the background.

[Jesse David Fox]

I appreciate it.

[Greg Davies]

So I've by the. By arguably the most iconic British sitcom actor. I have been told that I'm not funny.

[Alex Horne]

And then he did a funny thing.

[Jesse David Fox]

And then a funny thing.

[Greg Davies]

And then he did a funny thing.

[Jesse David Fox]

As if you go, this is funny.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

All down these stairs. Yeah.

[Greg Davies]

When the whole group went, oh, David. Yeah.

[Alex Horne]

I had time to think of my one during that.

[Greg Davies]

I'm.

[Alex Horne]

Ken Dodd was my one. Not my hero growing up. But I like Kendall a lot because he does a lot of variety, tells all the jokes. And I went to see him a few.

[Jesse David Fox]

But I Google it afterwards.

[Alex Horne]

Liverpool comedian barely left the country. He was actually my specialist subject on the quiz show called Mastermind. Anyway, I met him a few times when I was trying to become a comedian and he was very nice. He also in his 70s, still had current jokes written on his hand for that night. And that was quite inspiring that you should keep coming up with new material all the time. That's my Ken. It's not anything like that.

[Greg Davies]

Ken Dodds shows. Even when he was in his 70s, I think even 80s, infamously four or five hours long.

[Alex Horne]

So I did go and see a show with Tim Key. We watched an hour, then went to a pub to watch a football match and went back and watched another hour of Ken Dodd.

[Jesse David Fox]

That's how long and like, was he doing like short set of punchline jokes or some.

[Alex Horne]

And then he would have a ventriloquist and then be variety things. But he would be all the variety. He would do the ventriloquist and then he expand.

[Jesse David Fox]

It's kind of like Don Rickles later in life would do similar things. He would sing songs and do the things.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. They'd serve coffee in the. In the corridors. Not during the interest. People go out and get coffee, come back in. Many people have died during Ken DOD show because his audience is quite elderly. Yeah. I mean, I think it might be double figures of.

[Greg Davies]

I think Ken's one of that was one of that generation of comedians who just had to be on stage that it was so intrinsically linked to who they were that he even as an old man just had no Choice but to be on stage.

[Jesse David Fox]

Yeah. Do either of you have a. Something that you, that people think is comedy that you think isn't comedy? Would you mind asking something that people think is comedy or would call comedy that you think isn't comedy?

[Alex Horne]

I struggle slightly with sitcoms now. I like sitcoms that make you laugh and have jokes in, and there's quite a few sitcoms that are quite serious, and I, I just think there should be another term. So I did a sitcom and it's very silly, but it feels like that's the least trendy thing to do. Now. The sitcoms have to be, they have to have a message and they have to have some darkness. And I, I, I'm, they're great, but I, I think they're not, some of them are not comedy. Yeah, they're really good drama.

[Greg Davies]

I, I think it's okay for the end goal to, to purely be. To try and make people laugh. And I think we've sort of been through sort of 25 years or so where that was perhaps looked down upon a little, you know, for the, for the goal of a comedian to make someone laugh is sort of not by anyone in particular, but I think it's been sneered at a little bit. And I, for me, you know, as someone who came into comedy quite late, my only agenda was to try and make people laugh. Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Last one for either of you.

[Greg Davies]

And I think that's, I think that's all right. I think it is all right.

[Jesse David Fox]

I think it's okay. Do either you have the example of the best time you ever bombed.

[Alex Horne]

I've got mine, which I have told before, but. So I was doing my first Edinburgh show with Tim Key, and we got offered to do it in Northern Ireland in a town called Bangor. There's a Bangor in Wales, but there's a Bangor in Northern Ireland. And we arrived and there's a big sign outside. It was in the church, this big sign outside which said adults Only Comedy Night. And it was only me and Tim, and we're not very adult. And the evening had started. They put on a Billy Connelly dvd and they were loving it. They were absolutely loving it. And then we arrived, they said, are you ready to go on Sweet? Yeah, we're ready. So they pressed pause on Billy and we started doing our scientific dissection on what makes people laugh. It wasn't us. So we did 10 minutes, and they were very polite. They hadn't reacted in any way. And we said, what? How's this going with you? And they all said, no, I think you should stop. So we stopped and they pressed play on Billy and we went back to our little BnB and got a Chinese takeaway and talked about it. And it was so funny because it wasn't. No one was angry. No. It was all wrong.

[Greg Davies]

Mine's not as interest. Well, mine's just strange. I did a call. I've stopped doing corporate shows some years ago, but I. But it was always, you know, in the. The mid stages of your career. It's a good way of paying your mortgage to do an awful corporate thing. And they're generally fairly harmless and you just hand out awards to some people from marketing or whatever. But I got asked to do one in the Natural History Museum, which is one of the most beautiful. Have you been there?

[Jesse David Fox]

No. Imagining our Natural History Museum. And it works.

[Alex Horne]

Same night at the museum. That's what you.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The hallway is quite grand and has either a blue whale or a Tyrannosaurus rex suspended from the ceiling. On the night. I did a corporate, though it was a blue whale and I. In front of some. Some pretty overweight businessmen. I did my act of virtual silence. And then one of our big news anchors sort of rolled her eyes at me as I left.

[Alex Horne]

It's an echoey room, that room as well.

[Greg Davies]

Real low.

[Alex Horne]

Yeah. I'd like.

[Greg Davies]

I'd like to tell you about a comedian I witnessed bombing, who I really admired. The way this comedian, who I won't name, obviously it was years and years ago. I really admired the way they dealt with their bombing because they'd worked out the rhythms of their routine, which is perfectly good. It was just an awful room. They'd worked out the rhythms of their routines so well that when they. They delivered a punchline that they thought was controversial, or, you know, that was supposed to be controversial, and on this particular gig, it was met with pin drop silence. So they delivered the punchline, the controversial punchline. There was no response from the room whatsoever. You couldn't hear. You couldn't even hear breath in the room. It was a heavy silence and the comedian went, ooh, that's put the cat amongst the pigeons. And I really admire that spirit. I thought they just went, fuck you.

[Alex Horne]

They can't with the gorse funk thing.

[Greg Davies]

Yeah.

[Jesse David Fox]

Thank you so much.

[Alex Horne]

Pleasure. Thank you, Jesse.

[Greg Davies]

Thanks, Jesse.

[Jesse David Fox]

That's it for another episode of Good One. Good One is produced by myself, Zachary Mack, Neal Janowicz and Anne Victoria Clarke. Music composed by Brandon McFarland. Write a review and rate the show on Apple Podcasts. Five stars. Please I am Jesse David Fox and you can follow me. Esseidavidfox Buy my book, comedy book, wherever books are sold. Thanks for listening to good one from New York Magazine. You can subscribe to the [e-mail] pod we'll be back with a new episode next week. Have a good one.