Taskmaster season 17 start date announced by Channel 4

Taskmaster is back, with a brand new series just days away.

Channel 4 has announced that the 17th series of the comedy panel game show – which is hosted by Greg Davies and Alex Horne – will start this month. It comes four months after season 16 wrapped, although fans have since been treated to specials in the shape of New Year Treat and Champion Of Champions.

So what do we know about the new series?

When is Taskmaster back?

Taskmaster fans don’t have long to wait as it has been confirmed that the series will start on March 28. It will air on Channel 4 at 9pm.

What happens in Taskmaster?

For the uninitiated, Taskmaster sees celebs, often comedians, trying to complete a range of hilarious tasks. Over the years they have done all sorts of things, like singing to a dog, trying to get a feather into a bath without touching it and filling a pint glass from as far away as possible.

Horne is the umpire in the challenges, while Taskmaster Davies gives out the points to whoever has done the best.

The TV show started in 2015 and since then there have been 16 series and several seasonal specials.

Who is taking part in series 17?

Taskmaster has lined up an impressive crop of stars for its new run, with Steve Pemberton, Joanne McNally, John Robins, Nick Mohammed and Sophie Willan taking part.

Pemberton, who is known for The League Of Gentlemen and Inside No 9, apparently shared that he was going to be on Taskmaster in an unusual way. One episode of Inside No 9 had a focus on crosswords, and earlier this year there were reports that a crossword in The Guardian revealed that Pemberton was doing the game show.

Irish comedian McNally is known for both her stand-up and her podcasts, but TV viewers might also have spotted her on The Late Late Show and The Big Fat Quiz of the Year.

Stand-up Robins has TV experience, having hosted the game show Beat The Internet, and is well known for radio, with hosting slots on Radio X and BBC Radio 5 Live among his credits. He is already friends with Horne, as the pair co-host the Bad Golf YouTube channel.

Actor and comedian Mohammed is probably best known for Ted Lasso, where he plays Nathan Shelley. But he has also found fame with his character Mr Swallow, who has popped up both in stage and on screen. Mohammed has also appeared in the likes of Inside No 9 and 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown.

Willan, who is both an actor and comedian, founded feminist theatre and cabaret group Eggs Collective and has had hit stand-up shows like On Record and Branded. In 2020 she landed her own TV show, Alma’s Not Normal.

Is there a trailer?

A brief teaser trailer was unveiled earlier this year, showing the new contestants wearing huge bonnets and running around a field with some horses.

The post on X said: "New year. New #Taskmaster. Five new comedians out standing in their field."

Hosts Greg Davies and Alex Horne are good friends

Davies and Horne have been doing Taskmaster together for several years now and have a strong bond.

Taskmaster Davies previously told Chortle it was "unlikely friendship" but that it had "crept along nicely".

He joked: "I’m more than happy for it to be made public that Alex and I have been camping together. I never thought him and I would spend a night under the stars, but we did. It was pre-lockdown, and it was even voluntary."

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