Maryam Moshiri joins Taskmaster after cancer diagnosis and infamous BBC blunder

BBC news presenter Maryam Moshiri is swapping serious headlines for ridiculous challenges after signing up for Taskmaster’s New Year Treat.

The 49-year-old is one of five celebrities taking on Greg Davies and Alex Horne’s famously unpredictable tasks, just months after revealing she has been living with an incurable form of blood cancer.

Moshiri will compete against This Morning presenter Alison Hammond, singer Chesney Hawkes, trainspotting social media star Francis Bourgeois and TV barrister Rob Rinder in the Channel 4 special.

And Taskmaster viewers unfamiliar with Moshiri beyond the news desk may be in for a surprise. The broadcaster has already built an enthusiastic online following thanks to a string of funny live television moments, including one spectacularly unfortunate hand gesture.

Maryam Moshiri revealed incurable cancer diagnosis

Moshiri revealed in September that she had been diagnosed with polycythaemia vera, known as PV, a rare type of blood cancer.

She was diagnosed in November 2024 after routine blood tests, despite initially experiencing few obvious symptoms.

PV causes the body to produce too many red blood cells, making the blood thicker and increasing the risk of blood clots, strokes, heart attacks and deep vein thrombosis.

There is currently no cure, meaning Moshiri expects to undergo treatment for the rest of her life, although the condition can be managed effectively.

Her early treatment included repeated venesections, where blood is removed to reduce its thickness. Moshiri said the procedures contributed to severe exhaustion, while she also experienced hair loss and itching.

She later moved on to interferon treatment through the NHS and said in September that she was feeling considerably better, although fatigue remained one of the biggest effects of the condition.

Despite her diagnosis, Moshiri continued presenting and travelling for major BBC stories, including coverage from the Vatican.

She said she decided to speak publicly about her cancer to raise awareness, particularly because the disease can be difficult for other people to see or understand.

The Maryam Moshiri middle finger moment

Taskmaster may also suit a presenter who has already shown she can cope when live television goes spectacularly off script.

Moshiri went viral in December 2023 after viewers saw her apparently giving the middle finger to the camera seconds before beginning a BBC News bulletin.

She immediately dropped her hand, switched to newsreader mode and opened the programme with: “Live from London, this is BBC News.”

Moshiri later explained that she had been joking with colleagues during the studio countdown, using her fingers to count down from 10.

When the countdown reached one she turned her remaining finger around as a joke, without realising the camera was already showing her live.

She apologised to anyone offended and stressed that the gesture was aimed neither at viewers nor any individual.

The full countdown footage subsequently emerged and showed exactly how the mishap happened.

It was not Moshiri’s only viral moment. She has also attracted attention for attempting to demonstrate a supermoon with her hands when the expected picture failed to appear and for an impression of a seagull on air.

Who else is in Taskmaster’s New Year Treat?

Moshiri will now have the chance to put that ability to improvise to rather different use.

Joining her is Alison Hammond, who presents This Morning and The Great British Bake Off, while Chesney Hawkes remains best known for his 1991 number one single The One And Only.

Francis Bourgeois, real name Luke Nicholson, became a social media sensation through his exuberant trainspotting videos and has since become one of the new presenters of Prime Video’s The Grand Tour.

Completing the five is criminal barrister and broadcaster Rob Rinder, who became a household name through the ITV courtroom series Judge Rinder.

Greg Davies will judge the celebrities’ efforts, with Taskmaster creator Alex Horne overseeing the challenges.

Unlike the regular series, the New Year Treat brings together famous faces for a short standalone contest, with the winner claiming Greg’s Golden Eyebrows rather than the golden Taskmaster head awarded in the main series.

Channel 4 has yet to reveal exactly when the new New Year Treat will be shown.

Taskmaster is also heading onto a much bigger stage in 2027, with Davies and Horne due to host the programme’s first UK live arena show at Manchester’s AO Arena on May 26 before taking a live show to the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles in June.