Taskmaster contestants confirmed 2023: five celebrities taking part on Taskmaster’s New Year Treat revealed

Taskmaster’s New Year Treat returns this year, and five celebrity contestants have been announced by Channel 4. Supreme Taskmaster Greg Davies and his doting assistant Little Alex Horne will set the unlucky competitors a series of ludicrous challenges that they must complete in whatever way they can conceive of.

The one-off special has been a favourite among Taskmaster fans since it launched on New Year’s Eve 2021. Last year Amelia Dimoldenberg, Carol Vorderman, Greg James, Sir Mo Farah, and Rebecca Lucy Taylor battled it out, with Farah taking home the unusual Taskmaster trophy.

These are the contestants who Channel 4 have confirmed will take part in the ridiculous one-off special this year:

Who are the contestants on Taskmaster's New Year Treat 2023?

The five celebrity contestants are Deborah Meaden, Kojey Radical, Lenny Rush, Steve Backshall, and Zoe Ball.

Deborah Meaden is best known as a prominent businesswoman and star of Dragon’s Den as one of the dragons. She has an impressive net worth of around £40 million. She has also appeared on several other TV shows including Celebrity Gogglebox, Loose Women, and Strictly Come Dancing season 11, in which she was the fourth contestant to be eliminated.

Kojey Radical is a Mercury Prize and MOBO Award nominated music artist who performs a blend of grim, hip hop, alternative rap, and spoken word. He is best known for his songs War Outside, and F**k the Worl, as well as for featuring on SHY FX’s Goof Morning, and Ezra Collective’s No Confusion. 

Lenny Rush is a 14 year old actor who won a Bafta for Best Male Performance in a Comedy Programmer for his role as Ollie in Daisy May Cooper series Am I Being Unreasonable? He has also appeared in The Dumping Ground, drama series Best Interests, and co-presented Children in Need this year. He is set to star in the new season of Doctor Who in 2024.

Steve Backshall is a TV presenter, adventurer, and wildlife expert best known for fronting the Deadly 60 series, though he has appeared in a host of shows about the natural world. This year alone he has appeared on Steve and Aneeshwar Go Wild, Deadly Mission Shark, and Whale With Steve Backshall.

Zoe Ball is a radio and TV presenter and was second on the list of the BBC’s highest paid talent, having earned £980,000 last year, behind only Gary Lineker. She has been the host of BBC Radio 2’s breakfast show since 2018, and was the presenter of competition show Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream which landed on ITVX this month.

When is Taskmaster’s New Year Treat on TV?

Channel 4 hasn’t officially announced a release date of New Year Treat, however, the last two years a bleeped version of the show was released on New Year’s Eve with the uncensored version coming out on New Year’s Day, so it likely the same release schedule will be repeated this year.