Taskmaster series 12 cast: when does the new season start on Channel 4 and who are the contestants?

Taskmaster has return to Channel 4, with the hilarious show pitching comedians against one another to make a fool of themselves for our entertainment.

The show has welcomed many famous faces, from Ed Gamble to Frank Skinner and Romesh Ranganathan.

So, who will be competing for Greg Davies’ appreciation and when is the show on TV? This is what you need to know.

When is Taskmaster back on TV?

Alex Horne, Greg Davies and five new comedians returned to our screens on Thursday 23 September.

New episodes air each week on Thursdays at 9pm on Channel 4 and are also available on the All 4 streaming platform.

Who are the contestants on Taskmaster series 12?

From actors to a narrator and poker players, here is the line up of five contestants:

Alan Davies

Davies is the lead actor in Jonathan’s Creek as well as a QI panelist and stand up comedian.

He has acted in roles such as Alastair Kavanagh in Damned and Roland White in Whites.

Asked by Channel 4 if he wanted to win or focused on being funny, Davies revealed: “Your instinct is mainly to be funny, of course, but what you’re not prepared for on this show is that there’s something very unguarded about this whole process: they have a lot of cameras in all sorts of places, so you don’t know where they all are.

“Once the task begins, you forget they’re there and your instinct is simply to try and complete it as best you can.”

Desiree Burch

American comedian and Too Hot To Handle narrator Burch won the Funny Women Stage Award in 2015.

Since then, she has appeared on the likes of Live at the Apollo, The Mash Report, Mock the Week and QI.

She told Channel 4 she didn’t have to be convinced to take part in the show, admitting “It’s so much fun!”

“I have to say, especially during this time where there’s masking and Covid testing and all of that stuff, it was truly delightful to show up to a place around a bunch of people and do something fun that you’ve never done before,” she added.

Burch also revealed all the comedians got on really well, which irritated Taskmaster Greg Davies.

Guz Khan

Also a comic and actor, Guz Khan is best known for his work on TV show Man Like Mobeen and his stand up appearances on Live at the Apollo.

Prior to becoming a comedian, Khan worked as a teacher at Grace Academy, in Coventry, teaching Humanities.

Khan said of his tactics for the show, “There are no rules! Greg decides what he flippin’ likes on the spot. There’s no preparation you can do for that, is there?”

Morgana Robinson

The Windsors and The Witches (2020) actor and presenter of comedy sketch show Morgana Robinon’s the Agency, Morgana was born in Australia and works mainly as a comedian and impressionist.

Asked if she went onto Taskmaster with any kind of strategy, Morgana admitted her game plan was to have no game plan at all.

“There’s no point! Nothing ever goes to plan. You’re up the creek without a paddle,” she said, adding “let God decide.”

Victoria Coren Mitchell

Professional poker player and Only Connect host, Coren Mitchell became known after becoming first woman to win an event on the European Poker Tour, the first player to win both a televised professional tournament and a televised celebrity tournament, and the first player to win two European Poker Tour Main Events.

She was inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame in 2016.

She revealed she used the show to serve as a distraction while her child returned to school, post-Covid.

“I’ve been asked before but I didn’t do it, mainly because I had a small child... This series coincided with her first term at school. I was worried about being at home by myself, so I thought it would be quite good to be physically removed to a different situation, facing some distracting challenges,” she told Channel 4.

What will the contestants’ trials include in series 12?

While we can’t be sure of exactly what ridiculously silly tasks this season has in store, the trailer has given some clues.

From cycling to sitting on marshmallow coated cakes and something involving Alan Davies in a bathtub outside, the tasks look as bonkers and entertaining as always.

Whatever it involves, Greg Davies looks aptly pleased with himself.

A golden bust of Greg Davies’s head will be awarded to the comedian who earns the most points,  while Alex Horne will return as the umpire - offering little in the way of direction or support for the five contestants.

Will there be another Champion of Champions series?

Fans of the show will also be glad to hear that a second dose of Champion of Champions has been filmed and will premiere later this year.

However, the show will not be split across two episodes like it has been in the past.

Ed Gamble, winner of series nine, told comedian Mel Giedroyc on the Taskmaster podcast that the show has already been filmed.

"We’ve filmed the tasks for that already," Gamble told her, before adding that fellow contestant and winner of series 10 Richard Herring was "very" competitive.

"But I think everyone is, I think you need to be to win," Gamble pointed out, joking, "I think that’s probably why it’s good that it’s one episode, because I think it’d probably get quite shouty."

Joining COC2 alongside Gamble and Herring is fellow champs Liza Tarbuck, Kerry Godliman and Lou Sanders.