Taskmaster The Podcast - Ep 117. Alex Horne - S8 Ep.8

Episode Date: February 9, 2023

This week's guest is non other than Little Alex Horne!! Alex casts his mind back to 2019 and digs deep in to Series 8 of Taskmaster. There's a lot to discuss - a team task, a task inspired by a former... contestant and the first episode win for Paul Sinha. All of this plus some technical difficulties that gets Alex in a flap. Enjoy!Watch all of Taskmaster on All 4www.channel4.com/programmes/taskmasterVisit the Taskmaster Store for all your TM goodies!taskmasterstore.com Visit the Taskmaster YouTube Channelyoutube.com/taskmaster Get in touch with Ed and future guests:taskmasterpodcast@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 We can wait for clean water solutions, or we can engineer access to clean water. We can acknowledge indigenous cultures, or we can learn from indigenous voices. We can demand more from the earth, or we can demand more from ourselves. At York University, we work together to create positive change for a better tomorrow. Join us at yorku.ca slash write the future. Hello and welcome to the Taskmaster podcast. It's me, Ed Gamble, the host of the Taskmaster podcast, and today we are talking about Taskmaster, of course, Series 8, of course, and Episode 8, of course. Very, very strong episode. Very excited to chat about this with the wonderful Alex Horne.
Starting point is 00:01:01 Little Alex Horne, the Taskmaster's assistant, creator of Taskmaster. He doesn't really need an introduction, does he? If you don't know who Alex Horne is, why are you listening to this podcast? Very excited to chat to Alex. Maybe we'll get some hot goss about the upcoming Series 15. And maybe his thoughts on 13 and 14 as well, because we haven't spoken to him since before then. Without further ado, let's just crack on with this. It's the brilliant Alex Horne talking about Taskmaster Series 8, Episode 8. Welcome back, Alex Horne, to the Taskmaster Series 8, Episode 8. Welcome back. Alex Horne to the Taskmaster Podcast.
Starting point is 00:01:31 Thanks, Ed. It's so great to be back. Oh, it's all changed around here. It's been a long time since you've been on the podcast. Has it? It's been a year. It's been a whole year. That's exactly the right amount of time, isn't it? Do you think? yeah oh yes yeah i think it is you've had all sorts of different people on since i've been on and i think although
Starting point is 00:01:51 i can add an angle i like hearing from other people yes the other people have been great as well but we've had two whole series since you've been on we've had series 13 and series 14 alex which were both absolutely brilliant i thought i don't know if you thought well i thought but i was with Andy Devonshire today and I told him that I've been on every series of this podcast but that turns out I was lying no that's not true yeah not true at all you're not being you didn't talk about series 13 or 14 um this is going to be a hard question now uh can you give me one highlight from both series 13 and 14 actually you can give me a highlight from each series, if you can remember, because I think you're currently filming series 38.
Starting point is 00:02:32 Series 13, the highlight was actually the interview with Bridget Christie. Yes. Which was not on the main show, but it's on the YouTube channel, where we had to walk around and she had to stop me when we'd done a certain amount of steps and I was asking
Starting point is 00:02:50 her questions. And for me, that was one of the funniest things I've been involved. When I watched that VT back, it made me laugh an awful lot. Yes. That's the highlight. An unexpected highlight. And series 14, I will go... There are... There's many to choose from but i guess it will
Starting point is 00:03:09 be something with fern yes but i don't know what but i think i think just maybe the very final task of the series when she was talking about the potatoes as little people for some reason that tickled me it's always a little moment moments, but yeah, I think her... I think I've met these potatoes before. That's the one. That'll be my highlight. We had a little break there, Alex, because there was... Listeners will be able to hear that there was a little scratchy sound, wasn't there, when you were giving your highlights of series 13 and
Starting point is 00:03:46 14 and we worked out it's because your headphones were scratching against your little beard. Yes. Also, the good news is that during that sentence it came up with the fact that my internet is unstable. Yes, there was a little gap. There was a little gap.
Starting point is 00:04:01 Yeah, yeah. So I've got an itchy, scratchy beard and fucking Yimshir broadband on the internet. Yes, good. So this is going to be a great episode, a solid gold classic. Yes. Look, we're here to talk about Series 8, Episode 8, of course. Now, this must feel like a long time ago to you. I watched the episode because I'm a good boy and I prepped for this, and it did feel like
Starting point is 00:04:23 I was never involved in it. I can't remember anything about it and I really enjoyed watching it which was a relief but I did watch it on the tube today and somebody saw me watching Taskmaster and knew I was in it and I was laughing so that was a bad moment he was called Stefan oh what you met you met the person yes yes yes he came and talked to me did you explain why you were watching it? No, no, thank you. I love it. I sort of shut down the browser as if I was watching porn. Yeah, yeah. I think it's better to be caught watching porn on the tube than it is watching your own TV show on the tube.
Starting point is 00:04:56 Yeah, so that's what I tuned into next. And I was still laughing, still laughing. Shuckling away. Is that what you're meant to do when you're watching it? Yeah, you have a good old laugh don't you um i i've got to say before we even talk about the the main body of the episode i think this might rank as one of my favorite um uh episode skits that you do at the top i was pleased with it watching it back i was bingo yeah one number bingo yeah yeah i really want to know if anyone you know took part at all if i'm watching that program i probably will automatically think
Starting point is 00:05:30 of a number so i'd love it if somebody had but no one got in touch to say they've done it oh my phone ringing this is perfect hasn't rung this year before here we go off we go to the landline but i can't get there because I'm all tangled up. Yeah. He's gone. Gone to answer his landline. What does that... No, no. Ah!
Starting point is 00:05:56 Ow! OK, so it turns out I've got an automatic answering machine on that. I didn't realise. But I cut that off by pressing the off button yes so we better hope that's not important well it's by me now so i'll be able to answer yeah sorry it's lovely to see you all in a flap alex because i don't think taskmaster viewers ever really get to see you in a total flap you're normally quite composed even when you're having now the done to you. Now the internet's gone off. Oh, the internet's gone off, has it? Yeah, he can't hear me because the internet's gone off.
Starting point is 00:06:33 Oh dear. Can you hear me, Alex? Alex is frozen. Oh, brilliant. I absolutely love everything that's happened so far. Are we recording again? Yeah, of course. We've been recording the whole time. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:06:55 You were saying I was in a flap and then my internet went down. I think my flap is over now because it's... I mean, I don't think anything else can go wrong. Well, there you go. You've said it now. Immediately cut to. How's blowing up? It was actually Stefan on the landline. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:07:10 I gave him a number in the tube. Yeah, that's what you do when you get embarrassed, isn't it? Yeah, I gave him a landline and £40. Yes, well done you. Well, thank you for liking the one number bingo. I also thought watching it greg's introduction to me was very tame and i wondered if they've got more extreme in the last sort of five series i think especially in the last series i don't think they've got harsher but greg's introductions
Starting point is 00:07:36 as a whole i feel like uh greg's got weirder with his his introductions to the show and the links at the top of the show they get more and more. And he sometimes takes on a different character. I love, I love watching them. It just feels like he's gone mad in his dressing room. Yeah. He sends them in on the day. Yes.
Starting point is 00:07:52 He sends an idea in and they are, they are often long. Yeah. They are. They're just a stream of consciousness and we have to sub them down, but he then subs them up again. And then in the edit, we struggle. Yeah. He's a wonder to work with that man yes um truly is
Starting point is 00:08:10 um i was just thinking about the little the little skits that you do at the top this is another tricky question for you do you have a favorite of all time in taskmaster for the little either your introductory bits or the banter with Greg. Yes, I do. There is a YouTube video on the Taskmaster channel of all of my introductions, I think up to series 10 or something, which is a really odd thing for anyone to watch, but even more odd for me to watch, because it's just me.
Starting point is 00:08:36 And you realise they're unrelentingly awkward. Yeah. Sort of deliberately don't... I don't know if it's deliberately don't make them as funny as they could, but they deliberately hang in the air a bit yeah um but easily my favorite was when i offered him a drink out of my a little tube that was up one sleeve but it turned out to be concentrated orange squash and he had to dilute it with the other one another tube coming out of my other sleeve and it was yeah greg genuinely laughed a lot at that which is always my aim every single
Starting point is 00:09:03 time is to make him laugh, it's so hard I believe that was this series as well, that was series 8 as well I think, oh was it? on a good streak on a run of form, I think I'm sure listeners will correct me if I'm wrong that the fake arm might have been this series
Starting point is 00:09:20 as well which was another good one oh I think that might have been much more recent than, well I don't know but anyway this the one number bingo the one number bingo didn't scratch his funny bone in the slightest nothing right no he didn't one of the news in the slightest like genuinely or fictionally just nothing from greg yeah it didn't reference it at all those are my favorites when you when you get absolutely nothing and then you just have to sit there holding a ball with a number on it. Perfect.
Starting point is 00:09:47 Neither of us are pretending in that bit. I'm trying to make him laugh. He's prepared to laugh, but never does. Yeah, very different men. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Socially, it wouldn't work, would it? Well, we're different generations. That's the main thing.
Starting point is 00:10:00 Yes. But I get on very well with Greg. Well, you're a different generation from me yeah maybe that's that's the thing maybe he only gets on with people two generation generations away from him every other generation yeah um that's one of the first things greg said to me when i was supporting him on tour we um we went to the airport to fly to inverness and there was a free sample of uh um eau de toilette and he sprayed both of us with it and he said, two lads, different generations,
Starting point is 00:10:26 both smell the same. Oh, he'd love a duty-free area, Greg, I imagine, strutting down that. You know those floors where you've got twinkly coloured stones in the tiles?
Starting point is 00:10:41 That's what his flats like. Yeah. tiles. That's what his flats like. Let's talk about the prize task. Nicest thing to hold. It's a lovely category, I thought. It is, but it's not a category designed to make you laugh some of them are sort of
Starting point is 00:11:07 get a chuckle when I announce them this was sort of okay nice open playing field but let's see what they've got they had to do a bit of work here I think
Starting point is 00:11:14 they had to use their brains they did and I think they actually did quite well in this episode I'd say I don't think this is unfair that broadly across this series there's a few episodes
Starting point is 00:11:23 where none of them bring in anything good yes not unfair not unfair at all mainly it's mainly Joe Thomas broadly across this series, there's a few episodes where none of them bring in anything good. Yes. Not unfair? Not unfair at all. It's mainly Joe Thomas leading the charge there, but he does do slightly better with this one. Let's talk about Joe's. He
Starting point is 00:11:35 suggested a note is a nice thing to hold, specifically the Vincero note from Nessun Dorma, Pavarotti. Yes. In the final cut that we watch, there's not really any discussion of it. It's just, yes, lateral thinking, let's move on.
Starting point is 00:11:51 I imagine that's because during the series when Joe talked, he talked very slowly. And didn't really make, you know, it took a while to get to any points. But it did speak for itself. It's a nice reading of something to hold. Rubbish prize, obviously, to win a recording of that. And Greg didn't seem to try to work out whether it is a nice note to hold.
Starting point is 00:12:17 I think it's probably a very difficult note to hold. Yeah. And is that Joe on the tape, by the way? It's not Pavarotti. And I don't think it's explained in that initial thing. I think it's mentioned later on that it's Joe holding the note. Well, there were problems with what we could clear. There's always problems with copyright in our show.
Starting point is 00:12:33 And so we had to only have a certain amount of the song, which was literally that one sound. And I think we couldn't even, we couldn't use anyone else holding that. It had to be Joe. But I think that maybe we could only talk about it for that length of time. Something like that. There were problems.
Starting point is 00:12:50 So that's why that ended up being like that. But Joe did well scoring. I don't know if we're allowed to talk about scoring yet. Yes, we are. Four points he got for that. Four points. Yeah, purely because of the lateral thinking, I think. Yeah, but I don't think Greg normally enjoys lateral thinking.
Starting point is 00:13:03 I think sometimes he thinks people are trying to be a bit clever clever and he marks that down. But on this occasion, he seemed to enjoy it. Yes, I would say I didn't agree with any of the scoring in this particular prize round. Okay. What would you have given Joe? I don't think it's a nice thing to hold.
Starting point is 00:13:21 One point. Yeah, fair enough. I mean mean i was surprised greg enjoyed it i don't i think i i think i wanted to see a straightforward uh interpretation of this prize task i wanted to see this being played with a straight bat as joe has done on every other prize test this is the first time he's ever thought outside the box everything else has been best see-through thing window yes things like that well also i would say um some of the tasks the price tasks are designed with the prize giving in mind so at the end we were hoping there'd be five things there to be held yeah and it would look lovely holding them whereas that tape you couldn't really you know
Starting point is 00:14:00 in the end you're just winning a cassette player which is no good um so yes jody did well to get four points something else that's not necessarily nice to be held in the uh in the closing ceremony if i can call it that um was lou's voucher for a trip to possibly see some dolphins plus hope because you're hoping to see some dolphins this to me is a classic example of someone overthinking a prize yeah it's it's really Pete Lou as well. Yeah. It's an excellent example of Lou because I think she meant it with the hope.
Starting point is 00:14:32 I think she was trying to give hope. Yes. And she didn't want to do badly. Do badly. I think there's an adjective. There's a little word linking what I'm missing here, but she didn't want to do badly to the environment. Yes. But in the end, yeah, it's a bit
Starting point is 00:14:48 of a cop-out. There's been a few vouchers across the years, and I think ideally we would see in the future the winner of this episode. I don't want to give that away yet, even though the viewers, the listeners might have known. Yeah, they know. Oh, well, it would have been nice to see Paul Sinner swimming with dolphins. It would have been lovely. As a little postscript.
Starting point is 00:15:04 I can't say for sure whether he has taken her up on that voucher, but I don't think he has. No, I'm not sure. It's also peak Lou, because Lou seems to be constantly battling her own instincts and then worrying that she's doing harm to the environment or being nasty. So every time I see Lou, she goes,
Starting point is 00:15:24 oh, my new thing is I'm nice to people or i don't speak badly about people or i'm good for the environment and then well for example so in this prize task it's unethical to harm dolphins so they might not be there and then the next task she said what what contestant should we draw probably someone with a recognizable face like a fat one so it's it's constantly constantly tearing her own personality away away from the way she projects herself she's quite complicated i think she's so aware of what's really funny and not yeah but also wants to do the right thing yes and her humor tells her to go one way and her conscience tells her to go the other it's brilliant yes it's really fun very fun It's very fun to watch. Very fun to watch. And of course, this leads to, I think, one of the best Greg riffs of Taskmaster history,
Starting point is 00:16:08 the dolphin hammering away at him like an aquatic sewing machine. Yeah, that was what I was laughing at most on the tube. Yeah. I think it's when that's Greg at his best. People sometimes say he has it easy on this show, just comes in and makes his judgments and goes home again. But he really does. That leaves him free to just be himself and be funny and that was that was him just riffing as you say and yeah he got to aquatic sewing machines so easily in his brain
Starting point is 00:16:35 yeah it's incredible um let's talk about ian sterling's uh 200 pound cash held and held in a money clip solid i think solid think. Solid. Very solid. I think, you know, we've had other cash-based prizes. We've talked about other cash-based prizes on the podcast. Lolly, I think, was maybe one of the first people to bring in a load of cash, I think. But she actually had it with her. She was sat on it.
Starting point is 00:16:59 So she could just whip it out and sort of flash it around. Yeah. The funny thing, I always see Greg's little eyes light up when there's cash. He does love it. He loves cash. Yeah. And he sort of deflected it by enjoying the cash clip more, but I think it was just.
Starting point is 00:17:12 Just having the cash knocking around. Yeah. How many points did he get? He got three points. He got three points. Yes. So I did have a slight problem again with Greg scoring. Cause he put two people in third place.
Starting point is 00:17:23 You don't like, you don't like it when he gives people the same amount of points. I don't mind if he gives people the same amount, but if you've put two people in third place. You don't like it when he gives people the same amount of points. I don't mind if he gives people the same amount but if you've got two people in third place you shouldn't have anyone in fourth place. I mean everyone is in agreement with me. The system
Starting point is 00:17:37 doesn't work if you... anyway. It's so funny watching you get a bit flummoxed by that sort of thing because you always do. Whenever he goes and going up to four points and you go, oh, really? Oh, yep. Okay.
Starting point is 00:17:51 Really? Okay. And then you look at your iPad. It should be five, four, three, two, one. The numbers of points should add up to 15 every time. It's just maths. It's just how the numbers should work. But they very rarely do now. But you've given him free reign.
Starting point is 00:18:05 Yeah, I have. I've given him too much leash. Too much leash. Sian also gets three points, of course, for a life-size pillow version of herself. Yeah. Which I loved. I don't know what you thought.
Starting point is 00:18:20 I thought this was slightly underscored. I thought this was a great prize. I also think underscored. I wondered if Greg was going to... Watching watching it back I'd forgotten what happened I wondered if he was gonna hug Sian at some point yeah normally when there is a little person like Sian we see them side by side with Greg at a certain point to really you know hammer that point home so I think a hug would have been nice she might have disappeared within the folds Greg it fully enveloped um I think we have seen the been nice. She might have disappeared within the folds, Greg. It fully enveloped. I think we have seen the side-by-side already this series,
Starting point is 00:18:49 so maybe Greg didn't, maybe he was thinking, I don't want to hammer this point home. Right. Yes, that may well have been it. But yeah, I thought the pillows were nice. And yeah, it could have been a four-pointer, could have been a five-pointer, because she is nice to hold. Yes. Yes.
Starting point is 00:19:03 And the pillow, you you know a body pillow people are into body pillows aren't they yeah not everyone but a lot of people enough some people some people are into them um and also greg said it looked like her secret sister wasn't allowed out which made me laugh a lot um paul sinner now sometimes alex i think there's some conspiracy theories going around that that you as a production decide that someone has to win an episode. Yeah, I can imagine that. But if we did have that as our policy, we wouldn't have had the instances of people not winning episodes like Romesh. And also, you wouldn't get episodes as exciting as this one where it comes down to the wire.
Starting point is 00:19:42 So I love it when everyone wins an episode. I really do. I wish everyone love it when everyone wins an episode i really i really do i wish everyone had the chance to win an episode but some people are simply so bad that they don't um no sometimes stars align we we don't we never arrange the tasks with points in mind ever because that would be a much worse way of doing it well also as you say greg's got so much leash you're not ever going to be able to tell him how to score things or give him a nudge. No, there have been times before the show I've said to him,
Starting point is 00:20:10 look, I would love it if this person did well on this task. Yeah. And there's no point in me saying that. He will either deliberately do it wrong to annoy me, or he'll remember it slightly wrong and do it the other way. Yeah, that's more likely. Or he just gets flustered because i've told him to do something so so no it's never those conspiracy
Starting point is 00:20:29 theories can um focus on another theory for a bit yes um well paul brings in his school chess trophy that he won for three years in a row uh and then told his dad that he was allowed to keep it but he'd actually stolen it i mean it's this is all about the story isn't it it was a great example of a prize story because we tell everyone to keep it concise because we do need to move on and a long shaggy joke story doesn't work he told it really well we had the punch line which was a true bit you can relate to paul's life we all now want to hold that trophy i think that was a that was the only worthy victory i think that's yeah five points to him should have been four to Sean yeah it was cut cut and dried victory for Paul Sinner there and um I love Paul's little face when he finally wins stuff several times in this episode I love Paul's little face yes there's a lot of lovely poor little face and I prefer poor little face when he's happy to poor little
Starting point is 00:21:20 face crouch down in a phone box even though that's a lot funnier. Which is just... I want to get a tattoo of that. Yeah, I remember that happening. The cameraman just showing us what he got on the camera. Oh dear, it was like when they found the Chilean miners. Was that...
Starting point is 00:21:41 That was a happy ending, wasn't it? Yeah, it was. They all got out. Yeah, it was. They all got out. Yeah, OK. I don't know if I want to hold a dolphin. They're quite sexually aggressive, is my understanding. Exactly! Like a lot of people's, like, bucket list. Yeah, when they're about to die.
Starting point is 00:22:07 We're all going to die, let's face it. But that's where the hope comes from. What I don't want is to die at the, I was going to say hands, at the flippers of the relentless penis of a male dolphin. Hammering away at me like some aquatic sewing machine. You're so arrogant that you think the dolphin's going to fancy you. Shut up. I'm coming along. I'm coming along. He's going to be clicking all over me. Let's talk about task one. Make the best picture in the sand of a former Taskmaster contestant
Starting point is 00:22:43 using one of these implements. You must roll the dice to choose your implement. Nothing but air may touch the sand at any point. You have 10 minutes. Your time starts as soon as you roll the dice. Look, tricky. It's an art task, but tricky. Is this the only time that you've used the
Starting point is 00:22:58 do a picture of another Taskmaster contestant as opposed to do a picture of the Taskmaster? I reckon maybe. We do try to mix it up. I mean, Greg's a go-to because it's nice to sometimes have five things that are meant to be of the same thing. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:23:13 Because when they all go up at the end, that's a funny, instantly funny comparison. But yeah, maybe it is. It's maybe the first time we've delved back. It feels like we might have done it one other time. I don't know. But yeah, maybe you're right. Maybe you're right. And we'll definitely have people with us saying dice all the time i
Starting point is 00:23:28 think we probably made that instead of die we made the decision just not to worry for the pedants are there apologies if you were upset by that but um yeah and also we doing the task it became clear it was really really hard this yeah and i'm amazed how well Paul Sinner did. But it's partly whatever equipment you picked, you were stymied by most of them. Yeah, I think so. The panpipes were not a natural sand art, paintbrush, sandbrush. No.
Starting point is 00:23:55 And only Lou seemed to work out the hack of rolling the dice as many times as she wanted to get exactly what she wanted, although it didn't help in any way I think Lou went first in that task when we were doing it and and she decided to roll the dice again and again and often when that happens I panic a bit and think oh this could scupper the task but it worked I think that was a really good way it's nice when somebody says no this is impossible yeah I'm gonna do a different way but yeah so if everyone had then rolled the dice as many times
Starting point is 00:24:25 as possible would that have been a scuppered task and you maybe maybe yeah maybe uh hard to say but yeah and but actually she saved it because if you've got five really awful pictures that might have scuppered the task yeah but actually her writing phil and drawing picture of a penis was really good yeah um it was nothing to you know the task to do the best caricature which she didn't do at all no um so yeah she did a good job there she did a good job and i mean there's a few occasions in this series where lou looks genuinely angry when when it's scored and this is one of them she is devastated by this well i think because think because I made Greg try to identify who the person was, I think in her mind that
Starting point is 00:25:07 became the task. It was most easily identifiable person rather than best caricature. I think, yeah, Greg actually scored her correctly. So well done, Greg. Well, he gave her more than Sian who tried to do Ramesh with pan pipes.
Starting point is 00:25:23 And that was just, I mean, that was a total mess. I mean, pan pipe wise, I probably would have snapped one of the pan pipes off, right? So you're always still watching these thinking, well, this is how I would do it and I would do it better. Yeah, you're probably right. Yeah, snap the pan pipes. I think we were hoping there'd be little noises as she did hers.
Starting point is 00:25:43 But that's not how pan pipes work, of course. They're more like flute. Yeah. Also, there's often little noises when Sian does tasks anyway, coming from her. Little squeals and stuff. I really enjoy watching Sian again. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:25:55 Yeah, I think her one looked like Barry Castagnolo, if people want to look him up. Yeah. Greg Davis's support act on his tours. Yes, and co-writer of The Cleaner. Co-writer of The Cleaner. Co-writer of The Cleaner. So there you go. And also a great person who I really like.
Starting point is 00:26:07 Yes. Yeah, no, hers was awful. But Paul, yeah, Paul really did capture the rectangular nature of Romesh's face. It was great because I was trying to work out whether I would have got it if we hadn't just seen Sian's Romesh with one big tooth and a burglar's mask.
Starting point is 00:26:26 But I think I would have done. I think Paul really nailed it. He got all of the sort of key features of Ramesh. In series one, they had to do a GPS picture when they were running around a football pitch and trying to paint a picture. And somebody did Ramesh's face in that. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:26:42 And his face looked very similar to this face that Paul Zinhard did. So, yeah, maybe it's just an easy face in that. And his face looked very similar to this face that Paul Zinhard did. So yeah, maybe it's just an easy face to draw, but yeah, well done Paul on that. Yeah, well done Paul. And that was definitely the best implement, was the barbecue blower, I think. It was. I still don't know what a barbecue blower is. We didn't explain it. It's when you
Starting point is 00:26:59 light the coals and you want to speed up the process. I'm going to take my headphones out. If you blow air onto it, it increases the oxygen. You just flagged me when you finished. Yeah, it increases the oxygen flow to the coals, so it speeds up the heating process. Back in?
Starting point is 00:27:17 Yeah, back in. There you go. Cheers, mate. No worries. Ian's Sally Phillips with bellows. Mm-hmm, yeah. Really nice picture. It reminded me of something sort of was it like the simpsons style of drawing maybe it was like the simpsons or it reminded me a bit of a a sort of a bit like wendeline from um from wallace and gromit as well yeah i had a
Starting point is 00:27:40 vibe of that yeah i think he found his medium really. Yeah, very calming. How do you feel about the fact he started doing Nish Kumar and then halfway through switched it to Sally Phillips? Does that feel right to you? Yes. I think that's how a lot of paintings happen. I think the Mona Lisa
Starting point is 00:27:59 started off being a little baby. Sorry, it started off being Nish and became the Mona Lisa. Most people start with Nish and then see what happens I think I cannot believe that Joe got two points for his Jessica Knappet
Starting point is 00:28:16 well, his was arguably the only caricature, I think you know, it was because a caricature shouldn't look just like a normal face. It was sort of features that he'd exaggerated. But they're not features that Jessica Knapp
Starting point is 00:28:32 has. Oh no, I know. I know that. So you think he should have got more points to you? No, less points. I thought it was awful. You were. I think it was very bad. I think it was haunting and i think if jess nappet has seen that i think she'd be upset by it well yes and she will also be upset by what i'm about
Starting point is 00:28:53 to say because i thought it was awful until you put her picture next to it and then i thought well it's if you really really go to town on her, maybe you'll end up with that. And also some caricature artists, they are awful. You know, the ones that you get in London. Rachel, my wife, had one done when she was a kid and it looks nothing like her, but it's a caricature. So I, yeah, I strongly disagree with you, Ed.
Starting point is 00:29:17 I suppose if you lined up all of the pictures of all of the Taskmaster contestants ever and I had to narrow it down to maybe three people that I thought it was supposed to be of, I might pick Jess Knappert. Yeah, well of all of the taskmaster contestants ever and i had to narrow it down to maybe three people that i thought it was supposed to be of i might pick jess nappett yeah when that is that was the task yeah yeah but in that case you just you should just do any face you can manage and then just try and work it out after right who it's supposed to be um i suppose so yeah it's pretty you should pick a face that is distinctive. Who would you do? Who would I do? You know who I thought it was?
Starting point is 00:29:46 I thought his was Noel Fielding. I thought, and actually I think Noel is a good one because you've got the sharp cheekbones and the distinctive hair. Yeah. And I think you could just do a few lines and get Fielding across.
Starting point is 00:29:57 Yeah. Yeah, that's very true actually. It was five points for Ian Sally Phillips with bellows, four points for Paul's Romesh Ranganathan with a barbecue blower two points uh for Jessica Knappert with the longhorn and then one point for Romesh with the pan pipes it feels like uh some tasks I know are created so you could say things like Sally Phillips with bellows he did Sally Phillips with bellows because you think that sort of thing's really funny and it harks back to david seachell and broadbean yes which is no feeling um uh i yeah yeah but i
Starting point is 00:30:31 would also say andy cartwright really enjoys those terms of phrase he's the producer of the show and writes a lot of the um the business in the studio and uh it's always fun i think what i what struck me watching that back was how instantly seriously everyone takes it yeah and you sort of forget when because i take it really seriously as well and you forget how ludicrous everything about it is um but that's the show that's the whole show right that's that's that's the beauty of it is people take it so seriously and it's the silliest thing ever i know but sometimes i hear people who don't know the show talk about it and just dismiss it quite quickly as being that's just so stupid and I think you have to get into it yeah totally and what but
Starting point is 00:31:10 once you're in it that's yeah that it is a serious world and also I was watching football the weekend and I did think I saw Harry Kane score the his record-breaking goal and I just thought it's so stupid thank you I've been saying this for ages. Taskmaster is my favourite sport because it's the same as other sports. Yeah. And there was 70,000 people going mad because that man had kicked the ball into the goal and the other men hadn't. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:31:34 And I really like football, but I did have this real eye-opening moment of, wow, unbelievable. But equally, you're right, there's a million people watching Taskmaster getting as excited. Yeah. It's a sport. We're just stupid, aren't we? Yeah. people watching Taskmaster getting as excited. Yeah, it's a sport.
Starting point is 00:31:46 We're just stupid, aren't we? But in Taskmaster, people think outside the box. I've never seen Harry Kane try and move the goal line closer to his goal line. No, but occasionally they do do clever little things in football. And, you know, they do sneaky free kicks. And it is rightly applauded. Oh, God, this is going to be hard, I can tell. Make the best picture in the sand of a former Taskmaster... Taskmaster... What's his show called?
Starting point is 00:32:09 Taskmaster. Taskmaster contestant using one of these implements. Up here on the table. There they are. Up they are. There they are. You must roll the dice to choose your implement. Nothing but air may touch the sand at any point. What? Nothing but air? Oh, OK. You have ten minutes.
Starting point is 00:32:27 Your time starts as soon as you have rolled the dice. OK, so we want to get someone who's a good caricature. Funny old face. Funny old face or a big fat one or something. Can you say that these days? They're all sort of mixed blessing, aren't they, really? It's like a sort of metaphor for just life and the future, isn't it? It could be different, but all shit.
Starting point is 00:32:50 Four. Oh! Hmm. Oh, my thing must start. Every veteran has a story. Whatever your next chapter, get support with health, education, finance, and more at veterans.gc.ca slash services. A message from the Government of Canada.
Starting point is 00:33:12 You can get anything you need with Uber Eats. Well, almost, almost anything. So no, you can't get snowballs on Uber Eats, but meatballs and mozzarella balls, yes, we can deliver that. Uber Eats. Get almost, almost anything. Order now. Product availability may vary by region. See app for details. Let's talk about task two, a team task. Catch all the red balls in things from the shed. Catch all the yellow balls in clothing. Don't let the green balls touch anything other than grass. Catch the blue ball in something from the kitchen. Reds are worth one point. Yellows are two points. Blue balls five points. You are two points blue balls
Starting point is 00:33:45 five points you lose two points for every group ball that touches anything other than grass you may not touch the ball machines any non-green ball which touches the ground at any point will not count highest score wins the balls will start firing in two minutes from now long one well maybe one of the longest when you say like that yeah but actually as soon as it happens you don't really care about any of that you just know there's they've got to catch some balls and uh i i dislike the really long ones some sometimes we have to put all the information on the task obviously but the pithy ones are better for me but on this case i think it justified it and also even there's loads of maths at the end no one really minded but it was one of the funniest team tasks i think i i really
Starting point is 00:34:24 like this one it's so funny it's totally worth all that build up to it because when the balls start firing i think they're they're firing way harder and faster than anyone expects so it just goes chaotic straight away yeah i have to say it's not how we imagined it we wanted them to be up in the end to give them half a chance of catching a load it just didn't matter and that's sort of the one of the beauties of taskmaster i suppose it's because we don't have time to fine-tune everything and we do a task once and then we bin it um we just have to make do yeah and the balls fired much quicker than we thought and the people you operating them couldn't see what was going on they were behind hedges and yeah so it was what it was it was brilliant, yeah, I wouldn't have changed anything there
Starting point is 00:35:06 because it's just so sudden and they just go so quickly. I mean, obviously, the highlight of the whole episode is Paul repeatedly getting hit in the bollocks. Well, I disagree. I think it was the moment after that when he accidentally caught two balls. Oh, my goodness, yeah. Having been hit in the bollocks, you know, with the bollock hit just before that. He looked so happy.
Starting point is 00:35:25 I think sometimes when you're with your mates and you do, like you have a, you invent a little game, like whether you're in a pub or at Christmas with your family, you invent a little game and something magical happens, but the moment's gone, but you all laugh. What I really love on Taskmaster is that we film everything. And so we can show it back in slow motion. So you get that, that, that moment, you get to see it again.
Starting point is 00:35:43 And you see Ian Sterling magically catching that blue ball. Yeah. And it really means something. So yeah, yeah. There were lovely little moments in this one. Yeah, it's the... Paul catching one
Starting point is 00:35:52 and then he just looks off somewhere else and another one just lands in there and makes no noise almost. It just goes... It was a miracle. Yeah. And how it stayed in
Starting point is 00:36:00 is plastic shallow tray that he chose thinking that's the best thing to catch things in. Yeah, oh it's fantastic. And Lou does very well, Ian gets the blue ball, you know Paul does very well to get those red balls but obviously is just a
Starting point is 00:36:16 magnet for the green so he is just being pelted. It's one of those tasks where you realise the best thing to have done would be just to leave the area and not do anything and you would have got a score of zero and you would have won. Oh yeah. I hadn't thought of that. No, no one did.
Starting point is 00:36:32 And I don't think we had either. But there was only one I was watching Matt thinking, yeah, you've just got to avoid the greens. Just get out of there. That's the game. But you always don't know what the other team, you're presuming the other team have done something really clever. I think putting loads of stuff out from the shed to catch things in may have been good.
Starting point is 00:36:47 But again, they would have been hit by the green balls. Yeah, hit by the green balls or, you know, you can't guarantee what's going to land in them. So, yeah. Maybe clear Paul out of the area. But that's a harsh... Ian was already worried at this stage of the series that he's too bossy and too alpha.
Starting point is 00:37:03 So I don't think that's a good look if you're saying, right, Ian, move. Lou, get out of here. I'm doing this. There is a wonderful moment before the balls even start firing where Ian sends Paul to the shed to get something. He says, I'll go to the kitchen. Lou goes, fine, well, I'm going to go get something from the shed
Starting point is 00:37:17 and walks into the caravan. It's amazing the number of people over the years who think the caravan's a shed. Yeah, quite precious about that caravan. So that's a real insult to me. Yeah, also, that's not the word for it. It's a caravan, isn't it? It's a caravan.
Starting point is 00:37:32 Joe's very good at these tasks. I think he's sort of quietly very athletic, Joe. And I don't think enough people give him credit for that. We've got to talk about Sian cheating here because it takes everyone by surprise. It took me by surprise watching it back. I'd completely forgotten. And I'm really glad. I love it when people do that. I hadn't noticed during the task
Starting point is 00:37:50 the camera people had and told me afterwards, but I love it because I don't think she was trying to be funny. She was genuinely trying to... She has got a competitive streak, but she hadn't told Joe she'd done it. So, yeah, it was lovely stuff. I love that when people think they can get away with it despite the fact there's a million cameras on it. I mean i think she might be my favorite
Starting point is 00:38:08 cheater in taskmaster history because you really don't expect it from her and she is genuinely trying to cheat so you know with with your gormans they're uh they're doing it quite brazenly and i think i think dave knew on a couple of occasions when he cheated that he was going to be picked up on it and he was looking forward to the argument. But with Sian, she was really trying to conceal it. And same with Munya with kicking the exercise ball. Of course he knew that was captured. Yeah, that was him knowing he hadn't done this task well.
Starting point is 00:38:36 Here's the way of doing it. That will also be entertaining. What I want to know is, in Taskmaster history, has anyone ever cheated and got away with it? Yeah. That would be a great thing if somebody comes out at some point and says actually, especially if it was a Widdicombe
Starting point is 00:38:50 who won by a point. Would you retrospectively dock points and change the records? It would be like the Man City situation at the moment. We would go to an appeal and they would get lawyers involved. I don't know. I think once it's done, it's done. But it would be lovely to go back and take the trophy back and hand it to somebody else yeah but equally
Starting point is 00:39:10 we have a lot of eagle-eyed viewers editors directors etc so we think we're on it i i was watching a an old youtube clip recently of i do watch other programs but of um the wilkinson potato moment obviously that comes up every now and again. And there's a big clamour on the internet saying that his foot wasn't over the line, wasn't touching it. It was the shape of the shoe. There was a thing in the, there was a goal recently in football where
Starting point is 00:39:35 the ball wasn't touching the line, but from above it looked like it was over the line. Anyway, retrospectively, there's an argument that Wilkinson shouldn't have been disqualified okay so it is Joe aware of this because I think he does still care about it yeah I don't know but I'm you know there's always talks of doing some extra shows where we look back and you never know that might happen at some point so I think that's a good one to examine justice being served and
Starting point is 00:40:00 you know is it too late it's not too late late, we can do what we want Yeah, I mean you can do what you want and also I would like to see at least an hour special sort of a true crime type thing examining the Joe Wilkinson potato throw Yeah, yeah, it was a big moment in all of our lives It was nought points of
Starting point is 00:40:20 course for Joe and Sian because of Sian's disgusting cheating which meant that Ian, Lou and Paul got five points, even though Paul's individual score was minus 26. Something we haven't got into previously in the series,
Starting point is 00:40:36 but something Battlecry you've used throughout is mummy. Do you use mummy? A lot. I think I'm going to stop now I've seen it. Dressing gown technique worked well? It did work well. Lou was a productive member of the team.
Starting point is 00:40:52 She caught six yellows, which means plus 12. She touched four green, but she adds four points to the team total. What a lovely... Lovely. Ian caught the blue ball for five points. The blue ball and the celebration entirely valid. Yeah. I think about seven green balls hit me as I was celebrating getting five points. Did the blue ball pay dividends?
Starting point is 00:41:13 Well, he also caught four yellows correctly, touched nine greens, so minus five for Ian. So the team are now on minus one. Right. Remember, they've got minus eight to beat. Eight to beat. So it's Paul's contribution that's going to matter. Come on, Paul. He did Remember, they've got minus eight to beat. Eight to beat. So it's Paul's contribution that's going to matter. Come on, Paul.
Starting point is 00:41:28 He did touch a lot of greens. They did strike him repeatedly on his leg. Then balls. Then thigh, belly, foot, tray, foot, foot, back. 19 balls altogether. With his catches, he scored minus 26. Task three. Make this beach ball cross the finishing line.
Starting point is 00:41:43 Only water may touch the beach ball. Fastest winds, your time starts now. This is one to me where when I first saw it, I thought, well, surely everyone's just going to do the same thing. It's going to be a fairly simple play. And then it's brilliant. Everyone seems to just do something completely different. Yes, I've got some insights for you.
Starting point is 00:42:05 Thank you. First, before I forget, Lisa Tarbuck inspired this task. She had been, I think, watering her garden and there was a ball on her lawn and she had a lot of fun moving the ball around the lawn and texting me and said, I've got a new task for you. So that was the inspiration for this task and that does sometimes happen which is lovely second watching it back i was slightly disappointed with the variety of tasks in the episode in that the first one was do something without touching the sand this is do something without
Starting point is 00:42:37 anything but water touching the ball and the middle one was catching balls there's a let's call it let's say there was a link between all three, but I think there was a lack of variety. It was a themed episode based on the elements. It was, you could only, air could only touch the sand and water could only touch the ball. That's what it was. Yeah, it was a themed episode.
Starting point is 00:42:55 I was also surprised that we hadn't banned them from using a hose. You know, often what we would do in this situation is just say, we haven't got a hose, and that would make it a lot harder. But maybe, I think we hadn't expected it to work quite so well when the first person sprayed it with a hose and it went backwards yeah or didn't do anything so funny just the shot of somebody watering a water watering a watermelon but i think i'm glad you didn't say you can't keep the hose
Starting point is 00:43:20 because it's not like people got the hose and then it was just brilliant straight away because some people didn't seem to realize for ages that you could change the setting on hoses yeah also a few times across the years i've been sprayed by a hose or somebody's been sprayed by a hose because it's uh had a life of its own in your hand and that's always funny yeah it is yeah absolutely yeah um because ian obviously ian is the textbook the textbook task performer in this he works out how to get the strong setting on the hose he realizes you don't need the you don't need the course and then just curtails all of it and he's straight over the finish line i imagine you were watching that thinking that's well yeah that's what i'd have done no because i'm i'm a i'm a rule follower and i do read rules where there aren't rules a lot of
Starting point is 00:44:06 the time so i think i would have stuck to the course right i think well you've knocked the wall down with your feet i was amazed that nobody just yeah i would have i would have done that because it didn't say you can touch the touch the wall with with your feet so i would have definitely kicked the wall down i think right but you wouldn't have gone outside of the lines strange yeah um i think ian almost looked annoyed with outside of the lines no I wouldn't have gone outside of the lines I think Ian almost looked annoyed with himself in the studio that he hadn't annoyed with his competitive character
Starting point is 00:44:32 that he hadn't thought of doing something unusual because it's a funny show and when you do something really well actually it's not funny no but we want people to try their hardest we don't want people to try to be funny because that's that's the the whole thing is that you just try your hardest every time and chances are sometimes that'll work sometimes it'll go really badly and sometimes it'll
Starting point is 00:44:56 be really funny right so yeah everyone gets a go at it yeah yeah yeah i don't mind if four people do it well or four people do it badly that's fine as long as you've got the contrast with the other person yes um and lou does it pretty well um but manages to do it well but also in quite a funny way by screaming mummy at the top of her voice throughout very lou yeah very low perfect stuff um sean uh sean tries to stick to the course which is which is a major issue as well. She finally gets the hose and starts using it. But I love watching Sian do anything. I think Sian should be the focus
Starting point is 00:45:33 of a new Truman Show-style experiment. Yeah, when I've seen her in other things, this is no disrespect to her acting, I sort of realised, yeah, she's a fully-blown character at of realised, yeah, she's a fully blown character at all times. Yeah, she's absolutely brilliant. I mean, so who should we talk about first, Joe or Paul?
Starting point is 00:45:54 I enjoy both of them so much. I think we should do it in the order that we saw them in the show. Because Joe, it must have crossed some people's minds, is he doing this on, is he putting this on? Yeah. First of all, him saying, crossed some people's minds. Is he doing this? Is he putting this on? Yeah. First of all, him saying, just look up. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:46:09 When he thought the finish line was the wall. We found during the show, Joe very rarely looks up. He shuts his eyes all the time when he's talking to you. He looks down. So I'm hoping he learned his lesson in life. Well, he didn't because you've seen him recently and he still has his eyes shut when he's talking to you,'t he yeah and then yeah i know when you know when i've got kids who are at school and they teach them things like making eye contact and and so on otherwise
Starting point is 00:46:34 he won't be a success in life but joe really doesn't do any of the things that mean you should be a success but he's a hugely successful person he is is. Yeah. I mean, it was fantastic to watch. Hearing the tap go every time you filled up a pot and then him just throwing it at the ball and then getting to the... When he gets to the bricks and throws the pot in the air as like a victorious, like, yeah, I've done it. But also thinking that would be a halfway decent task to make the ball go that distant.
Starting point is 00:47:05 Yeah, people are really odd. I mean, he wasn't putting any of that on. That was him genuinely trying to do it. The ice, and I think the ice was a really, really good idea. Brilliant idea, but it came 16 minutes in. If it had come straight away, there might have been an argument about whether ice is water or not. Because I think ice isn't water.
Starting point is 00:47:20 What? Of course it is. No, it's not. It is. Water is H2O and ice is h2o and steam is do you think steam is water yeah i think if you could have worked out a way of firing steam at the ball do you think the definition of water is a liquid made of h2o let's do it shall we i mean i don't know if my internet can cope with this but I'm just finding out the definition of water it's a colourless transparent odourless liquid
Starting point is 00:47:50 I don't think ice is water but isn't it just cold liquid no of course it's not you can't say ice is a liquid you can't use the word liquid with ice but if you leave ice and don't do anything to it then it becomes water You can't say ice is a liquid. You can't use the word liquid with ice. But if you leave ice and don't do anything to it... Then it becomes water. No, no, no.
Starting point is 00:48:11 Are you saying it's potential water? It's potential water, yeah, and it's previous water. Yeah, Tim Key always calls a banana a potential banana skin. Well, there you go. But a banana isn't a banana skin, and ice isn't water. I hate to side with Key and things. It's never going to work out. Well, there you go. But a banana isn't a banana skin. And ice isn't water. I hate to side with Key and things. It's never going to work out.
Starting point is 00:48:30 It was clever, though. And I think, yeah, OK, maybe that argument would have been had. But I think Greg would have been taken aback by how clever that was. If you like the lateral thinking of Joe's prize, then he might have liked the ice as well. Maybe the very edge of ice is water. The very edge of ice? You know, the outside of ice is wet. Maybe that bit is water.
Starting point is 00:48:49 So maybe that does count. Yeah, that's the bit that's touching. Yeah, I think, you know, you think these things... That's how I'd argue it. Yeah. But also, this is a task that you don't need those clever things for. No, although both of them are really clever. If you'd gotten the ice straight away, you might have and if and if you did what paul did straight away if you just
Starting point is 00:49:07 grab the finish line and move it down in a sort of osman way you know this has been done over the years yeah with the finishing line or move the start line or whatever but it took it took him so long i mean it's the fact that he lifted it above his head and then it all collapsed and very close to killing himself that was one of those moments because we didn't know you know the health and safety checks wouldn't have seen that coming. Oh, it was a really heavy plank of wood and that would have clonked him.
Starting point is 00:49:34 It's defeat from the jaws of victory is what that is, isn't it? It really is. He grabbed it. I thought, brilliant, Paul. Because I think now, this was series eight, I think now you're adding to the task.
Starting point is 00:49:46 You can't move the finish line, right? Yeah, I think you'd have to. Yeah. Yeah. And he put it behind it. And he put it a metre and a half away instead of like a centimetre away from it. It was all odd little decisions.
Starting point is 00:49:59 And then a real, I think Greg called it a charity cheer in the studio. But I don't know it was i think it was we were really really happy like it felt like a triumph you know when people help somebody over the finish line because they've they've injured themselves in the marathon yeah but it was really heartwarming but i think it wasn't heartwarming in a patronizing way no not at all no just he'd climbed his own mountain. Yeah, exactly. I mean, even though he did move the finish line
Starting point is 00:50:28 and then put the hose on the ball and it still didn't move for quite a while. Yeah. It was one point for Joe, two points for Paul, three points to Sian, four points to Lou, and five points to Ian, who, let's not forget, bashed his head on the start line.
Starting point is 00:50:49 Oh, I mean, there's lots we haven't mentioned about Joe going back through the finish line every time when he was chucking the water at it. Yeah. And then one of them trying to find water from a tap, even though they've just been spraying it with a hose. There's all sorts of idiocy on show, which we didn't have time to delve into, which is great. And I'd imagine that you weren't even expecting.
Starting point is 00:51:07 I'd imagine you were expecting quite a straightforward task here. Yeah, straightforward slapstick race is what we were expecting. You're getting style points. Oh, my life. I genuinely thought I'd done quite well on that. Really, it's as though I'd never heard of a hosepipe. I didn't even... Or a finishing line. You thought it was a finishing wall.
Starting point is 00:51:30 You thought, normally in the sprinting, there's a finishing line, immediately a wall. Yeah. The ice, though, genius. If only the ice had come first. Yeah, the ice, actually, I could have actually had a bit of a go at it with the ice straightaway. Yeah. If you hadn't thrown 27 plant pots full of water against the ball first...
Starting point is 00:51:48 There were eight trips to the kitchen to get water. And you also got trapped by the garage with the ball for four minutes. No way out. I think this could be up to an hour. You'll be surprised. The egg that he's boiling is now a stone. But it was only 16 minutes and 21. Wow. It felt like that.
Starting point is 00:52:11 Live task. Let's talk about the live task. Completely five-syllable words started by the taskmaster. Honk your horn if you think you know the word the taskmaster is going to say. If you guess it correctly after one syllable, you get five points. If you guess it correctly after two syllables, you get four points three syllables for three three points and four syllables for two points if you guess incorrectly you lose all your points you may only guess once
Starting point is 00:52:32 per word high score after 10 words wins winner takes all this is perfectly set up to be the tensest possible live task with everything hanging in balance for paul to win an episode yes so when we occasionally do it's winner takes all we need to really stress to everyone this is pre-ordained and we're not doing it because we want to make somebody else win but it so we do it we do it every now and again and there's always controversy from the the rabbits in the hats and series two yes um when the when the scoring changes but it's nice to have it all in the balance. And for this one, it felt like it was the right thing to do
Starting point is 00:53:08 because we wanted people... We just wanted more jeopardy, I suppose, in Teletalk. And also, it's quite a pedestrian task in that it's just words. But we have one of them probably every series, just a sort of verbal task. And they're nearly always some of the funniest ones. And it teaches us we don't always need elaborate props. We need the contrast. But we have one of them probably every series, just a sort of verbal task. And they're nearly always some of the funniest ones. Yeah. And it teaches us we don't always need elaborate props.
Starting point is 00:53:27 We need the contrast. But yeah, this one worked out, I think, quite funny, but really tense. Very, very tense. It was very tense. And I found myself watching it back, and as I'm sure I felt the first time I watched it, any time anyone else answered, I was screaming at them going what are you what are you doing
Starting point is 00:53:46 just let paul just let paul get this right even at the end when it's the last question lou chimes in with something and obviously gets it wrong she was terrible at this and then throws her horn down she's like no well lou you know nothing against lou but she does you could tell she wanted to get involved. She couldn't believe that everyone else was jumping in and getting it right. So in the end, she just said, what was it? Anal prolapse, I think, came up. Yeah. I did write
Starting point is 00:54:13 down her other word, anatapanana. So funny. But it felt like it was, as soon as the task's announced, you feel like this is surely Paul's game. It's not who can put on this costume in this tent quicker quickest it's not yeah you know throw this thing into this thing you think this is one paul can win yeah and actually even if it hadn't been five points to the winner and none to everyone else he would have come joint first in the episode
Starting point is 00:54:40 i suppose um was he one point behind going in? He was two points, I think. Well, anyway, yes, he did win, but it was, yeah, I can see why the theorists might think we put the odds in his favour, but no, it just fell nicely. Perfect, it fell perfectly. And I would also say that Ian was still desperate to win. Yeah, oh
Starting point is 00:55:01 yeah, you can tell. He was not giving him anything. Ian, very good at the word game, I thought, for someone who said clisps earlier on in the series. Yeah, he was good. I like little moments, and I always like this in Taskmaster,
Starting point is 00:55:16 which is that you have to put your horns on your head if you've got it wrong. Yeah. And just again, everyone goes, horns on your head, and they do it.
Starting point is 00:55:22 Yeah, of course. Yeah, of course, it's horns on the head. That's the game, isn't it? It's the syllable game. We've put arms on our head. Lou almost said, she says, anal prolapse and the horn goes on her head before you even need to ask her.
Starting point is 00:55:34 And then Paul picked her up for the lack of syllables. Yeah. Prolapse. You idiot. So it was nought points for everyone, apart from Paul, meaning that he finally wins an episode three points ahead of ian a decisive victory yes and a really nice feeling in the room you've got to remember when you're watching it that the audience don't that the audience hasn't seen
Starting point is 00:55:58 the previous episodes because obviously it hasn't been out in telly yet so they don't know that paul is the underdog and he's done badly so far but they get the idea so quick and we do we do the series scores quite often and we did mention them in that episode but yeah it's always funny that we have to do a bit of a recap to the live audience but he was definitely we have a lot of people's favorites in the show and i think he was one of them yes definitely uh definitely because he he doesn't do well overall points wise but does and does He doesn't do well overall, points-wise, and does chaotically badly in some tasks, but does it with such grace as well in the studio.
Starting point is 00:56:32 He's just like, oh, I've done badly again. Yeah, and there's a lovely celebration when he realised he'd won and he stood up. That wasn't put on. Some people are quite reluctant to win because it's a bit embarrassing because you've got to then be a winner and go up on stage and suddenly you're not part of the team.
Starting point is 00:56:44 Paul felt no embarrassment. He felt only pride and he was so happy to win. And I imagine it was like when he won that chess trophy when he was at school. He really, really wanted to be the victor and he was. And I love that he's kept that trophy. Yes, absolutely. Series scores wise, we're now, I mean,
Starting point is 00:57:01 it was getting close between Lou and Joe. This is not a great episode for Joe, though. He only got seven points this episode uh meaning he's fallen behind again lose lose 10 points ahead it does start to get a little bit dicier in this in this part of the series though which is good because the first few episodes it's really it's it's all about Lou in the in the scores isn't it yeah we have a slight change of personality in Lou I think going forwards because she doesn't want want it taken away from her. And this happens a lot. It happened in Melfield in Series 4.
Starting point is 00:57:28 It's difficult. I guess for you, I don't know how you found it. When you're in with a chance of winning it, you've then got lots of things at play for Episode 10. You still want to be funny. But actually, winning, you know, a trophy is a trophy. Yeah, correct. I mean, I don't think my personality changed, because I think my personality was that throughout the series, really,
Starting point is 00:57:47 because I was always in the thick of it. It was always me, Rose, and Katie always sort of vying for it anyway. So Lou was very comfortable for a while there. Yeah, true. And then it started to get a bit heated. But you're right, though. Your personality was always competitive, wanting to win. Lou hasn't been competitive yet.
Starting point is 00:58:04 She just happened to have been winning so yes yeah it's good I love it when it's close I you know I want it to be close Alex thank you so much for coming back on the Taskmaster podcast now obviously series 15 starting soon ish yes I mean I can't believe people haven't seen this this series yet because we completed it some time ago and started it many many months ago it's fun it's fun it's a varied bunch and i say this every time but it's it's a series like number four in terms of the dynamics which is which is good and can you give us a little is there any little teases you can give us little teases no okay lovely thank you very much alex uh now we always get our guests to rate their experience on the taskmaster podcast between one and five points in the style of the taskmaster
Starting point is 00:58:58 please alex horn have you enjoyed yourself and please give us a point score well look this is no reflection on you i'm going to give it three points because of the flapping that I've been experiencing. So it's my end. I'm sort of giving myself I'll give myself two and you four and that rounds down to three.
Starting point is 00:59:17 Okay, all right. Or six if you add them up. Why would I add them up, Ed? You get very serious about points the team points really annoy me it's five points to be split, once you get three and one two or one four one one or five and zero often it's five and four there's not nine points to be
Starting point is 00:59:41 thank you very much, Alex. All right. Bye-bye. Bye. There we go. Thank you so much, Alex, for coming back on the Taskmaster podcast. And thank you so much for Taskmaster.
Starting point is 00:59:58 Keep listening. Next week, we'll be talking about Series 8, Episode 9 with the brilliant Rebecca Lucy Taylor aka self-esteem wonderful musician and also wonderful contestant on the most recent Taskmaster New Year's treat can't wait to speak to her tune in next week we'll be speaking to Rebecca all about series 8 episode 9 to get her thoughts and also catch up with her about everything that she did on the New Year's treat as well. Thank you very much. We'll see you next week.
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