Greg and Alex are back in a brand-new(ish) show, Taskmasterclass

Thursday: Taskmasterclass (Channel 4, 9pm)

(And seemingly neither does Greg Davies, as Alex Horne was very keen to correct the most recent batch of contestants when they started referring to them as presents for him.)

But if you’ve got any more questions about the hit series, in which comedians take part in a variety of bizarre or deceptively simple tasks, you’re in luck, as Greg and Alex are here to answer them in this brand-new(ish) show, Taskmasterclass.

They begin by asking if there is any point to the tasks, and to find out, they dip into archives, bringing us clips featuring Guz Khan, Ed Gamble, Jo Brand, Paul Chowdhry and Morgana Robinson.

Greg and Alex are back with Taskmasterclass

If your question is related to how Taskmaster originally started, that’s something the pair have already addressed. Speaking in a 2020 interview, Alex explained that the idea for the format was rooted in his fear of missing out.

He says: “Eleven years ago, my wife and I had had a baby, so I didn’t go to Edinburgh Fringe for the first time in years. Tim Key won the comedy award and I was sat at home with the baby feeling very jealous, genuinely.

“So, I set up a show for the following year and I invited 20 comics. I sent them all emails secretly, and said, ‘I’m starting a new competition which you can enter, I’m going to set you a different task every month.’”

The show became a minor sensation. “It was on at midnight and only 150 people watched it, but it got more word of mouth than it probably merited. It was one of those quirky Edinburgh things. So, we did it again the following year, then Avalon said, ‘There’s something in this’, and we started pitching it as a TV show with Greg hosting.”

You might be asking why, given that it was his idea, Alex decided to be the sidekick rather than the Taskmaster. It seems he simply thought the role was a better fit for Greg, who as a six-foot-eight former teacher possesses a certain natural authority.

Alex says: “I would challenge you to name anyone else who could do that job. He had all the elements that role needed, as well as being very funny and good off the cuff. I’d say his physical attributes lend itself to the role, but also the headmasterly qualities.”

However, if your question relates to the scoring system, you might be in for a long wait for a satisfying answer, as Greg admits that some of his decisions are completely arbitrary.

He says: “People get absolutely infuriated by that, and all power to them. We live in a country where there is free speech, and I welcome it. I’ll ignore it, but I welcome it.”

See, that’s the no-nonsense approach which made him the perfect Taskmaster.