Taskmaster ( TV series ) - wikipedia Taskmaster ( TV series ) It has been requested that the title of this article be changed to Taskmaster. Please see the relevant discussion on the discussion page. Do not move the page until the discussion has reached consensus for the change and is closed. For the comic book character, see Taskmaster. For other uses, see Taskmaster ( disambiguation ). Taskmaster Genre Comedy Panel game Created by Alex Horne Directed by Andy Devonshire Peter Orton Presented by Greg Davies Starring Alex Horne ( umpire ) Theme music composer The Horne Section Composer ( s ) Dru Masters Country of origin United Kingdom Original language ( s ) English No. of series 5 No. of episodes 32 ( list of episodes ) Production Executive producer ( s ) Richard Allen - Turner James Taylor Jon Thoday Hilary Rosen Rob Aslett Richard Watsham Andy Devonshire Alex Horne Producer ( s ) Andy Cartwright Alex Horne Editor ( s ) Thomas Perrett Mark Sangster Running time 60 minutes ( inc. adverts ) Production company ( s ) Avalon Television Release Original network Dave Picture format 16 : 9 ( 1080i HDTV ) Original release 28 July 2015 ( 2015 - 07 - 28 ) -- present Chronology Related shows Taskmaster ( US TV series ) External links Official website dave.uktv.co.uk/shows/taskmaster/ Taskmaster is a British comedy panel game show originally created by British comedian Alex Horne during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2010, and transferred to television on Dave in 2015. The TV series stars comedian and actor Greg Davies now in the titular role of the Taskmaster, issuing simple comedic and bizarre tasks to five regular contestants -- usually comedians -- with Horne acting as Davies 's assistant and umpire during the challenges. The show 's theme music was written and performed by The Horne Section, a jazz band and another project of Horne 's. On 24 September 2015, it was announced that the show had been recommissioned for a second and third series, and on 3 October 2016, for a fourth and fifth series. The fifth series debuted online on Wednesday 6th September 2017, and on Dave a week later ; the series will contain eight episodes. A two part `` champion of champions '' special with the winner of the first five series will air in December 2017. The show is also broadcast in Belgium, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Australia and New Zealand. International versions of the programme have been made in Belgium and Sweden, and there is a forthcoming US version to be made with Reggie Watts as the Taskmaster, with Horne returning as the assistant. Contents 1 Format 2 History 3 Production 4 Contestants 4.1 Series 1 4.2 Series 2 4.3 Series 3 4.4 Series 4 4.5 Series 5 4.6 Champion of Champions ( Special ) 5 Transmissions 6 References 7 External links Format The game consists of simple and bizarre challenges, set to the contestants by Davies in his role as the Taskmaster, with assistance provided by Horne. The bulk of the show consists of pre-filmed challenges, most of which are individual. The tasks are structured to encourage the players to think laterally and creatively to complete the task. The show starts with the Prize Task, in which Davies sets a theme and each contestant donates a prize to offer up. Themes have included the contestant 's most unusual item ; their most treasured item ; their trendiest item of clothing ; their best seat -- and the winner of the episode gets to keep all of the prizes. Three or four pre-filmed tasks follow ; they usually take place around the designated Taskmaster House. All the tasks are delivered in an envelope with a wax seal, which the player reads aloud ; most tasks are timed and completed individually. Examples tasks include `` Completely empty this bathtub -- fastest wins '' and `` Conceal this pineapple on your person -- best concealment wins ''. There are occasional team tasks for two or three of the contestants. As the tasks are shown to the audience, the players get to justify their creative methods and argue to Davies -- and among themselves -- as to why they did best. After all the attempts at the task have been seen, judgement is passed by Davies as to who performed best and points are awarded accordingly. Davies has the final say in which order contestants come in, and can also disqualify contestants or offer bonus points. The final challenge is performed live, often with a 100 second time limit. In the event of a tie, a special tie - breaker task is performed by the contestants in the tie, which may either be pre-filmed or live. In addition to the prizes for each episode, at the end of the series, a trophy is presented to the contestant who has scored the most points over the course of the entire series. From the second series onwards, the trophy takes the form of a bust of Greg. History The show began at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2010, where Alex Horne sent 20 comedians monthly tasks by email ; the first task he set was `` Put as much money into my bank account -- most money wins. '' At the festival, he hosted a `` two - hour drunken show '' in which he announced the winner. He did the same thing again for the Fringe Festival the following year, and then began thinking the concept may work as a television show. Production Tasks are filmed with each contestant separately in a house in Chiswick, London. Alex Horne said in an interview that filming tasks takes roughly one day per contestant per episode, and that `` about eight '' tasks are filmed in a day, though `` some tasks take two minutes, some take two hours ''. The days of filming are spread out over several months ; Horne offers the example that `` Bob ( Mortimer ) did his first one at the end of September 2016 and his last one ( in July 2017 ) ''. Prior to the studio filming, contestants are forbidden to discuss their tasks ; studio reactions are genuine, as contestants have not seen the others ' attempts, nor their own edited footage. The tasks chosen are designed to avoid the need for any specialist equipment, as `` we want people at home to be able to do the same things '', according to Horne. He also notes that some tasks in the first series involved the general public, but later series avoided this in order to prevent coming across a `` prank show ''. Contestants are also discouraged from using Alex to help them in recent series. Some tasks are vetoed by producers for pragmatic reasons, such as `` paint the biggest thing red ''. Others do not turn out as expected, such as `` burst all these bubbles ( on a massive roll of bubble wrap ) -- fastest wins '', which has been attempted in three different series but was not shown in any of them, as `` it always ends with people jumping on it for hours ''. One task idea was to give Alex a `` special cuddle '' ; though rejected for early series due to its silliness, it was later used in series 5. Contestants Each series of Taskmaster features a different set of contestants, who appear in every episode of the series they appear in. The guests always sit in alphabetical order by first name. The names highlighted in bold are the winners of that particular series. Series 1 Frank Skinner Josh Widdicombe Roisin Conaty Romesh Ranganathan Tim Key Series 2 Doc Brown Joe Wilkinson Jon Richardson Katherine Ryan Richard Osman Series 3 Al Murray Dave Gorman Paul Chowdhry Rob Beckett Sara Pascoe Series 4 Hugh Dennis Joe Lycett Lolly Adefope Mel Giedroyc Noel Fielding Series 5 Aisling Bea Bob Mortimer Mark Watson Nish Kumar Sally Phillips Champion of Champions ( Special ) Josh Widdicombe Katherine Ryan Rob Beckett Noel Fielding The Winner of Series 5 ( Bea, Mortimer, Watson, Kumar or Phillips ) Transmissions Main article : List of Taskmaster episodes Series Start date End date Episodes 28 July 2015 1 September 2015 6 21 June 2016 19 July 2016 5 4 October 2016 1 November 2016 5 25 April 2017 13 June 2017 8 5 13 September 2017 1 November 2017 8 6 December 2017 TBC TBC References Jump up ^ `` Interview : Alex Horne ''. Great Central. 3 December 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Taskmaster to return for two new series ''. British Comedy Guide. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015. ^ Jump up to : `` Dave orders Taskmaster Series 4 and Series 5 ''. British Comedy Guide. 3 October 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2016. Jump up ^ `` Taskmaster to return for a ' champion of champions ' special ''. Chortle. 13 September 2017. Jump up ^ `` Comedy Central USA buys Taskmaster format ''. British Comedy Guide. 18 April 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2017. ^ Jump up to : Nelson, Alex ( 11 September 2017 ). `` Taskmaster : how Alex Horne 's Fringe show became a transatlantic comedy hit ''. i. Retrieved 13 September 2017. ^ Jump up to : Mellor, Louisa ( 13 September 2017 ). `` Taskmaster : Alex Horne on series 5, casting, remakes, the future ''. Den of Geek !. Jump up ^ `` Taskmaster : Alex Horne on series 5, casting, remakes, the future ''. Den of Geek. External links Official website Taskmaster at British Comedy Guide Taskmaster at UKGameshows.com Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Taskmaster_(TV_series)&oldid=801254099 '' Categories : 2010s British television series 2015 British television programme debuts Dave ( TV channel ) television programmes English - language television programs Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from January 2016 Use British English from January 2016 Pages using infobox television with editor parameter Talk Contents About Wikipedia Français Edit links This page was last edited on 18 September 2017, at 16 : 30. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: when does the new series of taskmaster start
Answer: online on Wednesday 6th September 2017, and on Dave a week later