"Taskmaster" was the brainchild of comedian Alex Horne, whose idea was inspired by several factors: "The Crystal Maze"; his work for "Big Brother"; and his jealousy of Tim Key, a close friend, for winning the Edinburgh Comedy Award in 2009. The original concept of the programme took place over the course of two years. In 2009, 20 comedians, including Stuart Goldsmith, Josie Long, Mark Watson, Tim Key, Joe Wilkinson and Mike Wozniak, received monthly tasks by email over the course of a year stipulating a variety of tasks. Horne then presented their efforts as part of a two-hour show, titled "The Taskmaster", at the 2010 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, focused on demonstrating the differing attempts by the contestants before revealing who won based on their performances. Mike Wozniak won the first Taskmaster competition. In 2011, Horne conducted another stage show, titled "Taskmaster II", with ten contestants tackling tasks.