New line-up revealed

The line-up has been announced for the 12th series of Taskmaster, just as the series 11 champion was crowned.

Taking part in the next run – scheduled for later this year – will be:

Alan Davies
Desiree Burch
Guz Khan
Morgana Robinson
and Victoria Coren Mitchell

The 11th series – featuring Charlotte Ritchie, Jamali Maddix, Lee Mack, Mike Wozniak and Sarah Kendall –  is currently attracting just over 2million viewers to Channel 4 within 28 days of broadcast, making it one of the station’s top 5 programmes.

And, of course, Greg Davies will return as the Taskmaster, with ‘little’ Alex Horne, the series’ creator, as his obedient assistant.

A second Champions of Champions special is also planned for later this year, featuring the winners of series 6 to 10: Liza Tarbuck, Kerry Godliman, Lou Sanders, Ed Gamble and Richard Herring.

Here's a teaser trailer revealing the names:

Here’s a bit more about the series 12 contestants:

Alan Davies

Taking the role of the elder statesman of the quintet – a position previously filled by the likes of Frank Skinner, Lee Mack, Bob Mortimer and Hugh Dennis – the 55-year-old is used to be portrayed as the ‘show idiot’ over 17 years of QI. He is also known for playing amateur detective Jonathan Creek over five series on BBC One, alongside other acting credits such as the short-lived restaurant comedy Whites and the Channel 4 series Damned. Last year he wrote the acclaimed memoirs, Just Ignore Him, in which he described being sexually abused by his father.

Desiree Burch

Californian-born comic who has a degree in theatre from Yale. She moved to New York to follow her acting dream, working as a dominatrix for a while to fund it, before moving to the UK. The 42-year-old has appeared on a string of panel shows here, such as Have I Got News For You and QI, and has hosted Flinch, a physical game show, for Netflix, as well as narrating their dating show Too Hot to Handle.

Guz Khan

Best known for his BBC comedy Man Like Mobeen, Birmingham-born, Coventry-raised Khan came to prominence via social media, where he was known as  Guzzy Bear. The 35-year-old is also a stand-up who’s appeared on Live At The Apollo, and an actor who’s appeared on Idris Elba’s Netflix comedy Turn Up Charlie – and in a Walkers Crisps advert with the Spice Girls.

Morgana Robinson

Robinson was a part-time actress working as a waitress at a London restaurant  when she was spotted and signed by Russell Brand‘s agent John Noel. Now 39, she first attracted attention in 2009 for her teenage boy character Gilbert, which led to a  five-part comedy sketch show on Channel 4. She went on to star in the impressionist/sketch show Very Important People, Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer's sitcom House Of Fools and The Windsors, where she  played Pippa Middleton. In 2016, she starred in her own BBC Two series The Agency, set around the famous clients of a showbusiness agent, whom she impersonated.

Victoria Coren Mitchell

The daughter of the late humorist Alan Coren, the 48-year-old is a writer, presenter and professional poker player. Her books include Once More, With Feeling, which charted her attempt (with co-author Charlie Skelton) to make ‘the greatest porn film ever’. She is a panel show regular and has hosted BBC Two’s fiendish quiz show Only Connect since 2008. She married David Mitchell in 2012 and have a six-year-old daughter together.

• Chortle tipped Khan and Coren Mitchell as contestants we’d like to see on Taskmaster in an article earlier this year.

Produced by: Avalon
Executive producers: Alex Horne, Richard Allen-Turner, Rob Aslett, James Taylor, Jon Thoday and Andy Devonshire
Series director: Andy Devonshire
Series producer: Andy Cartwright
Commissioned for Channel 4 by: Head of entertainment, Phil Harris and head of live events, Tom Beck.

Published: 20 May 2021