Taskmaster's Greg Davies reveals "ridiculous" prop which didn't make it past the unaired pilot
The eccentric accessory took things a little too far.
Taskmaster duo Greg Davies and Alex Horne have revealed a "ridiculous" prop that never made it past the unaired pilot episode of their anarchic panel show.
The series returns to television next week on Channel 4, its new home after moving from UKTV channel Dave, as a fresh batch of familiar faces take on strange challenges to please the eponymous boss.
Speaking to Radio Times, Davies and Horne reflected on the seldom seen Taskmaster pilot and how it differed from the show that fans know and love.
"We did a pilot – a non-broadcast pilot – and the brief was that I was just going to be an overlord who was horrible to everybody," Davies said. "How that’s distilled down is I’m now less horrible to everybody, but consistently awful to Alex."
Upon further reflection, it emerged that the role of Taskmaster once came with an outlandish prop that ultimately never made it into the finished iteration of the programme.
"And in the pilot you had a cane, which sort of seemed ridiculous immediately," Horne recalled.
Davies said: "With a gold 'T' on it, yeah. As soon as I sat down, I felt absolutely ridiculous. So that didn’t make it past the pilot."
While the antics of the contestants always make for entertaining viewing, many fans tune in for the hysterical dynamic between Horne and Davies, which apparently developed quite naturally.
"Our relationship definitely felt easy straight away," Horne added. "People always ask me how Greg came up with the 'Little Alex Horne' nickname, and if it was part of a grand plan. But there was no memory of that. He just started saying it."
The celebs competing for the Taskmaster's approval this year are This Country’s Daisy May Cooper, Benidorm’s Johnny Vegas, IT Crowd’s Katherine Parkinson, Two Weeks to Live’s Mawaan Rizwan and comedian Richard Herring.
You can read our Taskmaster series 10 review here.
Read the full interview in this week's Radio Times. Taskmaster premieres on Channel 4 on Thursday 15th October. While you’re waiting, visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight, or check out our guide to new TV shows 2020 to find out what's airing this autumn and beyond.
Authors
David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
