In recent years, the special festive episode of Taskmaster has become a New Year's tradition – and we now know which famous faces will be put through their paces by Greg Davies and Alex Horne at the start of 2025.
Advertisement
The fifth annual edition of Taskmaster's New Year Treat will once again see an eclectic mix of celebrities battle it out, with the contestants this time including Money Saving Expert and ITV host Martin Lewis and Royle Family star Sue Johnston – who at the age of 80 becomes the oldest star in the show's history.
Also in the line-up are former England and Liverpool goalkeeper David James, mathematician, science presenter and academic Professor Hannah Fry and singer-songwriter and All Saints star Melanie Blatt.
But for some, you may be wondering just who these famous faces are? Read on for everything you need to know about the 2025 Taskmaster's New Year Treat line-up.
Taskmaster's New Year Treat 2025 line-up
Martin Lewis
Sue Johnston
David James
Professor Hannah Fry
Melanie Blatt
Read on to find out more about the new Taskmaster New Year's Treat line-up.
Martin Lewis is best known for being on the nation's TV screens offering them tips on how to save money.
He currently presents The Martin Lewis Money Show which provides product and financial information and is often filmed in front of a live studio audience. He is also a guest presenter on Good Morning Britain and This Morning.
Sue Johnston
Sue Johnston. Ellis O'Brien / Channel 4
Age: 81
Instagram: None
Job: Actress
Sue Johnston is an actress known known for her roles in Brookside, The Royle Family and in more recent years, Downton Abbey.
Her other TV credits include Coronation Street and Tim, and she is set to appear in a new Sally Wainwright series titled Riot Women.
David James is a former professional footballer who played for the likes of Manchester City, West Ham United and Liverpool over the course of his career.
His most recent position was manager of the Kerala Blasters FC in the Indian Super League and he also offers punditry to Sky Sports.
Professor Hannah Fry is an academic and TV presenter and is currently the Professor in the Mathematics of Cities at the UCL Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis.
In 2025, Fry will become the University of Cambridge's first Professor of the Public Understanding of Mathematics.
Melanie Blatt is best known for being a member of All Saints, who during their tenure gained five UK number one singles and sold over 10 million records worldwide.
Blatt has also embarked on a solo career and went on to become a judge on The X Factor New Zealand.
You'll have to tune in early in the New Year to see which of them ends up walking away with a bust of Greg's head – with precise broadcast details yet-to-be announced.
The cast was revealed at the end of the broadcast of season 18's grand finale, which saw Andy Zaltzman, Babatunde Aléshé, Emma Sidi, Jack Dee and Rosie Jones go head-to-head.
Previous big names to have appeared in New Year's episodes of the series have included Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas, popular presenter Claudia Winkleman and Olympian Mo Farah.
Meanwhile, the most recent special, which aired at the beginning of 2024 saw actor Lenny Rush beat Dragons' Den star Deborah Meaden, musician Kojey Radical, nature presenter Steve Backshall and Radio 2 DJ Zoe Ball to win the top prize.
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
Katelyn Mensah is the Entertainment and Factual Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.
