Why did you sign up for the show? Are you a fan?
I LOVE the show, it is one of the all-time great TV shows, and it was the very easiest, quickest yes ever. It’s one of those shows that I love watching, and I think it’s very in-line with the nonsense we do on the Breakfast Show, so it felt like a thing that I would just love doing.
The Breakfast Show mantra of “Nonsense for the sake of nonsense” could very well be Taskmasters too, couldn’t it?
Absolutely. But it’s from the mind of Alex Horne, so it’s a very specific, unique type of nonsense. I love silly things, and Taskmaster is the ultimate silly thing. There’s not enough silliness on telly, and one of the things I really love about the show is that it conditions the viewers to get ready for nonsense. We’ve had it in the past on Radio 1 where the bosses have gone “Why would you do that?” And the thing is, you don’t need a reason to do silly things. That’s why I love Taskmaster – there’s no reason to it other than it’s just funny.
You’ve invented some rather peculiar games on the radio. What do you think of the ingenuity involved in setting the tasks on the show?
It actually blows my mind, the amount of games and tasks that they have to come up with. The trap you fall into sometimes is you end up doing the same things over and over again, or you just do a slight variation. But the games are all so unique, inventive and stupid. When I was reading the tasks for the first time, I was simultaneously trying to get my head around the task but also marvelling at how brilliant they were. I was a little bit awestruck by how great the ideas were, and I forgot that I had to do them.
You’re 6’4”. How did it feel to not only not be the tallest man in the room, but not even the tallest Greg in the room?
It’s actually a lovely feeling for me. I always feel like a bit of a freak in most things, and particularly on telly – I tend to always be the tallest person on screen - so it was great for me to be with the actual big Greg. And our surnames are not dissimilar either, so we’ve often been confused for each other. He’s been called Greg James a lot, and I’ve been called Greg Davies a lot.
Did you learn anything about yourself?
I learned that I wanted to please the Taskmaster more than I thought I would want to. I don’t really ever think that I’m competitive, but when I do things like that I really want to do them well. For me, it was about doing the tasks justice and making sure that I enjoyed them. So, I learned that I was more competitive than I thought I was. The other thing I learned is that I go to chaos too quickly – I was a bit frantic and wanted to get the tasks done quickly. I sometimes didn’t read the question properly, and I didn’t take my time enough. I ran at them when maybe I should have walked at them.
At one point you said “It’s Taskmaster – it’s not supposed to be fun!”
Well, I take nonsense very seriously. And I guess because I know how difficult it is to come up with those sorts of games, I want to play them properly, and I want to do well in them. Nonsense is sometimes a very serious business.
How did you all get on with one another?
I had such a nice time with that group. They were amazing. It was a shame we were just doing one programme, because we all got on so, so well. Each of them was so funny and interesting. I was sat next to an actual Olympian. And Carol Vorderman is my new favourite person. She is so wonderful, so interesting and so funny, and just such a legend.
Self Esteem is great fun, I’ve known her for a couple of years now, she’s brilliant. And Amelia is great, she’s brilliantly weird. I think you have to be a bit weird to go on that show, and I think the cast was brilliant.
How are you feeling about watching the show? Who will you watch with?
I’ll watch it with the family, I think. And all my mates will be texting me, because as soon as it was announced that I was on it, they were all immediately going “Oh my God, you’re doing taskmaster, it’s the best thing ever!” That proves what a massive hit it is, because they all came crawling out of the woodwork saying how much they loved Taskmaster. They haven’t given a shit about anything I’ve done on the radio for the last four years, but Taskmaster they’re into.
How did you find working on the tasks with the enigma that is Alex Horne?
I actually found him quite calming. He was a comforting presence. I liked him, he’s like a lovely, kind geography teacher. But he’s mischievous.
At one point, Greg referred to you as a lovely head-boy type of character. What do you think he meant by that?
Well, I don’t know. He kept saying that I was a lovely boy, which I appreciated as a compliment, but then I did feel like he was trying to get off with me. He kept saying it, so it then started to become a bit creepy.
Having seen it up close, how would you describe the relationship between Greg and Alex?
Seeing it up close, I feel like there’s genuine love for each other, and sometimes with Greg it comes out in strange ways. But I do feel like they’d be completely lost without each other, and it was a joy to behold.
Was being on the show what you expected?
It was even better. The task day was one of the most fun days I’ve ever had doing any work, ever.
What is it that makes Taskmaster so special?
There’s nothing else like it, and I love shows that are just fun for the sake of being fun. It doesn’t take itself seriously, it’s very welcoming and everyone’s very nice. It’s just a laugh, isn’t it, and that’s the point of it. It brings a lot of joy.
The show is billed as a New Year Treat. What treats are you hoping for from 2023?
I’d like the world to calm the fuck down.
Read an interview with Greg Davies and Alex Horne here.
Taskmaster New Year's Treat, January 1, C4, 9pm.Taskmaster Picture: AvalonGreg James Interview: C4
