Another group of intrepid comedians have volunteered to take part in Taskmaster. They are Sophie Duker, Ardal O'Hanlon, Bridget Christie, Chris Ramsey and Judi Love.
Whenever the line-up is announced there is usually a flurry of sad old gits, cynics and trolls who tweet "Never heard of any of them". So just for their benefit here is a bit more information on the talent this time round.
Some of the names this time round should be recognisable to anyone with even a passing interest in quality comedy. Ardal O'Hanlon is pretty much comedy royalty thanks to his performance as dimwitted Father Dougal in the C4 comedy Father Ted. But will O'Hanlon be as dimwitted as himself in Taskmaster? The older comics – David Baddiel, Alan Davies – have sometimes slipped into that role. Will Ardal go the same way?
Chris Ramsey is a pretty big name to have on the show. He's a successful stand-up and also a successful podcaster wth his wife Rosie - in Shagged, Married, Annoyed they dissect their own relationship and share their ups and downs with their legion of fans. They also have a TV show together in the pipeline. And, of course, Ramsey was also a hit on Strictly Come Dancing.
Judi Love was also a hit on Strictly Come Dancing until she had to drop out due to Covid. But there have been plenty more opportunities to catch this high energy comedian, who has appeared on shows including Loose Women and Harry Hills Club Nite.
Bridget Christie is a very popular comedian who has really found her voice since winning the Edinburgh Comedy Award in 2013 with her show A Bic For Her, which poked fun at sexism. More recently Christie has had a hit live show, Who Am I? in which she finds the funny side of the menopause. It must be a laugh a minute back home, she is married to comedian Stewart Lee. I'd love to see him on Taskmaster but can't see it happening somehow.
And finally maybe the least known contestant is Sophie Duker, who is very much a rising star, having been nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer trophy when the award last took place in 2019. Duker has become a TV regular during Covid appearing on shows ranging from Frankie Boyle's New World Order, Jonathan Ross' Comedy Club, The Last Leg, Richard Osman's House of Games and Hypothetical. She also co-hosted The Science(ish) of Stranger Things, which you can watch here.
Who will win this year's Taskmaster, hosted, as always by Greg Davies and Alex Horne? Your guess is as good as mine. I quite fancy poppibg a fiver on Sophie Duker though.
Taskmaster, Thursdays, C4, 9pm.
