Congratulations on Season 15: what a great cast. Let’s go through them one by one, starting with Frankie Boyle. People may be surprised that he signed up.
G: I think that’s a perfectly reasonable thing to be surprised about. He’s on it because his children like it.
A: He sometimes seems surprised that he’s on it as well. It’s unusual to see him without his dignity and not being in charge but he completely threw himself into it, partly because his kids are big fans, as Greg says, and partly because he really likes the show and I think he trusts us, luckily. But he had to wait 14 series to really be sure that we’d look after him and agree to do it! He’s got friends, people like Sophie Duker, who helped persuade him. It was really nice to see him be his normal self. He brought his kids into lots of conversations during the studio shoot so you see a tender side of him, which was nice.
G: I make a lot of jokes in this series about him not caring whether he wins or not but, as Alex said, he really entered into the spirit of it. It’s not that he was sitting there going, “Who cares?” He tried, and was often bad. It’s nice to see someone like Frankie being incompetent.
A: He’s always competent with his mouth though. The things he says are so brilliant.
G: He restores his dignity with every analysis.
He brings a lot of intellectual prowess in the studio.
A: I love that. And that won’t be lost. These five actually feel like a really intelligent five. I don’t want to say that they’re more intelligent than others, but all of them –
G: But you are.
A: I am, yes. They’re much cleverer than anyone we’ve had. They’re led by Frankie, I think, when they’re arguing.
G: Certainly, if there’s a judgement to be made where semantics are involved, it’s kind of awkward having Frankie in the room to point out the facts. I might bluster over certain things sometimes, then people like Frankie come in and check the facts. But dictators need to be checked.
On the other hand, you’ve got him running around in his pants in one task.
A: That was all his idea. I think he was keen to put a stamp on the show. I think he decided, “Right, if I’m doing it, I’m doing it.”
G: It shows a different side to his creativity as well. His normal act is not a natural conduit for some of the things you see him doing and being naturally funny.
What about Ivo Graham: he’s quite chaotic and anxious, isn’t he?
G: Wilfully so.
A: He fits a bit into the David Baddiel or Mark Watson “intelligent man doing badly with practical things” but he’s also got a real playful side. I think he’s in control of his badness.
G: He’s not cartwheeling out of control; he knows exactly what he’s doing. I don’t think he’s being bad on purpose – but when it’s evident that he’s being bad, he welcomes the chaos. He revels in his mistakes.
A: He was desperate to win it because he knows the show inside out. Most of his mates have done it and that desperation meant going charging into the tasks and then realising it was too late. He got all giddy and excited and never stopped to think. But he’s a really thoughtful person generally, so that was surprising.
G: I think he makes an assertion, he comes up with a plan, and he follows that plan through regardless of new information that might come in. “This is the plan, and I’m sticking with it.” It’s a sort of Bomber Harris approach to Taskmaster.
A: When he does get in too deep, that’s fun. He’s prepared to go the extra mile more than anyone. He has quite a physical reaction to it. He’s a peculiar character. There have been moments of sadness with him but he has got his dignity as well.
G: It’s remarkable. He’s so naturally funny. He does a thing where he throws away a point wilfully in one of the live tasks. It’s one of the most surprising and funniest things I’ve seen on the show. That really wrong-footed me, that.
A: Me too. He’s technically an unbelievably clever comedian.
And then there’s Kiell …
A: I think he’ll surprise people. People will have seen him in things. Even like Ghosts – someone from our Art Department who loves Ghosts didn’t even put the two together because he’s known as an actor, not as a comedian. But he’s thankfully a really funny person. And he’s got a face that lights up, a real twinkle.
G: I always say he adds value in some way to every task. There’s always a shimmy or flourish. He’s showbiz.
A: Yes, he’s a showman. Even the clothes he’s wearing. He’s very likeable.
G: He’s very competitive.
A: He’s had a problem with me as well on several occasions, which I found quite funny.
G: Which I’ve really enjoyed as well. They turn on me normally around show six, and my judgements get called into question. But he really has had it in for you since the beginning.
A: I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong. I have dobbed him in, but that’s my job. I could see you were getting beguiled by him and I had to stand up for justice. He did a few things badly but he managed to get things under the radar by being a bit showy, so I had to make sure you get the full picture.
G: You think I was getting beguiled and being soft?
A: Yes.
G: Don’t be silly.
A: I don’t really think that.
G: But he has beguiled me. He has. I find him beguiling.
How would you describe his approach to tasks?
G: Route one.
A: Yes. He’s got such a confused face.
G: And there’s a lot of fury.
A: I think he thinks it’s all against him. He doesn’t realise there’s four other people doing it too.
G: Yes: “Why would you do this to me?”
Jenny Eclair is joyous.
A: She is. She had the time of her life, both in and out of the studio. The whole show is meant to be doing stuff you did as a kid that you don’t do any more. You know, you can make a big mess and you can make a little film. She’s really throwing herself into it.
G: You can really see the inner child in her, and I found it so gleeful. There was one task where she just went, “Fuck, yes!” I think there’s genuine glee there. It’s not performance. She’s doing it for herself.
A: She’s quite anti-establishment as a person, so this is a good way of breaking rules and not giving a shit.
G: She’s very, very funny and quite chaotic.
She keeps you all entertained with some great stories about her family.
A: If you say to her, “What do you think of the Nissan Micra?” she’ll have a story about it, in the same way Greg often has a story for most occasions. She’s got an amazing memory for details.
Do you think people will be surprised by her?
G: I don’t know how people have perceived her in more recent years.
A: I’m just really pleased that people will see her being funny on telly, because she should be on telly more. You’re seeing the true Jenny, I think.
G: And carefree. Not being associated with being grumpy and menopausal. What she is on our show is someone who loves life. She spends a lot of time laughing.
A: She had a grandchild during the filming. It’s quite nice when Taskmaster fits around people’s lives, and you can see their lives in the show. Her grandson has come up to the show a couple of times. I do like that.
And finally, Mae Martin. People might not know them as a stand-up as much as an actor.
A: Yes, they’re quite hard to pin down because they had a really good approach to the tasks, almost more than anyone. They read it and think, “Yes, I know how to do this.” I think they sometimes think they’re taking it too seriously.
G: But we like that, don’t we? They’re quite forensic in the way they approach tasks. I like that. But then there are flashes of mischief: understated mischief. And they’ll often throw in a very clever call-back or a very witty line.
A: They’re very good at bending the rules and going the extra mile. Also, it’s worth mentioning they were much better by themselves than with the team. They found it quite frustrating to be with their team. And that was really funny.
G: And publicly slagged their them off. Which is always fun – it adds a frisson of danger to the room.
A: And a different voice to anyone we’ve had before.
G: More of a tactician, more thoughtful.
A: Yes, all of them, by the way, were really good at the prize tasks, which is huge for us. They were all thinking about it, which was great. That doesn’t mean they did well.
G: Well, they tried. A lot of people just grab something as they leave their house, but they’ve all really tried giving it some thought.
A: Also Mae is really good friends with Charlotte Ritchie and Kiell, so it’s good to see someone who’s had history with the show and came in with a slight mindset. I like that.
Who is on the hitlist for future series?
A: I thought about RuPaul earlier from Drag Race.
G: As a special?
A: Probably, yes. But I’ve never seen the show.
G: So you want RuPaul on based on… photos?
A: Yes. I like the look. So RuPaul. I guess Prince William we still want, do we? He’s one step closer?
G: William’s right up there for me.
William rather than Harry?
G: Yes, I think so, because William is more likely to be King and the royal family need to reinvent themselves if they are to survive, and what better place to do it than on Taskmaster?
A: I don’t think we probably want to mention any other comedians specifically because we say the same names each time, although I did spend a week in Edinburgh this year, and it was exciting thinking there are plenty of people out there who would be great on it.
Finally, can you talk about The Horne Section which was new to Channel 4 last year?
A: What’s quite nice is it starts in the world of Taskmaster and ends up in another world, which is really fun. It’s meant to be me trying to get out of Greg’s shadow and not quite ever achieving that. It’s almost funny. It’s almost part of the show that that’s exactly what I don’t want to happen.
G: It sticks in the craw though, doesn’t it? The press said I was in it, but I’ve only got a cameo.
A: It does a bit, yes. My poor band, putting in a load of effort, and in the press it’s all about Greg. It’s been a lot of fun though. Very silly. All the special guests we had – we’ve had some great names including Martin Kemp and Anneka Rice, and Imogen Heap – really odd. We just wanted to be unpredictable.
G: It’s really great.
A: I’m really pleased. I think it is great. It’s nice to do something different to Taskmaster.
People want funny, silly stuff.
A: Yes. There aren’t that many sitcoms out there that are just nonsense. Actually, Man Down was quite a good influence on me. You were mainly trying to be really funny on that show. Is that fair enough?
G: Yes, that was the goal.
A: I’m not saying that makes it any worse. Like, it’s still really good writing.
G: I’m always surprised when that can be levelled as a criticism, because that’s why I came into comedy.
A: Yes, completely.
G: It’s sort of what I thought being a comedian was. I thought we were supposed to make people laugh. There should be a space for pure silliness, and we both like mining that.
