Taskmaster creator Alex Horne has sadly revealed that a proposed spin-off of the beloved Channel 4 series may never come to fruition. The assistant to Greg Davies, who originally conceived the show as a live stage performance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, shared the disappointing news during an appearance on Richard Herring's podcast while promoting his new children's book, The Last Pebble.
World Cup of Taskmaster Discussed
Richard Herring, a former contestant on the comedy challenge series, asked Alex about the possibility of a 'World Cup of Taskmaster' and a 'Champion of Champions of Champions'. Regarding the former, Alex initially expressed enthusiasm: 'I would love that, I used to love International Gladiators. Also Going for Gold.' However, he then tragically divulged: 'But I think commissioners aren't that interested. They don't want to see [a] Swedish person particularly.' Admitting his disagreement, he added: 'But I think that's interesting. I'd love to see that.'
Potential Hosts and Assistants
The pair then speculated on who would host the format if it went global. Alex suggested it would 'have to be Greg' but claimed 'the assistants are more interchangeable'. He humbly proposed 'Paul Williams' as a 'better assistant' than himself, stating: 'He's sort of similar to me in that he's quite nerdy, but he's really good looking. People think I'm good at music but I'm not, I've got a band, but Paul is really good at music. He's good at acting. He's funnier than me.'
Hope for Champion of Champions of Champions
Although Alex admitted that higher-ups are not biting on the World Cup idea, there is some hope for diehard fans seeking more spin-offs. When Richard expressed disappointment that a 'Champion of Champions of Champions' might not happen, the 47-year-old expressed light-hearted exasperation that interview comments are often taken as straight fact. While he neither confirmed nor denied its possibility, he clarified: 'So we're not at that stage yet.' He added: 'We've still got one more Champion of Champions to go before we even consider that.'
Leaving People Wanting More
Alex revealed a 'slight hunch that you should leave people wanting more' and 'you shouldn't always give people what they want'. Interestingly, he suggested that more people would 'prefer to watch a Loser of Losers' but his confliction lies in the fact that he also has a 'problem rewarding failure'. There have been four instalments of the two-part special series Taskmaster: Champion of Champions, which sees winners of previous seasons compete for the ultimate title.
Something Up Their Sleeve
Earlier this year, Alex told the Radio Times: 'People ask us about adding a Champion of Champion of Champions. I think, instead of that, we have got something up our sleeves in the near-ish future, of doing a slightly interesting series. It's just some tweaks, but I can't say any more than that. So [we have got] something. We've got something up our sleeve.'
Current Season Finale
The current season of Taskmaster has its grand season finale on Thursday, June 11. Joanna Page, Amy Gledhill, Joel Dommett, Armando Iannucci, and Kumail Nanjiani have all been battling to secure Greg's golden noggin. The final airs on June 11 at 9pm on Channel 4.
