Alex Horne

The one part of Taskmaster that was nearly cut

"After the first series, there's a bit in the beginning where they have to bring in what becomes the prize. I thought, 'Oh, maybe that should go.' But people seemed to like it."

The Horne Section review

Clever comedy never looked so stupid.

If you only watched one thing on Hogmanay before the bells I do hope you made it The Last Leg, which is very much not tottering on that eponymous limb. In so many ways this was the perfect end to an often laughable year, and featured no pomp and precious little politics. Instead, just a studio full of genuinely funny and irrepressible guests, a gospel choir, the magnificent house band led by Alex Horne and, chiefly, the near-alchemical chemistry and interplay between Adam Hills and Alex Brooker. And, on the filmed sections in Austria, the establishment of Brooker as the first disabled person to descend an Olympic-standard double-luge run was, away from the laughter and the cavorting, actually rather impressive.

Alex Horne's TV diary

Alex Horne, creator of comedy hit Taskmaster, receives an unusual delivery and consults his children for advice.

It's cliched but true: we are truly in a golden age of television. It's easy to be drawn to the glitz and glamour of high-end drama, but hidden between Top Gear re-runs on banter channel Dave, Taskmaster has steadily been building a reputation as the funniest show on television. Birthed from an Edinburgh Fringe concept, Taskmaster Greg Davies and sidekick Alex Horne (also show creator) set a group of comedians a series of inane challenges. It's a winningly simple formula - get funny people to do silly things in a pressured environment, from finding the boiled egg in a line-up to just making "the best noise". The show's genius lies in its casting, avoiding the rotating line-up typical of panel shows, and instead securing the same people for 10 episodes. In-jokes develop and tensions rise as you follow contestants desperately attempting to win a golden replica of Davies's cranium. It might not be the most fashionable choice, but there's been nothing more reliably funny on television in 2018.

Up to the Task: Selling comedy to the world

Gameshow Taskmaster has been a standout hit for UKTV and is now entertaining audiences around the world. Creator Alex Horne and execs from UKTV and production company Avalon explain how the show was exported to 17 countries.

Best comedy books of 2018

Some top funny tomes from this past year, featuring everything from Brexit to feminism, and daft games to theoretical musings.

Taskmaster series smashes ratings

The current series of Taskmaster, the award winning and critically acclaimed series on UKTV's Dave, has eclipsed all previous series in terms of ratings.