Taskmaster

UKTV originals among top rated shows on network in 2018

Highest rated shows included Taskmaster on Dave, Death on the Tyne on Gold and Murder on the Blackpool Express on Drama.

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.

Review 2018: Top TV 2018

I don't know what it says about the times we are living in but comedy seems to have slipped into all sorts of programmes this year. I've kept my choices to more traditional comedies.

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.

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.

Series seven of Dave's hands-on challenge show continues, with Greg Davies passing snide judgment on five comedic rivals from his elevated throne of games. Tonight's oddball tasks include a writerly fun run and some airhorn psychology, but Phil Wang deserves a special rosette for his snug Bruce Lee jumpsuit.

Taskmaster, which started as a comedy routine at the Edinburgh Fringe, has become the most popular show in Dave's admittedly short and unspectacular history -- such a success that another three series have been commissioned. That's good news for anyone who can't get enough of stand-ups and comic actors creating art with whipped cream or hurling dolls into trees.

It works because the five contestants, who this time include one-liner king Tim Vine and sitcom stalwart Liza Tarbuck, happily submit to the show's sadistic style. Watching them make fools of themselves is quite entertaining: seeing presenter Greg Davies mock and sneer at their efforts can be shamefully funny.

Creator of the concept, and butt of Greg's harshest jibes, is Alex Horne, who also oversees all the tasks. He understands the importance of a rigid format, and each episode follows a precise rhythm. It's possible to gauge almost to the second when he will make a self-conscious quip, or a jangling piano will introduce a clip to introduce the next task.

Eventually the format will become stale, changes will be introduced, and the whole thing will fall apart. For now, we can wallow in telly that manages to be inane, spiteful and hilarious at the same time.