‘Taskmaster’ original stage show surfaces online featuring future fan-favourite contestants

nme.com:

Taskmaster, performed at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2010.Taskmaster was created by Alex Horne, who plays the assistant to The Taskmaster, Greg Davies, on the series.

It was originally a stage show with Horne playing the title role. The idea was inspired by The Crystal Maze, his work on Big Brother, and his envy of his close friend Tim Key winning the Edinburgh Comedy Award in 2009.The original format saw him send 20 comedians monthly tasks by email over the course of a year.

He then presented their efforts as part of a two-hour show at the 2010 Edinburgh Festival Fringe with the slightly different title The Task Master.In the seven minute clip, Horne introduces the show, saying: “So this is The Task Master.

This is the climax of a year’s worth of work, it’s 12 months of creativity for one performance, one strange evening tonight”.He then introduces the contestants: Dan Atkinson, Jarred Christmas, James Dowdeswell, Tim FitzHigham, Steve Hall, Tim Key, Lloyd Langford, Jodie Long, Henning Wehn, Joe Wilkinson, Mike Wozniak, Tom Wrigglesworth.