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Presented by Greg Davies and Alex Horne (who also created the programme, originally as a show for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), the first series of Taskmaster was broadcast in 2014 on comedy channel Dave, before expanding its audience after being poached by Channel 4 in 2020.
There have been 19 full series to date, along with special one-off ‘Champion of Champion’ and ‘New Year Treat’ programmes, comprising one or two episodes. There’s also been a children’s version hosted by former contestants Rose Matafeo and Mike Wozniak.
The show sees (mainly) comedians take part in a range of challenges which are then marked by the hosts, usually (but not always) winning a maximum of five points per task.
In order to judge which Taskmaster alumini have been most successful, and to take into account the often convoluted rules, we’ve simply looked at who has won the highest percentage of tasks they have been set.
For the purposes of this list we have restricted it to the 95 celebrities who have appeared on the 19 completed full series of the show – one-off special episodes don’t count.
So, ahead of Series 20, here are the current top 11 Taskmasters of all time.
1. Jon Richardson
'8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown' star Jon Richardson is officially the most successful Taskmaster contestant of all time. In Season 2 he won 11 out of 28 tasks - a win rate of 39.3 per cent that has never been beaten. Despite that he lost the title to Katherine Ryan by four points - meaning he's probably also the unluckiest Taskmaster contenstant. | Getty Images for Paramount Pictu
2. Mae Martin
Mae Martin won season 15 with a huge 174 points. On their way to the victory they won 20 out of 51 tasks - a 39.2 per cent hit rate. | Getty Images
3. Dara O'Briain
The final (joint) podium position goes to 'Mock the Week' host and television stargazer Dara Ó Briain. On his way to his series 14 win, with 184 points, he triumphed in 23 of 60 tasks - a win rate of 38.3 per cent. | Getty Images
4. Josh Widdicombe
'The Last Leg' favourite Josh Widdicombe won the very first series of Taskmaster, returning to win the first Champion of Champions. He won 18 out of 47 tasks, sharing the all-timer third place with Dara thanks to his identical 38.3 per cent hit rate. He memorably even got a tattoo in his quest to win. | Getty Images for AELTC