When is Taskmaster on? Season 20 release date, episode schedule and contestants

There have been 19 series to date, along with special one-off ‘Champion of Champion’ and ‘New Year Treat’ programmes, as well as a Junior Taskmaster hosted by former contenstants 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.

It’s back on our screens this week, with another bunch of famous faces looking to raise the trophy won by Horrible Histories star Matthew Baynton last season.

Here’s everything you need to know.

When does Season 20 of Taskmaster start?

The first episode of the new series of Taskmaster will be on at 9pm on Thursday, September 11, on Channel 4. It will then be available to watch on Channel 4’s on demand service and on YouTube.

Can I bingewatch Season 20 of Taskmaster?

You can’t bingewatch Season 20 of Taskmaster as episodes will be released on a weekly basis. You can catch up with all previous series on Channel 4’s on demand service or YouTube though.

What is the release schedule for Season 20 of Taskmaster?

New episodes will be broadcast on Channel 4 every Thursday at 9pm. There are 10 episodes in total, so the last one will be broadcast on November 13.

Who is on Season 20 of Taskmaster?

Here’s who will be competing for the Season 20 trophy:

Ania Magliano

Acclaimed standup and former member of Cambridge Footlights who was nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award in 2023. She’s back in Edinburgh this August with a Work in Progress show.

She’s written for numerous television shows including Frankie Boyle's New World Order, The Now Show and the Have I Got News for You Twitter account. TV appearances includeThe Stand Up Sketch Show andThe Comedy Guide to Life.

Maisie Adam

Maisie Adam's first Edinburgh Festival Fringe show, Vague, was nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer prize in 2018.

She has appeared on numerous television programmes and was recently seen playing in Soccer Aid. Other credits include 8 Out of 10 Cats, Mock the Week, QI, Have I Got News for You, Would I Lie To You?, Richard Osman's House of Games, Roast Battle, Celebrity Mastermind, The Big Fat Quiz of the Year and The Last Leg.

Phil Ellis

Yet another Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee, Phil Ellis was shortlisted for the main award for his show Phil Ellis's Excellent Comedy Show - which won the Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality. He also won the Edinburgh Comedy Award Panel prize in 2014 for children’s game show (with adult content) Funz and Gamez.

TV appearances include The Russell Howard Hour, Drunk History, Roast Battle, The Tez O'Clock Show, and Redknapp's Big Night Out. He has also produced three series of Phil Ellis is Trying on BBC Radio 4.

Reece Shearsmith

Comedy superstar Reece Shearsmith was one of the founder members of The League of Gentlemen - who won the Edinburgh Comedy Award, then known as the Perrier, in 1997. The League of Gentlemen were a triple success - on radio, television and on the big screen.

He went on to create, write and star in Psychoville and Inside No. 9. The stage version of the latter is coming to Edinburgh’s Playhouse later this year after finding success in London’s West End.

He’s appeared in numerous other television shows and films, including Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Saltburn, The World’s End, See How They Run, Venon: Let There Be Carnage, and A Field in England.

Sanjeev Bhaskar

Sanjeev Bhaskar is best known for being part of the groundbreaking sketch comedy group Goodness Gracious Me, who were a hit on BBC radio and television.

He went on to appear in sitcom The Kumars at No. 42 and presented a documentary series called India with Sanjeev Bhaskar.

Film appearances include Paddington 2, Yesterday, The Flash and Notting Hill.