Hit Stories: How Taskmaster’s Alex Horne dreams up the show's stupefying challenges
'Make an exotic sandwich’; ‘try to cry as many tears as possible into an egg cup’; ‘do something that looks impressive backwards, in an hour’ – these are just some of the challenges asked of comedians on Taskmaster, Dave’s original game show with a twist.
Hit Stories: the making of Taskmaster
The premise is simple: get five comedians together, give them points based on their abilities to complete a number of bizarre trials, and dissect their efforts in front of a live studio audience.
Now in its seventh series, the show was devised by Alex Horne who is also responsible for dreaming up the torturous challenges that put celebrities through their paces.
Sitting down for a chat with journalist John Plunkett for Thinkbox’s Hit Stories series – which offers a peek behind the curtain of some of TV’s biggest shows – Horne explained that there was some method behind the madness. Watch the film above to find out exactly what that method is.
Hit Stories takes marketers backstage and into the world of TV production in the company of the people who make it. Each film uncovers previously unheard insights, showing reveals how great TV shows are made, and how strong relationships with viewers are built.
This episode follows on from the first focusing on The Great British Bake Off, which you can watch here.
The series is produced by Thinkbox. You can find more about them here.