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.
While there have only been 15 series proper, there have also been special one-off ‘Champion of Champion’ and ‘New Year Treat’ programmes, comprising one or two episodes.
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.
There have been a total of 148 episodes of the show, but which ones are the best? We took a look at how they rated according to reviews on online entertainment bible IMDb.
Here are the top 13 – each named after a quote from the show – which will be updated to include any qualifying episodes from series 16 when it’s finished.
9. Caring Uncle Minpict
The last episode of series 12 was broadcast on Thursday, November 25, 2021, and saw impressionist Morgana Robinson take the crown at the expense of Alan Davies, Desiree Burch, Guz Khan, and Victoria Coren Mitchell. Caring Uncle Minpict's many highlights included Burch writing a song for Alex Horne. Photo: Channel 4
10. Dafty In The Middle
Episode three was the highest rated in the 14th and most recently completed series of Taskmaster, starring Dara O Briain, Fern Brady, John Kearns, Munya Chawawa and Sarah Millican. Dafty In The Middle was broadcast on Thursday, October 13, 2022, and featured a hilarious twist relating to the motives of John Kearns. Photo: Channel 4
11. The Pie Whisperer
The second episode of the first ever series just misses out on a place in the top 10. The Pie Whisperer was broadcast on Tuesday, August 4, 2015, and saw Roisin Conaty, Tim Key, Romesh Ranganathan, Frank Skinner and Josh Widdicombe challenged to identify the contents of a series of mystery pies. Photo: Channel 4
12. The Poet And The Egg
Hot on the heels of episode two of series one is the very next episode of the same season - The Poet And The Egg. Building an egg tower was one of the classic tasks facing Roisin Conaty, Tim Key, Romesh Ranganathan, Frank Skinner and Josh Widdicombe on Tuesday, August 11, 2015. Photo: Channel 4