19 greatest Taskmaster contestants ever ranked – from Mel Giedroyc to Bob Mortimer

Central to the show’s success are the five comedians who each season compete in the zany, perplexing and riotous tasks given to them by Horne in the hopes of impressing the Taskmaster himself, Greg Davies.

To celebrate the series’s big milestone, and in honour of the 19 seasons to have aired so far, Radio Times has ranked our 19 all-time favourite contestants to take part in the show.

To be clear, these aren’t necessarily the best contestants at playing the game and getting five points (in fact, it’s often the exact opposite…), but these are our picks of the most memorable, most enjoyable, and all-round most iconic Taskmaster stars with all the subjectivity of one of Greg’s more questionable scoring calls.

So, read on for our ranking of the 19 greatest Taskmaster contestants ever – all the information is in the list…

Taskmaster's 19 greatest ever contestants ranked

19. Rose Matafeo

Taskmaster contestant Rose Matafeo was such a popular figure on season 9 she did the unthinkable and actually became the Taskmaster. Well, sort of – she sits in the golden chair as the big boss on Junior Taskmaster and such was her performance as a contestant it’s hard to disagree with the decision.

Introducing the concept of fish posters in a “shid” to all non-New Zealanders, Matafeo’s efforts ranged from the dramatic (her Streetcar Named Desire-inspired surprise entrance), to the profound (RIP Chick Pataki the chickpea), to the absurd (serenading herself, guitar in hand, with Rose sending Rose a… rose). And her reinterpretation of the Taskmaster theme tune as a Wild West hoedown was outstanding.

18. John Kearns

If ever there was a contestant to know what they want and have the confidence to go after it, it would be John Kearns. A cult comedy figure before his time on the show, season 14 unleashed Kearns onto an unsuspecting public and he soon secured himself Taskmaster legend status with a nonchalant fling of his jacket.

His finest hour was undoubtedly the infamous sabotage challenge where he bumbled his way to throwing a team task, much to Dara Ó Briain and Fern Brady’s anger, but he also wrote an eight-word short play that we’re still not sure if it was genius or tosh, and he learned that rubber ducks aren’t exclusively sold at pharmacies. Good times.

17. Judi Love

Judi Love (or Queen Zafufu if you’re an alien) was tremendous fun on season 13. Yes she came last, yes she missed out on finally winning an episode in the cruellest way possible, and yes she was throwing a shoe at completely the wrong tower of toilet rolls in that one live task… but she can perfectly fry four fish fingers and she can borrow a dog whenever she wants.

One of the best contestants at selling their efforts to an increasingly exasperated Greg Davies, Love had the confidence of a champion, even if she ended up at the wrong end of the leaderboard. And to be fair, we still think there might be a duck on her face.

16. Ed Gamble

How could season 9 winner, Taskmaster The Podcast host and perhaps the show’s most competitive contestant ever not make the list? Ed Gamble was there to win and he did it in style, while never letting it get in the way of being very funny too.

Gamble did unspeakable things to a chickpea, sculpted a Mount Rushmore of himself, and had to deal with the unenviable burden of partnering David Baddiel for a live task. But his Champion of Champions prize task where he launched Greg’s golden head into space remains his greatest achievement – surely the show’s most beautiful moment yet (outside of that Alex Horne water feature, obviously).

15. Dara Ó Briain

Wait, what? If we were ranking this on how good Taskmaster contestants were at winning the actual show, there would be a strong argument for Dara Ó Briain to be at the very top. The season 14 winner and third Champion of Champions conquered all before him with a combination of charm, composure and occasional befuddlement.

It was all the more remarkable given he was on a team with Fern Brady and John Kearns, with his deepening despair being a real highlight of the episodes – most memorably in an all-timer of a live task that, to Ó Briain’s horror, posed the question: “Which aircraft crashes more into mountains?”

14. Sally Phillips

In season 5, Sally Phillips recorded the birth of Alex Horne, got intimate with a watercooler and used a task about making Marmite as an excuse to drink absinthe. No one could accuse the Smack the Pony favourite of playing it safe.

She relished turning things up to 11 at every opportunity and had a mischievous glint in her eye as she set about causing carnage (we know to politely decline if she ever offers to give us a special hug). But her greatest work was her, Aisling Bea and Bob Mortimer’s classic song for “geriatric athlete” Rosalind – complete with top-tier harmony work from Phillips.

13. Romesh Ranganathan

From the moment Romesh Rangantahan ran into the lab and smashed that watermelon on the floor in the very first recorded task of the very first episode, we knew both he and this new Taskmaster programme would have our hearts.

And nothing he did after that let us down – he put chilli sauce in his eyes to fill an eggcup with his tears, for goodness’ sake. And he created the mini masterpiece that was Tree Wizard, sadly overlooked in the Best Live Action Short Film category at that year’s Academy Awards. Like all of the contestants in season 1, we needed much more than just six episodes of Ranganathan.

12. Jason Mantzoukas

Much was made in the run-up to season 19 of the show’s first US-based contestant to travel over for Taskmaster, and Jason Mantzoukas more than lived up to the hype. A self-confessed super fan of the show who essentially invited himself on, the Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Good Place star was loud, brash and chaotic in all the best ways.

With a mission statement to “destroy, dismantle, engulf in flames”, Mantzoukas understood the assignment from minute one and was clearly having the time of his life. He was also one half of perhaps the most infectiously fun duo the show’s ever seen with Stevie Martin (or to give them their correct name, Javie Martzoukas). As with everything Mantzoukas did, we're locked in.

11. Jessica Knappett

Many Taskmaster contestants leave their mark on the show, but has anyone done something so iconic they actually change the name of part of the studio because of it? Jessica Knappett has – stacking it off the edge of the stage while trying to showcase the most magnificent walk, meaning the live task runway is now forever known as ‘The Knappett’.

The season 7 contestant was a joy, blasting her imaginary air horn, sharing awkward memories of her outfit at the senior school disco, and conducting an Alex Horne dance routine to the sound of her jaunty jig. Plus, we’d clear the schedules for a full series of her and Kerry Godliman’s Cul de Sac soap opera.

10. Nish Kumar

Nish “last in PE, first in being a legend” Kumar redefined the rulebook when it came to terrible Taskmaster performances. He took nearly half an hour to get his basketball through the hoop, his swearing extinguished a candle he had to keep lit, and in a task to get a coconut as far away from the house as possible, it somehow ended up approximately 0.0m away. He wasn’t even doing the sudoku properly.

However, he was a delight to watch throughout and he had one of the greatest redemption moments of them all. His song for a stranger with Mark Watson, I’m Always Seeing You (Do Cool Stuff) – written in 30 minutes – is not just good, it’s fantastic. Trying your best is always good enough with us, Nish.

9. Mel Giedroyc

Oh gang… There have been many Taskmaster contestants over the decade to enter with a go get ‘em attitude but Mel Giedroyc’s relentless optimism was something to behold. So much so, she even had her own individual tasks involving a giant inflatable beach ball designed purely to rile her. It only confirmed she is “officially nice”.

Her attempt at an exotic sandwich remains the most superb second task reveal – and she really gave it a go too – while her lateral thinking to get a toy camel through the smallest gap by bringing it to a Baby Gap store was one for the ages. Generally though, her whole performance was just a life lesson to us all – if in doubt, be more Mel.

8. James Acaster

James Acaster deserves a place on the list just for spending eight weeks learning to hula, only for it to go horribly wrong in the heat of the moment. Quick to anger, the season 7 star had some fantastic meltdowns, whether chastising the Taskmaster for not being able to open a small box or clashing with Rhod Gilbert over extensions and satsumas.

It wasn’t all fury and failure though, his live-action Grand Theft Auto was a masterpiece, his musical composition Over My Shoulder was a banger, and he deserved at least a bonus point for ignoring Alex Horne’s greeting every time he got a new task. Just don’t tell him who’s next up on our list…

7. Rhod Gilbert

There have been a number of comedians who were good friends with Greg Davies on Taskmaster over the years, but none have had quite the impact as season 7’s Rhod Gilbert. Every prize task was an opportunity to take down Davies, either by inserting that now-iconic photo of the host in his underpants or by spending a night filming him in his actual bedroom wardrobe.

Gilbert’s madman approach resulted in some incredible moments – he didn’t blink for over seven minutes (seven!) and pierced the caravan with a javelin (a javelin!) – while his running battles with James Acaster were the stuff of Taskmaster legend. And his decision to tie up Alex Horne instead of himself in that one task is one of the best bits of outside-the-box thinking the show has seen.

6. Sam Campbell

Has there been a better first episode introduction to any contestant than season 16’s Sam Campbell? In under an hour he unleashed a nightmarish Pinocchio, rambled about the Thai cave rescue team, nearly made the greatest call in the history of calls in the weighing scales live task, and asked Greg Davies if he was a child of divorce. Oh, and he won too.

As a comedian most viewers wouldn’t have encountered before, Taskmaster was a real showcase for Campbell’s brand of unhinged creativity as he became an immediate fan favourite. And what set him apart was his readiness to go the extra mile, whether adding a question mark after every word in a thesaurus or smashing a task about mice and fish that wasn’t even real. Good luck to anyone going up against him in Champion of Champions 4.

5. Sophie Duker

Taskmaster season 13 champion and one-third of the House Queens, Sophie Duker went above and beyond in all her attempts – reciting Shakespeare from memory while wearing a regal robe and holding her breath while handcuffed underwater, all in the same task.

That’s before we get into her eating an obscene amount of vegan butter for her edible sculpture and her feat of endurance and spittle in that tongue task (we would go back and check her overall time but we can’t bring ourselves to rewatch it). Big bonus points for getting a rap battle out of Alex Horne too. Basically, if you want a task done well, you’d want Duker doing it.

4. Fern Brady

She’s Fern Brady, she’s Fern Brady, she’s the rightful queen. The self-styled Taskmistress was an absolute blast during season 14 and not just because of her Mozart earworm – Alex Horne even credited her as the contestant who surprised him the most in a recent interview.

Brilliantly ploughing through tasks while complaining about being tired because she was too excited to sleep the night before, Brady may not have been able to snort and whistle, or have any sense of time on an airport travelator, but she acted the hell out of Sarah Millican’s short play and could fill a whole chapter of the Taskmaster book of quotes. Turns out she did meet those potatoes before…

3. Mathew Baynton

Recency bias, be damned – Mathew Baynton has earned his place among the Taskmaster greats with performances that were utterly inspired (his butterfly!), completely mortifying (his shorts!) or both at the same time (that yoghurt task…).

Demonstrating an impressive level of commitment to the bit, Baynton dominated season 19’s leaderboard while still regularly falling apart in a manner more befitting a contestant at the opposite end of the scores – we still feel his pain at being one word over the limit in the campfire task and needlessly moving a bin in the cushions task. But if there’s been a more ingenious prize task entry than his biggest anticlimax, we’ve yet to see it.

2. Bob Mortimer

Comedy legend, national treasure and – most importantly – Taskmaster season 5 champion Bob Mortimer was always going to make a terrific contestant and he didn’t disappoint. Studio talk consisted of sausage/pork pie presentation units, wind-dried puffins and way too much information about his toilet practices.

Meanwhile, his task work featured a nightmarish box of Wotsits, an even more horrifying edible face mask and a cutting-edge investigation into the total amount of urine produced in Dumfries and Galloway. Plus, alongside Aisling Bea and Sally Phillips, he had a big part to play in arguably the show’s greatest task ever, polishing off an old melody from his Shooting Stars days to declare – all together now – “Rosalind’s a f***ing nightmare”.

1. Mike Wozniak

When you think of the criteria for greatest Taskmaster contestant, you want a few things. Someone who’s generally good at tasks. Someone who completely goes for it. Someone who’s creative and smart, but also chaotic and silly. Someone who’s not afraid to undermine a vole. Step forward, Mike Wozniak.

The season 11 star was a revered figure in the comedy world before his appearance on the series (he won the very first iteration of Taskmaster back at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2010), but he completely broke out off the back of his charming, shilly-shallying performances – all the more remarkable as it was slap bang in the middle of the show’s Covid era, with social distancing in full effect and no studio audience.

Where to start? Hopping the fence to chase down a helium balloon that most would have abandoned? Balancing a pile of plates while riding a hoverboard in the rain in an unbearably tense location task? Shaving his actual hair to style it into a mohawk for a studio gag? And that’s before we get to his “absolute casserole” bombshell that is surely one of the most jaw-dropping TV moments of the last decade.

So here’s to you, Mike Wozniak. We’re raising a glass of milk in your honour.

Read more:

• Taskmaster's Alex Horne reveals "special guest from somewhere exotic" will appear in season 21
• Taskmaster's Alex Horne: "Our policy is we'll only do it if it's good"

Which of the Taskmaster season 20 contestants will become our new favourites? Watch a rundown of who's taking part here:

Taskmaster is available to stream on Channel 4 in the UK and on YouTube in other parts of the world. Season 20 is coming soon.

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