Taskmaster season 21 premiere overnight ratings revealed as fans delight at show's return
And viewers have praised the "brilliant" new line-up.
The overnight ratings have been revealed for the premiere of Taskmaster season 21.
The new outing, which sees Greg Davies return as host alongside creator Alex Horne as his faithful assistant and features a line-up including Eternals star Kumail Nanjiani and Gavin & Stacey actress Joanna Page, began on Channel 4 on Thursday (9 April).
And the chaotic episode, which saw the contestants tasked with hunting for worms, feeding Greg his five-a-day and firing T-shirt cannons, drew in an average of 680,000 viewers, according to overnight ratings.
This figure will of course rise on Channel 4's catch-up service before the consolidated final ratings, while the official YouTube upload of the episode – available to international fans – has more than 420,000 views at the time of writing.
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Fans were quick to take to social media to express their delight at the show's return too.
"Oh #Taskmaster will be a good series, proper strong series opener that one," a viewer wrote on X.
Fans also praised the new season’s impressive line-up, which features The Thick of It creator Armando Iannucci, Last One Laughing comedian Amy Gledhill and The Masked Singer presenter Joel Dommett.
"The casting in this series of #taskmaster is elite," another viewer said.
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Another added: "This is going to be an excellent series of #taskmaster. Brilliant cast yet again."
Horne previously shared a cryptic teaser about the new season to Radio Times, hinting that we may be in for something shocking...
"There is a moment involving Kumail Nanjiani. I don't want to give much away, but he gives a lot away about what he does by himself in his hotel room. So that's what you've got to tune in for," he said.
"He surprised himself by what he revealed, and I was sat next to him, and it's a big moment. It's a never-before-seen Taskmaster moment."
Taskmaster returned on Thursday 9 April at 9pm on Channel 4. Previous seasons are available to watch on catch-up on Channel 4.
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Authors
Molly Moss is a Trends Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest trends across TV, film and more. She has an MA in Newspaper Journalism and has previously written for publications including The Guardian, The Times and The Sun Online.
