Taskmaster season 21 A-list star explains why he signed up – and the former contestant who made it happen

Taskmaster is returning with another eclectic cast of contestants later this year, including one from across the pond.

Silicon Valley and Eternals star Kumail Nanjiani is possibly the most eye-catching name on an impressive season 21 line-up that also includes Amy Gledhill, Armando Iannucci, Joanna Page and Joel Dommett.

For Taskmaster viewers, Nanjiani's signing is huge and fans have been speculating how the Oscar nominee came to join the Channel 4 entertainment show.

And he has now revealed that he has one former cast member to thank for helping him land the gig...

Speaking to Vulture, Nanjiani explained that season 1 contestant – and the show's official task consultant – Tim Key got the ball rolling after the pair met.

Nanjiani recalled that he had invited another former Taskmaster contestant, James Acaster, to a party at his house, and he brought Key with him.

Nanjiani told Key how much he loved the show – after discovering it in 2018 through Acaster's season – and how badly he wanted to take part.

From that, it was a quick text from Key to Alex Horne and the rest is history!

Watch the full clip below:

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"We [Nanjiani and wife Emily V Gordon] have been fans for a long time, I think season 7 was coming out then," he said of his love of the show. "I've been trying to do it for a long time."

He added of filming: "It was great. It was so fun. And I really loved our group. Like truly, genuinely, we all fell in love. It was joyful."

Find out more about the Taskmaster season 21 line-up in the video below:

Nanjiani isn't the first US-based star to appear on Taskmaster, with Jason Mantzoukas – who was also a huge fan of the show – memorably appearing on season 19.

Mantzoukas told Collider last year: "I was a fan to the degree that I was like, 'Oh, I'm such a fan of this!' Not just like, 'I'm enjoying it', but like that kind of fandom that's like, 'I want to do that. I want to be inside the show.'

"I happen to be very lucky that I can activate people on my behalf; I said to my manager, 'Can you just ask the producers?' So, when they were willing to talk to me and then were so immediately interested in me being a part of it, I was like, 'Oh my god.'"

Read more:

• 19 greatest Taskmaster contestants ever ranked – from Mel Giedroyc to Bob Mortimer
• Taskmaster's Alex Horne: "Our policy is we'll only do it if it's good"

Taskmaster season 21 will air later this year on Channel 4 and on the official Taskmaster YouTube channel elsewhere globally.

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