9th February 2015
Roisin Conaty, Tim Key, Romesh Ranganathan, Frank Skinner and Josh Widdicombe were today announced as the contestants on Taskmaster, a brand new series devised by comedian Alex Horne and starring Greg Davies, for Dave.
As 'Taskmaster' Greg Davies sets a series of stupefying tasks to test the group of comedians, before deciding who should be victorious. As the Taskmaster's assistant and right-hand-man, Alex Horne coaxes the contenders to show their creativity, conniving and competitiveness; rivalry is encouraged, dodgy tactics rewarded and bribes accepted in what is set to be the most dogged, hard-fought and ridiculous comedy show on TV. Taskmaster started out as a critically acclaimed live show, also devised by Alex Horne, which ran at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2010 and 2011.
An Avalon Television production, Taskmaster was commissioned by Richard Watsham, Director of Commissioning at UKTV and ordered by Dave General Manager, Steve North. The show is produced by Alex Horne, series producer is Andy Cartwright and series director is Andy Devonshire (The Apprentice, Great British Bake Off and Ross Noble Freewheeling) while the Executive Producers are Richard Allen-Turner, James Taylor and Jon Thoday for Avalon and Hilary Rosen for UKTV.
Dave is the UK's most watched non-PSB channel. It continues to grow its slate of original commissions. Successful returning formats include Dave Gorman Modern Life is Goodish (Avalon Television Productions), Alan Davies As Yet Untitled (Phil McIntyre Television), Storage Hunters UK (North One) and Crackanory (Tiger Aspect). Ross Noble Freewheeling (North One) returns for a second series in March and later this year Dave will move for the first time into scripted comedy with Bonafide Films and Baby Cow's Undercover while the semi-improvised Hoff the Record (Me & You Productions), starring David Hasslehoffi is set to air in early summer.
Avalon Television is currently in production with: season two of hit USA show, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO); the second series of Greg Davies' critically acclaimed sitcom, Man Down (Channel 4); Comedy Central's (USA) breakout hit Workaholics; and Catastrophe, a new comedy series written by and starring Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan (Channel 4).
For more information please contact:
Justine Bower, Group Publicity Manager at UKTV or
Lottie Robertshaw at Avalon on: 020 7598 7222 or email: Lottier@avalonuk.com
About Dave
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On demand on Sky, Virgin and UKTV Play
Dave proudly presents a plethora of original commissions; Crackanory, Ross Noble Freewheeling, Dave Gorman's Modern Life is Goodish, and Dara O Briain: School of Hard Sums, all laden with the biggest names in British comedy. Not to mention a brand spanking new series with QI favourite Alan Davies in Alan Davies As Yet Untitled. Plus there's national treasures like QI, Red Dwarf X, Mock the Week and Have I Got News For You, not to mention the Red Bull trilogy of Cliff Diving, X-Fighters and the Soap Box races. And of course, we still have Top Gear. Dave is the UK's most watched non-PSB channel broadcasting to over 27 million people per month, featuring hit US shows including the sharp-witted and sharp-suited Suits, the ludicrously addictive Lizard Lick Towing and the wonder that is Storage Hunters and now original commission Storage Hunters UK, the gift that keeps on giving.
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About UKTV
UKTV is the multi-award winning media company that reaches over 42 million viewers every month.
UKTV's eleven imaginative brands - UKTV Play, Dave, Watch, Gold, Alibi, Yesterday, Drama, Really, Home, Eden and Good Food - include the most popular non-PSB channel in the UK and account for 9% of the British commercial TV market. The company's most recent financial results showed record-breaking year-end revenue of £278m, and EBITDA of £67.4m. It invested a record £125m in programming and related launches last year, and is becoming an increasingly significant investor in UK creativity.
UKTV has a truly innovative model, curating brand-defining commissions, high-profile acquisitions and the very best of BBC, alongside programmes originally shown on ITV and Channel 4. The network embraces technology to deliver inspired channels to audiences through Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT, TalkTalk, YouView and UKTV Play, and distributes its highly valued original programmes to 200 territories.
Now celebrating its 22nd year at the forefront of digital television, UKTV - an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (SNI) - is proud to be the only British television broadcaster to be recognised by Best Companies.