Thursday, June 25, 2026

Taskmaster Retrospective: UK Series 12

"What a magnificient and futile use of our mortal lifespan.", Victoria Coren Mitchell, episode 5.

Taskmaster:  UK Series 12

Year:  2021

Channel:  Channel 4

Contestants:  

Alan Davies

Desiree Burch

Guz Khan

Morgana Robinson

Victoria Coren Mitchell


Number of Episodes:  10

Notes:

Series 12 was the last under COVID guidelines, and is an excellent and underrated season

This was a fun cast- all of the contestants went full throttle at the tasks, sometimes brilliant, often weird.   They had fun interacting with each other and trading quips with Greg and Alex.  It's a good group- none of the vocal fighting of series 7 or 9, but great interactions and performances.  

One thing I noticed- the studio tasks were difficult this series.  There were some that either none of the contestants could do, or just a couple.  And this cast is not incompetent- some of the studio tasks were just that impossible to complete.

Portrait Decor:  

Series 12 went with an Steampunk theme, and the portrait has Greg Davies in full cogs and gears...










Best task of the season:

"Prize task:  Most desirable thing for the person below you in the alphabet, or the highest alphabetically if you're the lowest alphabetically."  Any task that has Greg screaming, "Stop being NICE!" is a good task.  And Greg can always count on Victoria to bring things back on track, with the "Most Passive-Aggressive, calculated personal attack, I've ever experienced..."

tied with....

"Live: One at a time, make a noise without the Taskmaster identifying you. The person who makes the most unidentifiable noises wins.".  Just.... WOW...

Worst task of the season:

"Team: Scale the mountain. Your attempt must last exactly five minutes and will be sped up by five times afterwards. Most thrilling ascent wins."  There wasn't a bad task in this season- this one was just a little boring

Trivia:

* The location tasks were at All Saints Pastoral Centre

* Desiree Burch is the first American to appear as a contestant 

* Episode 5 was the 100th episode of the show.

* This was the third (and final) series where the fans were separated due to COVID restrictions.

* This series is close.  Halfway through the last episode, four players are within five points of winning.


Contestant Rankings:

  1. Mel Giedroyc (Season 4)
  2. Rhod Gilbert (Season 7)
  3. Ed Gamble (Season 9)
  4. James Acaster (Season 7)
  5. Mike Wozniak (Season 11)
  6. Rose Matefeo (Season 9)
  7. Bob Mortimer (Season 5)
  8. Hugh Dennis (Season 4)
  9. Morgana Robinson (Season 12)
  10. Desiree Burch (Season 12)

Season Ranking:

  1. Season 9
  2. Season 7
  3. Season 12
  4. Season 4
  5. Season 11
  6. Season 5
  7. Season 10
  8. Season 8
  9. Season 6
  10. Season 2
  11. Season 1
  12. Season 3

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