Katy I thought was great and very left-field. Its a shame she had a 2 episode absence though. Series 9 is such a strong series overall though and all of them bring something.

 

Mae and Kiell were definitely the two I least liked in Series 15. I didn't mind Mae to start with, but yeah some of Greg's decisions were very odd

 

Iain I wasn't really a fan of at the time, however on re-watches he doesn't grate as much. The breakdown with Lou in the team tasks always makes me laugh though :D

 

Guz is another who i've liked a lot more on rewatches too. He would've won too had Morgana not nabbed a couple of 'bonus points' by Greg early on.

I'll need to go back and watch Iain's series again at some point and see if my opinion on him changes, but given the other contestants it seems doubtful :kink:

61. Katherine Parkinson [series 10]
62. Nish Kumar [series 5]
63. Lee Mack [series 11]
64. Mark Watson [series 5]
65. Richard Herring [series 10]

Bookending this section we have the first two of series 10's contestants. At the bottom of the pack is the eventual winner Richard Herring who in all honesty wasn't my favourite of the series by any means, but just happened to end up being a lot better and methodical at the tasks than the rest of them were. Katherine Parkinson was another victim of looking like she just absolutely could not be arsed being there having done the tasks and fulfilling her commitment. Always looked like she was on the verge of tears/a breakdown in the studio too. Mark Watson and Lee Mack were two that I didn't think I'd be a fan of going into their respective series' (Lee Mack in particular as I've never been a massive fan of his), but by the end I had thoroughly enjoyed them, and Lee in particular just getting so frustrated beyond belief by some of Greg's decisions - and the tasks themselves - was hilarious to watch. Nish Kumar rounds out another series-double in this section, being just a tad more entertaining than Mark. He chose chaos throughout most of the tasks and it paid off for the most part in comedic value!!

Lee was someone who I wasn't a massive fan of pre coming on the show (like Jonny Vegas). But I enjoyed both of them, Jonny in particular had some great moments in Series 10.

 

Richard is an odd one and is one who didn't do anything outstanding, but basically just got things done and didn't cock anything up majorly. Him and Daisy though were quite the team as it seemed she couldn't stand him - her reaction during the team task in the studio I don't think was great. Then they separated them in the next episode to be boys vs girls. On another forum i'm on, Daisy is one who often gets branded worst contestant due to her attitude/ treatment of Richard. Personally I don't think she was that bad and actually had some good moments too.

 

Poor Katharine! bemused half of the time. I think she had good value, some of her task attempts were iconically bad. Also Greg ripping into her masks continually in that prize task always makes me laugh.

 

Mark and Nish... fitting they should be together as they are often lumped together. Its odd to watch and see how close Mark actually was to winning, given Nish always brings him down to be one of the loser. The song at the end they do they is fantastic!

 

 

Gah I didn't realise there was beef between Daisy and Richard? :o that certainly passed me by haha!

Gah I didn't realise there was beef between Daisy and Richard? :o that certainly passed me by haha!

 

It was during the drawing task and he didn’t guess she drew a hippo. I dont know if people watching just read too much into it, but for no reason they changed the teams in the next live team task so Daisy was with Katharine :D

 

 

It was during the drawing task and he didn’t guess she drew a hippo. I dont know if people watching just read too much into it, but for no reason they changed the teams in the next live team task so Daisy was with Katharine :D

Oh I remember that, I just assumed she was getting ultra competitive/frustrated during it though, and she was pregnant during the studio filming. The live tasks like that I'd probably be the same :kink: + Probably nothing malicious (I hope).

56. Rob Beckett [series 3]
57. David Baddiel [series 9]
58. Jessica Knappett [series 7]
59. Lolly Adefope [series 4]
60. Kerry Godliman [series 7]

Two winners drop out in this section, and highest of the two is Rob Beckett, taking us right back to the third series of the show, still in its infancy and bursting with originality. Rob was hilarious at points, but for a winner I didn't really find him as brilliant as his peers but he did have brilliant chemistry/banter with Sara throughout the series and that was enjoyable to watch in the tasks. The second winner - Kerry Godliman - is another that I didn't really find that great when compared to the others in her series, but it seemed like she was destined for the win from the beginning. Bemusing for me as this is a series that I do hold in very high regard with so many excellent moments and amazing contestants. Joining Kerry in this section is her series sister Jessica Knappett who I found to be an absolute dream throughout! Unlike Lucy Beaumont, I feel Jessica struck absolute gold with just the right amount of stupidity along with her sharp wit and humour. The only contestant to drop out from series 4 thus far (a true chef's kiss series), Lolly Adefope was great to watch, but again just falls short of her competitors. David Baddiel is one of those ones that I'd not heard of at all prior to watching his series, and while he entertained a lot and I thoroughly enjoyed him both in the tasks and in the studio, it wasn't quite enough to break the top 50!

Kerry, Rob and Jess all out :o

 

I’m shook!

 

Although I know when I’ve tried to rank all the contestants before I’ve found it so hard and some which I think are great ended up low. The bar is high!!

 

Is Sara Pascoe still in? I’m surprised about that… nice enough but I’d probably have her somewhere in the bottom half of my list.

Edited July 4, 20241 yr by ElectroBoy

Series 7 was the first one I watched, so I have some extra fondness for Kerry (bosh) and Jessica; the rest of those I'd probably rank midtable at best.

Is Sara Pascoe still in? I’m surprised about that… nice enough but I’d probably have her somewhere in the bottom half of my list.

She is! :o

 

Series 7 was the first one I watched, so I have some extra fondness for Kerry (bosh) and Jessica; the rest of those I'd probably rank midtable at best.

Jessica was always one of my favourites by the time I'd finished series 7, but as the series' went on I found her falling further down the list sadly :(

51. Sophie Duker [series 13]
52. Victoria Coren Mitchell [series 12]
53. Rhod Gilbert [series 7]
54. Bridget Christie [series 13]
55. Johnny Vegas [series 10]

Although I've seen her come in for a fair bit of criticism for being a bit boring (and then of course going on to win the series), I personally found Sophie Duker to be really entertaining in series 13 - she definitely earned the trophy and had some moments of brilliance. She was more methodical in her approach to tasks than the others in the series, but it wasn't ever Mae Martin levels where it got annoying. Joining her in this section is Bridget Christie who was such a revelation for me; I hadn't heard of her before and she proved to be absolutely brilliant! Victoria Coren Mitchell is one that I've agonised over for a while when making the list. I wanted her higher, but when I think about who's actually still to come she really couldn't have been much higher, gah! She had so many great moments both in the studio and during the tasks, and the bicycle task (below) was hilarious, and I loved her during the backwards-view hunt through the hospital. Rhod Gilbert and Johnny Vegas are both pretty similar in that going into the series I wasn't particularly bothered for them, Rhod because he just looked irritating but Johnny because he genuinely does irritate me a lot of the time. Both proved me wrong. Johnny in the find-the-phone-number task and watching his meltdown second by second was amazing.

46. Rose Matafeo [series 9]
47. Susan Wokoma [series 16]
48. Joe Wilkinson [series 2]
49. Aisling Bea [series 5]
50. Al Murray [series 3]

Into the top 50 now (genuinely so difficult to order them at this point, everyone genuinely entertained me so much in one way or another), and some of the earlier series' contestants start to drop out more frequently. Al Murray is someone I've long been aware of but never seen much of him in action because I just don't tune into whatever show he's making an appearance on, but he was great throughout series 3 and provided some of its best moments. The same can be said for Aisling Bea who - until her appearance in Doctor Who - I hadn't ever taken any notice of, despite being aware of her. She definitely has one of the more dry senses of humour of everyone that's been on the show, but still she was a great watch and proved to be extremely funny in most of the tasks. Joe Wilkinson in Taskmaster was exactly how I expected him to be (see: the parking attendant from Miranda), and that's what made him so appealing. Genuinely laughed out loud at a lot of his tasks, and although an often quieter presence in the studio than his counterparts, knew exactly the right moments to crop up and make me howl. Susan Wokoma benefited from appearing in a series that I feel harked back to tasks that made the show what it was in the very beginning (eg the rolling the duck down into the water task), while still being an extremely funny person in general and her friendship with Sue Perkins was one of the most endearing things about the series. Rose Matafeo was just class. Really enjoyed her, however when it boils down to the rankings she was up against two undeniable forces in the form of Ed Gamble and Jo Brand.

Awww Rada!

 

Loved the Susan’s in Series 16!

Awww Rada!

 

Loved the Susan’s in Series 16!

Definitely one of the best duos the show's had :wub:

 

I actually forgot to mention all of the RADA stuff in my commentary, that was great :lol:

41. Phil Wang [series 7]
42. Dara Ó Briain [series 14]
43. Sara Pascoe [series 3]
44. Alan Davies [series 12]
45. Ivo Graham [series 15]

I'm tormenting myself so much with these placements now, because this section I feel like they all should be so much higher than they've ended up but when I think about who's still to come it's literally impossible to slot them in anywhere else. Series 7 loses its fourth contestant with just one now remaining as Phil Wang misses out on the top 40 by one place. He is an absolute gem and was SO entertaining for the entirety of the series. All the gags about the outfit, his manhood, his demeanour in general, participation in tasks, all made for excellent studio segments. PHIL AND HIS WANG. Not too dissimilar to Phil is Ivo Graham from series 15. They both kind of radiated the same energy - dorky boy that is actually seriously f***ing funny. But in retrospect Ivo is the lesser of the two (with a few others between them, too). Sara Pascoe is finally out too, ElectroBoy will be glad to know lmao. She was highly entertaining throughout series 3, so it's a shame to see that throughout the show's history she's become known as one of the least remembered or fondly thought of contestants. Don't really see a reason why because she was brilliant and had good chemistry with the others. Another similar pair are Dara and Alan. Dara was at his best in team tasks where he just got infuriated and frustrated with the others (and the side-eye at John Kearns when he sabotaged them), while Alan impressed me most in the studio segments with his prize task entries and his banter back and forth with Greg and Alex.

I think Ivo overall was my fave on Series 15 although Jenny and Frankie were amazing too.

 

I feel I need to rewatch Series 3 now for Sara :D I know she did good with the balloons and bread and the creepy twins thing with Rob… but other than than :D

 

Dara, Phil and Alan are great - it’s tough though as it gets to a stage when they’re all amazing for different reasons

I think Ivo overall was my fave on Series 15 although Jenny and Frankie were amazing too.

 

I feel I need to rewatch Series 3 now for Sara :D I know she did good with the balloons and bread and the creepy twins thing with Rob… but other than than :D

 

Dara, Phil and Alan are great - it’s tough though as it gets to a stage when they’re all amazing for different reasons

Yeah it's really difficult now to say x and y didn't make it as high because of this and that, they're genuinely all so amazing :lol:

 

Definitely give Sara another chance <3

You're definitely getting to a place where every batch has people where I'm going "but you can't have them that low omg"... I loved Ivo Graham, someone I didn't know before the show but he played his persona so well - and I loved how he was paired with Frankie Boyle and how their relationship in the team tasks worked (or didn't work!)

 

Out of the previous batch I loved both Susan Wokoma (the Sues were just so lovely and genuine) and I thought Joe Wilkinson was amazing, and I'm not always a big fan but he just worked so well - and the potato in the hole task is surely one of the most iconic taskmaster moments ever.

 

Plus obviously Victoria Cohen-Mitchell is amazing and FAR too low. I just can't rank her lower than top 10 in anything because I'm just so much of a fan... but we'll see, I've never actually tried to rank everyone and perhaps I'll find that she's lower than I think she would be for me too

36. Desiree Burch [series 12]
37. Alice Levine [series 6]
38. Sian Gibson [series 8]
39. Bob Mortimer [series 5]
40. Steve Pemberton [series 17]

Narrator of Too Hot to Handle and all-round funny woman Desiree Burch made me cackle so much during series 12 (and ultimately becomes the fourth contestant from said series to drop out). I don't quite think she knew how to take on the tasks in the same way some of the British comedians did, and seeing her dumbfounded some (or most) of the time was hilarious. One of the most memorable was when she just really gave up and went balls to the wall with the burst-the-balloon task. Forks galore! Alice Levine's here too, and I seriously enjoyed her despite it being brought to my attention that she didn't really try. Seems some Taskmaster fans have vastly different perspectives on each series to me as series 6 was overall such a strong cast, with only Asim Chaudhry being the weak link. Sian Gibson... first of all her chemistry with Joe Thomas in the team tasks was the most awkward yet brilliant thing ever to watch. But then when she was on her own she was such a star, too. The blindfolded buggy parking task was the most memorable of the series for me and she was an all-round joyous personality in the studio too. Bob and Steve are pretty similar, hence why they've ended up together. Steve actually surprised me because while I did enjoy him in the likes of Benidorm I was apprehensive about how he'd be on the show but I ended up loving him! His take on the tasks was masterful most of the time, and he was brilliant with Greg. Both had exceptional moments scattered across all eight and ten episodes respectively, and Steve is only the first of the five from series 17 to drop out as we get further into the top 40.

You're definitely getting to a place where every batch has people where I'm going "but you can't have them that low omg"... I loved Ivo Graham, someone I didn't know before the show but he played his persona so well - and I loved how he was paired with Frankie Boyle and how their relationship in the team tasks worked (or didn't work!)

Ivo and Frankie was such a genius pairing for the team tasks! A bit like Sian/Joe in that it was just so awkward at times but came to fruition to be something weirdly wonderful :lol: