Reece Shearsmith - Series 20 Ep.3

Hello, and welcome to the Taskmaster podcast.

It's me, Ed Gamble, coming back at you with another episode chatting about series 20 of Taskmaster.

Very exciting today.

We will, of course, be talking about episode 3 of Taskmaster Series 20.

The series is cooking at full gas now.

We've got another contestant in Taskmaster Series 20 coming on the pod.

We have the incredible, the legend that is Rhys Shearsmith.

Very excited to chat to Rhys.

Met Rhys a couple of times before and absolutely delighted that he could come on this podcast to chat about his time on Taskmaster.

He's brilliant so far.

Can't wait to hear what he says about the series.

Obviously, if you've not watched episode three of series 20 of Taskmaster, go away, watch it, come back and watch me chat with Rhys.

Watch it on YouTube if you can.

I mean, I don't know why I'm saying that, to be honest, because I don't think this bit goes on YouTube.

It just gets straight into the chat.

So, if anything, if you're listening to this, just carry on listening to it.

And watch Taskmaster 9 p.m.

Thursdays, channel 4, or on YouTube straight after if you're an international patron, which is what I'm calling you.

But let's get into it.

This is Taskmaster episode 3, Series 20, as discussed by the brilliant Rhys Shearsmith.

Rhys, welcome to the Taskmaster podcast.

Thank you.

Nice to be back.

Is it nice to be back?

Is it bringing back good memories?

Fond memories, yeah.

It feels very surreal now.

It feels like, oh, right, this is the Taskmaster house.

Yeah.

But my time here was a while ago, so it does feel like a distant, but it's a happy memory, yeah.

How long ago did you film the tasks?

I did.

The tasks were filmed two Novembers ago.

It's quite a while.

Yeah.

And then the studios were May.

Yeah.

So it feels a long time ago that I was doing the first of the tasks.

Did you?

I was doing stage fright in the evenings and doing the tasks in the day.

So that was quite.

Yeah, that's quite draining, isn't it?

Yeah, it was, yeah.

Because there's not, you know, that you do like, you do a lot of tasks in a day.

So it was full on for that time.

And but they, I did that, it was spread out, so it wasn't like intent.

I know some people have done all their tasks in a block of time.

Yeah.

I was able to have sort of a regroup and a rethink about what I was doing,

which was helpful, I think.

Your co-star in Stage Fright was obviously empathetic towards the draining nature of the task?

He was like, yeah, I did it all in one week.

But he was also in a play when he did it.

He was doing the Pillar Man when Steve did his.

Oh, wow, and that's a heavy piece.

That was a heavy piece, yeah.

So yeah, we were both, we understood what we'd gone through

at that point.

Yeah, it was fine.

Did you get much advice from Steve before you filmed it?

No, he didn't really.

He was coming back.

So what happened was we were both asked to do Taskmaster at the same time.

Yeah.

And I was doing the play, I was doing the Unfriend at that time, which is a different play.

And I thought, I won't do it yet.

So Steve did it first.

And he had great fun on it.

And I think

he was coming back saying, I'm being so stupid in a way that I've never been before.

In a fun way, he just thought, I can't believe the things I'm doing on camera.

And I just thought, wow, that's interesting.

Because he's quite, you know, he picks and chooses, well, we all do very carefully our trajectory and things we want to do.

So I think it was a departure for him

to do something so silly.

But he loved it.

And he loved the fact that you couldn't prepare for it.

Because our thing is just hours and hours in a room toiling writing these things.

And this is sort of the antithesis of it.

You turn up and you...

you can't prepare for it apart from the surprise tasks which you can go to town on if you wish but this was great because you just in the moment if you as long as you don't get task blindness which happens of course where you think oh you've got to read it again i don't understand it You just react to whatever is thrown at you, and

I guess it shows it's quite frightening to do it, because you reveal your batting average, I suppose, of how sharp you are or how stupid you are.

I try to keep a lid on people not seeing how thick I am.

It's been ruined

by doing this.

But yeah, so

because then it just sort of reveals your

quick-wittedness, I suppose.

But then

again, the show is sort of so cleverly constructed that where you think you are doing very well, you're not, and when sometimes where you're not, you thought you've been terrible, it works out alright.

It's very strange.

Not really like a real

show where points are correctly aligned.

That was what Steve got across about as well, because he was like, Well, I was clearly the best.

And Greg's like, no, try too hard.

That's it.

If you show Greg one glimmer that you want the points, he won't give you the points.

Of course, yeah, yeah, absolutely.

So it's a slalom of not of trying to second guess but even then you can't do that did you so the process of obviously what you normally do when you're sitting down in a room for hours writing writing out things and then coming to this where you can't prepare for it did you do you prefer one or the other or oh god well suddenly to have

yeah to be rem have all that work removed yeah and just come and enjoy being silly like a big kid for a day and and um

that is what i prefer yeah yeah hours and hours of toiling like homework in a room.

Sometimes, you know, wars of attrition, just being silent in a room, trying to think of the right word for a plot point or whatever it might be.

So, this was great, it was very freeing, yeah, and very silly, and and and exposing though.

I mean, that was what was scary for me to do this, because I get asked to do a lot of panel things.

I've not done many, I did Bake Off and I did a book, Would I Lie to You?

That's it, I think.

And I've not really ever appeared as me very often.

And so, it felt quite a daring thing for me to do it so there's going to be a version of me that's people think I'm this cross monster I know you do but

so it's interesting to think there's going to be 10 weeks of me on telly as me very rarely happens I'm always hiding behind the mad characters that we write and these dark comedies these quite carefully constructed things so this was chaotic for me you know in a good way I think and I hope it comes across all right I was nervous about it going out though no it definitely does we we were talking we were talking before about how you were saying you didn't think you were as angry as people might think that you are.

And there's definitely glimmers of it.

You can see things bubbling.

Yeah.

But you just seem like you're having a good time.

Yes.

Well, I think you can see bubbling, Rees.

Right, okay.

Well, yeah, Michael Douglas in falling down as Greg was pushing me to try to play that part.

Yes, it's a fun thing.

And I have obviously for many years played on the disproportionate anger and rage in any given situation.

But in reality, I'm very happy with my life and I'm not that cross really.

I push it when I need to get a quick laugh, I think.

But this was

fun.

I really enjoyed it.

And I think, you know, we all got on really well and it was...

You can get mock cross about the point scoring system because it is unfair.

And I've had a lot of bad luck in this programme.

But

we'll talk about...

I'm not sure we necessarily meant to have you in on this episode where you do do quite badly

in this episode.

Sometimes that happens or it's just a bit of accidental crossover.

But I hope you don't mind going through some of your favourites.

No, I don't mind.

I don't mind.

I mean, in my mind, it's not really like...

I never set out, and I think it's a good thing to win it, to think I can win it, or, you know, to...

study the tasks of previous episodes and think right what you do is this I was quite green to it actually I didn't have not seen a lot of it so I think and but they were glad about that I think they said I was quite innocent going in and not trying to second guess it yeah and I think maybe that makes for a more truthful reaction to things rather than a sort of oh he's really watched this before and he knows what to do.

I think it's good to have a mix isn't it like yeah I guess so yeah that you want people that and I don't feel like we had anyone that was massively

competitive about it and that was fun.

It didn't feel like oh well we're all just lambs to the slaughter here.

Yeah.

You know what I mean when you get someone that's really gunning to to to win it.

It was all, it was fun and I think ultimately in my mind the engine of it was the fact that it's comedy and at hand I would always go for the funny rather than I've just got to get the point.

And that was what I enjoyed doing that.

I enjoyed sort of mining it for the silliness.

Let's talk about your outfit because I know people are obsessed with the outfit.

People like the outfit.

You know it's Withnail and I it's it's Withnail's coat.

So there was a lot of chat before when you first appeared on the episode, episode one, where people are saying that looks like Withnail's coat.

It's with nails coat, yes.

Well, what happened was I was thinking, what shall I wear?

And I knew it was going to be automatic, and I thought, well, maybe I'll just wear like a long coat of some kind.

And I bought quite a nice brown long coat.

And then I was looking at it and I thought, it looks a bit like the...

With nail coat, it looks like Richard E.

Grant's coat in Withnail and I, which is a film from the 80s that people might or might not know.

Sort of a great-looking designed coat that he wore in that, and it's become sort of iconic.

I think Chris Evans owns it now doesn't he?

Oh wow.

He bought it.

So I thought I wonder if I can get the Withnail coat or get the person that made it to make me one and I've contacted Andrea Gala who designed the original coat.

And I didn't think we would have time because I was nearly about to do the tasks.

But she said we can do it in time.

I think I can do it.

So I went for all these fittings and I got the full outfit.

So I look exactly like Richard D.

Grant in Withnail and I.

It's incredible.

It's such a lovely thing.

It's a lovely coat.

Yeah, very Doctor Who like and just swishing around.

I just thought, I don't know why.

There's no real link to why it should fit for this other than I went on Taskmaster by mistake, which is

lied from with now, where he says we've come on holiday by mistake.

But it just looks sort of stylish and fun.

I thought I should look quite smart, I think.

Yeah, I don't think scruffy.

There has to be a connection to Taskmaster.

Nip how many dressed as Dracula for the whole thing.

That's right, he did, didn't he?

Yeah.

Yeah.

But yes, it wasn't sort of to hide behind any sort of character.

I am me.

But yeah, I just thought I'll...

When I hit upon it, I thought that's what I want to do.

Yeah, it looks great.

It's a good one.

Good.

Let's talk about the prize task in this episode.

The thing you're least likely to bring in from home.

Yeah.

Quite a difficult prize task

category, this one, I think.

It is, yeah, because you could go all out and pick.

I did think at one point I would bring my fridge in.

Yeah.

And then I just thought, I mean, what's the reality of that?

That they're actually going to lug out the fridge fridge and I've got to put all cheese on the side.

People wouldn't be pleased.

So in the end, I went for something.

I just thought, well, I've got loads of weird things in my house.

Yeah.

That would be least likely.

And I don't know why, but I just ended up picking, I think it was maybe the idea that just to reveal that I've got no swimming in, I've got no swimming sign in the toilet.

But to me, that was funny enough to...

to do.

It's great.

And I like the little insights into your home decor and your home life and the things, the things that fascinate you.

So like the public information films.

This comes from this public information film, yeah, from the 1970s with Donald Pleasance doing the voice.

It's a very famous, if you know your public information films, The Spirit of Dark and Lonely Water is a famous one.

Yeah.

Voiced by Donald Pleasants and warning children to not play in canals and get sucked down by springs and

bedspreads and things underneath the lurking waters.

And in that

public information film, there's a no-swimming sign that

heralds before this boy nearly drowns.

And I've got a reproduction of it.

It's not the one from the actual thing, but it's in my toilet.

And I thought, oh, that's quite a fun thing.

And not expected.

Although, actually, when you think about it for half a second, it's nearly expected from my house.

So it was probably not the best thing.

But yeah, quite a hard task because you could go.

I mean, Maisie does a brilliant one.

I don't know whether I can

say kind of been on yet with her the doors of her house.

She brings in all her internal doors.

That is a surprise.

You would not expect to go to that effort.

So I guess that feels like an old-school Taskmaster prize.

So when it first started, people would genuinely bring in things that if they lost them, it would be an issue.

So there was one episode, I think, where Dave Gorman and Al Murray both brought their ovens in.

Really?

Yeah, because I think it was Most Elaborate Clock, maybe was the surprise star.

So they both brought their ovens in.

So Maisie bringing her doors in really feels like, and it's nice to have the message from her husband as well.

That was fun.

Feeling like, where's all the doors?

Where are the doors, Maisie?

Yeah, really funny.

So yeah, in wake of everyone else's tasks, and everyone did, I think, quite very elaborate and thoughtful tasks.

I thought, well, I'm Arty.

I think I'll be all right in this.

In that side of things on Taskmaster, I thought I would do quite well.

But everyone's game was raised.

It felt like everyone was doing really interesting, inventive things.

Well, on this one, I do...

Greg says it in the studio, but I do think you suffer from the order that yours is is revealed in.

Yeah.

Because every, so we'll run through them quickly.

We'll discuss them in more detail.

I think before we hear about yours, we get Sanjeev's urine sample, Anya's coil, and Phil's asbestos.

Well, there you go.

Mine's like just absolute run of the mill, nothing.

So you're looking at it.

In a different world through a different prism, it would be actually extraordinary.

And it'd be quite dark.

Yeah, and it'd be dark and it would be fit into when it gets to me.

It's like, all right, yeah, well, it would be, wouldn't it?

Yeah.

But after we've had piss,

piss coil and

asbestos.

Sanjeev bringing in his ear and sample, he's so proud of himself as well when it comes up on the screen.

What it does, it's that thing, and I can see why it appealed to Greg, because Greg's obsessed with his health, and he talks always about medical things.

Yeah, he is obsessed with his health.

Yeah, it's scary, and he talks about the decrepid nature of aging all the time.

And I think he appealed to him to sort of play to Sanjeev's getting to a certain age and having to test.

absolutely.

It's horrible.

I don't wait to think of it.

And also, I was slightly getting more increasingly annoyed with Greg that he was, just because we're around the same age, he thinks I'm the same level of fitness.

Pegging me with the same.

It's like quite the opposite, actually.

So

you're forgetful now.

No, I'm not.

I'm actually fit in comparison to you.

Sorry.

Greg loves talking about people's ages.

Yes, I know he does.

Yeah, he really loves it.

I mean, stuck at the end, Lloyd, Sanjeev's, if we're these two little tensioners.

I mean, it's funny.

I mean, I am older, but I'm not that old.

Well, there's a bit later on in this episode where you're reminded that you're the second oldest and you look genuinely heartbroken.

Yes.

Do I, really?

You're just like, yes.

Okay.

It's because he keeps being mentioned all the time.

Mining it for fun.

It's not funny.

I wonder I didn't get...

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

People say, oh, he's

cross all the time.

Why do you think?

Well, Sanjeev's urine, I mean, I've written down very strong effort from Sanjeev.

I think, you know, his prize tasks haven't necessarily been up to scratch in the first two episodes.

It's a funny prize task, yes.

Yeah.

Because what would you do with it?

Yeah.

To be honest.

Freeze it.

It's very yellow as well.

Very yellow.

I was like, well, anyway, I'm glad you're having a test because it's summer matter.

Certainly dehydrated.

Was that discussed in the studio, the colour of it?

Yeah, it's not made the edit of the episode.

Lucas said,

terrible.

He's like a baroca.

I mean, Greg is also,

finds Piss really funny.

So I think it's...

Well, we're getting to his level up.

Well, I remember there was a line in Man Down where a character said it was coming out of a like cloudy honey.

God.

Anya's contraceptive coil.

I think Greg was less into, he was sort of a little bit taken aback by this one.

He genuinely was surprised.

He was picking his way carefully through how to talk about it.

Yeah.

Yeah, it was disarming.

Yeah.

But Anya's line about

if she's up there, who's flying the plane.

She's flying the plane.

It's really funny.

Absolutely brilliant.

She's brilliant, yeah.

All the way through, she was always startlingly funny and inventive and left field with how she was sort of coming at everything.

Had you worked with anyone before?

No, I mean, San Diego knew a little bit from just over the years, but no one else, yeah.

Not seen Maisie before, not seen Phil.

Well, Phil brought in a little bit of a game.

He was a massive fan of me, he never mentioned it.

But suddenly, he goes, Oh, I watched

I came to see League of Gentlemen, and I signed and I got you to sign my thing.

And he was very played it very cool, but yeah, huge fan, sat next to me.

Yes, that makes sense.

I'd imagine, yeah, he's a blessing.

He kept it cool, though, didn't he?

He did, yeah, he did keep it cool.

Yeah, I mean, he was quite

mean to me sometimes, so I'm not sure that I'm he's my favorite fan

that I've met in my life.

But no, it was lovely.

He's like a massive, like a cartoon character come to life, isn't he?

Yeah, he's sort of human.

I mean, just even the shape of him.

Yeah.

Just very long arms for a very long arms.

He is like a drawer, like some sort of Quentin Blake drawing come alive and walking about.

Asbestos.

Asbestos.

Yeah, a Quentin Blake drawing who brings in a clump of asbestos.

I mean, when we get to this point and we've already had

piss and coil,

people are bringing in their coils.

Then what?

I brought a sign.

It's nothing.

It was nothing, literally nothing.

And then you're doomed because you think this is where I can get points.

If you're caring,

just put a bit of work into the price task and you might do very well, you know.

But I think that would have done well if everything else wasn't so mad beforehand.

Yes, exactly.

That's true, yeah.

And I did think, I started to think that on a few occasions, actually, people are really funny, really funny

and mad in ways that I'm not being.

So, because I'm just sort of quite literal in wanting.

I mean, I think maybe there's some of the things that I did were quite

daft and silly, but mostly I was trying to just think of what fit the brief, and maybe that shouldn't

have people not think.

I was thinking not outside of the box in a way.

Well, I think it does have to fit the brief, and I think that's what the prize task used to be about: was the thing itself could be a funny thing that fit the brief.

Whereas now, I think

there feels a bit more pressure to bring in a thing and have a bit,

have something to say about it.

So like Anya's who's flying the plane is such a funny line that was obviously like she had ready to go.

Yes, it does almost come down to how it lands as a bit and how funny the surrounding banter about it is

that will get you through the wall that is Greg's decision-making process in the moment because you are literally at the whim of that.

Yeah.

You can see it slipping away as he's just calibrating what he thinks is what's made him.

And it's devastating.

yeah you're just going that's really not going to be fair when and i see it's gone the flame has flickered from his eyes and i am out of this i was so pathetic when i did it as well every time he was like and i've brought this in and i hope you like it like a little school child with an apple for a teacher exactly i know it's awful because you are you're exposed to you've tried yeah that's why i mean these the tasks themselves you're sort of in a flurry of mad panic and you can do well by accident or not but this is the considered time where you've put a bit of effort in.

Yeah.

And then to have that nap.

No, one point.

Did I get one point?

I think I got the least, didn't I?

You did get one point in this, which is unbelievable because

I think it's a lovely thing.

Yeah, but it's just not inventive enough.

It's

sort of expected.

Well, also because it was something from your house.

I don't believe for a second that Phil got asbestos out of his walls.

No.

Even though, and I don't know what I mean by this, Phil looks like he'd have asbestos in his flat.

Absolutely looks like he should be living somewhere with asbestos.

Yeah.

It It feels like that coat he had on was padded with asbestos to me.

Yeah, I mean that got two points to be fair but I feel like you definitely should have got one more for yours.

Yeah.

And Maisie, Anya and Sanjeev all got five points.

Yeah and he's doing that a bit too often I think.

Yeah.

I mean it must be annoying for Alex who's a stickler for don't just do that.

Everyone when he can't decide he's still not doing his job.

Yeah.

And I don't.

Sorry, make a decision.

It might be hard for you, but you make a decision

delineating who's.

Yeah, you are the Tasman.

Oh, five for all of you, because I can't think of it.

And I think that genuinely does annoy Alex.

Not in a funny way.

He wants the whole point of it, was one to five points.

Absolutely, yeah.

And he's just not

to not stick to that.

It's his one requirement.

Yeah.

Sat there with you and he's thrown.

He rocks up.

He rocks up.

He scrolls down an idea for the intro and then he just gives everyone five points.

I know.

We've been toiling out in the old weathers.

You've been these things for him.

Anyway.

I've brought in my contraceptive coil.

Oh, God.

Have a look at this, Greg.

Here it is.

Oh, God.

Look at it.

Look at it.

And if she's up there, then who's flying the plane?

What's the blue thing?

So there are strings at the bottom of it and they're basically so you can check it's in place every month.

Okay.

You put a...

I'm not going to...

I don't...

I won't tell you.

Well, don't get all squeamish.

You brought it in.

Put fingers into your zones.

Your zones.

And you feel for the strings.

And if the strings are...

Zones.

The reason that it's very unlikely that I was able to bring this in is because mine got lost.

within me.

Okay.

And it took three doctors to get it out on separate occasions.

Not working simultaneously.

Working simultaneously.

They were in different zones.

Task one, make the most accurate little model of the Chesham United mascot.

You may only see what is inside two of the toilet tents.

You may not use technology.

You have 10 minutes.

Your time starts now.

Go generals.

Yeah.

I think this was...

one of the maybe the one of the first ones we did.

Yeah.

So I was I think I was

disproportionately cross with Alex.

But

I don't know anything of the first thing about football.

I didn't know that his link to the football.

Yeah.

I do now.

But so I don't know.

I don't think that matters with the title.

It didn't matter about the title.

But you were instantly saying that as well.

You're like, yeah, I don't like football, so I'm not doing it.

That's probably not going to end well, is it?

I'm not, if I don't like the idea of the concept of it.

But

this all rested on which tent I looked in.

If I'd have looked in the pig tent, I'd have seen it was a pig, and I probably thought, oh, right, that's the mascot.

and i would have done a brilliant pig that would have won it five points

in whatever medium you like plastic scene drawing anything yeah you would have done a brilliant pig of course i would yeah because the job i am brilliant at art yeah

and then it just annoyed me so much that oh right you've always had a heads up and you've done shit once i've done a really brilliant pig

exactly like the one in the tight in the tent but i get a a a treasure chest and some crayons i don't know what and a piece of ham

so where's my link to what it's meant to look like so then i don't know why but i went down some sort of military army type situation well because of go generals i guess was your was yeah stuck in my head in a strange way go generals yes a cross angry helmet and a pig and a ham face and i i loved it I thought it did look good and that to me shows that you would have made a brilliant pig.

But apparently then suddenly the parameters were, does it look like a pig?

Yeah.

I mean, where does it say that?

And in this garden, when you're actually doing the task.

Well, it says the most accurate little model of of the Cheshire United mascot.

And I guess the clues were, obviously, if you found the thing, you're not necessarily sure if that's a mascot because there was the bear that was the red herring.

And you found the chess set with a slice of ham.

Yes.

I think, you know what?

I didn't listen to any of it.

Because you were annoyed about it being football.

I was annoyed about it being football.

And also,

I just ran with the idea of the word generals.

Yeah.

I don't even think I was thinking there is a mascot and I have to try and get what it is.

I think I was almost thinking I'm designing my mascot.

You're designing it, yeah.

So this is where I went down the wrong path.

Yeah.

Well, the...

In its own way, it was fine, but it was just not deemed correct because it wasn't.

The Chesham United mascot, the chess ham pig, I believe was designed by Sam Campbell, comedian Sam Campbell.

And there is a very funny YouTube video of him, like a short film of him.

Designing it.

Yeah, of designing it, and there's a story behind it and stuff.

And it is literally a pig with a chess piece piece.

It's a pig with a chess piece, I guess.

Is it a porn?

I think it is a a porn.

Yeah.

As a hat.

Yeah, a porn is a hat.

Or it's part, it's almost like part of its skin, really, isn't it?

It's quite horrible.

Yes, it's like pulled over.

Yeah, it's like a growth.

Yeah.

Greg would probably want to get it checked out.

Yeah.

But you do, look, looking on the bright side, you do get compared to David Dickinson in this class.

I know, I forgot about that bit.

It was such a flourish.

That's a funny thing.

Yes, I know.

But what's funny about that is Greg pigging up on it.

Yeah.

Because the notion of his mind going to like an antique

thing.

Yeah.

But yes, I mean, I did enjoy.

What did I say?

Treasure chest.

Treasure chest?

Yeah.

Yeah.

I think the outfit as well,

if you didn't know it was with nail, it does look like one of the more eccentric antiques experts in one of those.

Yeah, I think it's on at half past two in the afternoon.

Yeah, like a Tim Wannacott or something like that.

Yeah.

On the car boots.

Yeah.

Yes, I know.

So yeah, I was all at sea, I think.

I was looking for clue.

I was looking for

the combination lock to unlock the treasure, and I just

couldn't do it.

So I suddenly was running out of time and thought, I've got to spend all the time now just designing something.

But it did look good, and I think if we, I know there was a lot of arguments between you and Phil in this task.

Yes, there was, because it was, yeah, the decision about who which was closest to a pig.

And I didn't think his did.

His was a mess.

He was trying to do the bear, right?

But he...

Who is the bear?

He was trying to do the bear, but then he said...

He got more points than me.

Yeah, because they said his looked more like a pig because he did a bear made out of croissants.

I mean, what are we talking about?

Yeah, well, this is it.

I think we've been very kind to Phils, though, to be honest.

I do, but I think he had a soft spot for him.

Yeah.

And I think he was being a bit meaner on me because, weirdly, he didn't like the fact that I'm nearly the same age and half as

two twice as fit.

So he's been cruel to me, being a bit damning.

Well, and

Also, if he thinks you're good at something, he'll prick that bubble, I think.

Oh, for sure.

Yeah, so he was doing a bit of that, I think, quite early on, just to assert his authority.

I think Phil feels more vulnerable in some senses.

Yes, yeah, yeah.

That could be puppy dogs.

He's very open-hearted.

People think they can be mean to me.

I'm fucking a human being as well.

You should have said this before you started.

I know.

Well, I know I should, but you don't want to be putting caveats in.

And then he would have read it out.

Apparently, we've got to be kind to you.

Because you're a human being.

And then that would have made it even worse.

Anyway, I think you could do an antique show later on, maybe.

I've got that on my sleep.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Big long coat on my sleep.

Have you ever done an antiques-based inside number nine?

No, I didn't, actually.

Good thought.

Some sort of

do people still give you ideas for episodes even though it's over?

Yes, of course they do.

You should do one in.

Oh, shut up.

Maisie's very chaotic in this.

Wonderful moment where Alex says, please don't break the treasure chest and she just throws it in the air and smashes it on the floor.

Yes, she's quite,

yeah, a bit vicious, I think.

I think it's the frustration of wanting to win.

I think I didn't really clock it, but she is competitive.

She's very competitive, yes.

And I sort of realised that as we went on, but

good-humoured and going for the funny, but yes, actually wanting to win it as well.

More than I think I realised at the time.

It was funny when I ended up being paired with her.

Yes.

But

we'll talk about that in a bit because that is amazing.

I think she's sometimes filling the angry role that

they thought you might do.

Yes, I don't think I was that angry, actually.

And it wasn't like, oh, I want to be angry and I'll decide to not be.

I was genuinely just enjoying it.

And so I didn't feel the need to have to pull out the bag, the, oh, let's do the rageful thing.

I mean, that happens sometimes in maybe more in the studio, actually, the injustice of it.

Yes.

But

in the moment, you've got to have time to be

doing bits.

I mean, I think I was aware of just trying to do the tasks, you know.

You're thinking about the edit as well.

But I was thinking about just trying to be funny.

Yeah.

In a way of, and maybe that was detrimental to try and get points.

Were you thinking about the edit as well?

You were thinking about what's going to get in and what's not going to be.

You are aware.

I mean, I know it's brilliantly edited and they're very kind to everyone and they are out to make every bit funny and they'll find funny stuff in the way that something is cut between.

But so that I didn't worry about that.

I was pleased at thinking, I mean, I'm going to be in a thing where you are

not edited to look silent or look like you haven't participated.

Yes.

You've got equal share of this.

You've got a thing to do.

So I think that's good.

I am fearful of being on things and if you're not sort of gunning to try to be number one, you could be edited to look like you just sat there and did nothing.

Yeah.

What what is he doing on this?

He said nothing.

That is impossible on this show, though, isn't it?

Because everyone gets their bit and they

silently keep it.

Well, if there was some sort of some cancellation before the series went out, they tried to slightly skirt around a person being

a fifth member.

But they were anywhere.

They even.

Yeah, bit.

Yeah, if this was the first ever six contestant series and one of them was Greg Wallace, that's a big revelation.

Anya does very well at this.

Yes.

Finds the pig mascot and recreates it.

She knows exactly what's going on.

Yeah.

Yeah,

it all fell into place for Anya.

It did, yeah.

There was no skill involved.

It was a complete accident.

Well, it looked good after

I suppose doing the thing was something.

She's good at arch.

Yes, yeah, yeah.

So that was good.

That fell into place.

But as far as I'm just annoyed, that

it was a bit of luck to find.

I didn't tell you, did it, that if seeing the pig means, oh, I know what this is, because like you say, there was the red herring of the teddy.

So if you'd have seen that, if and if only I'd have seen that I would have probably made a really good teddy but it would have been wrong well of course Maisie absolutely had seen that before which is revealed in the studio that the day the mascot was revealed she was stood in front of it basically she was playing in the game and then did not remember that that was a mascot and later on we'll talk more about maisie's memory yes because it is genuinely worrying i see

well also the way that some things are edited to make maisie look better than me as well

Do you think Maisie's memory?

It's a hasty decision that's going to question the people behind this programme about why they did that to me.

You feel like you've been edited to them.

I'm aggrieved, yeah.

Yeah, I'm slightly aggrieved about it.

Well, this is good.

This is what the podcast says.

Well good, yes, because I can put things to right, put things down as they actually were.

Yeah.

Not how it's been edited.

Fake news.

But yeah, Maisie's memory, absolutely awful, does not remember the pig.

Yeah, I mean, it makes it all so much worse, doesn't it?

Yeah.

You knew it.

Yeah, you knew it all along.

You were there.

Do you think she, after she took her doors off, she turned around and went, where are my doors gone?

Possibly, yes.

Let's talk about Sanjeev, because I think this, this killed me.

So

why he just pulls them out and puts them in a new tableau, he doesn't think to do a little model.

It's its own...

Entirely its own scenario, isn't it?

Yeah.

No link to Taskmaster.

No, he just gets them all out.

Presumably opens.

You know what?

He's opens more tents than he's supposed to.

It's funny because it's a weird mix of absolutely I don't give a fuck about being on it at all.

Genuinely in a way that I think isn't a bit.

Yeah.

Just been slightly amused looking around like, what, I've come here again.

Somewhat, a car came and I had to come here again.

Yeah.

And actually

having very clever sort of inventive left field notions that are flashes of,

that's the funniest thing I've ever seen.

Oh, definitely.

And the studio as well, really.

So funny in the studio, yeah, yeah.

So, like, definitely

engage, definitely engaged in it, but not bothered if the tasks do well.

Yeah, yeah, he's, I mean, he's so funny.

I mean, this is just arranging them into a sort of fascistic tableau.

I know, yes, that was really funny.

And I was so happy Greg mentioned it because no one says anything when it comes back to the studio.

Yeah, yeah.

And then

Greg just says, I'm going to have to bring it up.

You made the pig do a Nazi salute.

Yes, I know it's really good yeah

it was it was almost like a sharp intake intake of breath in the studio at that point because it was like we've it's been mentioned yeah we're gonna have to mention it yeah yeah and then Sanjeev just went with it yeah it's really good yeah well he said it was to do with the generals thing saying go all right you go generals

yes leading them into battle that was it yeah well you see he's on the same wavelength as me in a way, but he didn't do a sort of pig-faced, ham-faced, angry soldier.

No,

he went with the the old Nazi salutes.

Nazi salutes.

Yes, I mean, some interesting interpretations of this task.

When I first saw the task, I was like, oh, everyone's just going to do a little model.

It's not going to be

much variety.

I think it'sn't it to think this is what the end, you know, the driving sort of spark that keeps this show going is that you get five wildly different ways of interpreting a thing.

Yeah.

And that's what they're bank on.

I, in again, in in

a further task in this episode, I think I save a task from being ditched.

Yeah.

Because everyone did it so quickly, but I didn't.

Yes.

And it may well have gone out the window, but had I not had a lot of people.

And you know what?

That was very good of you, Rhys.

I'm sure they were very great.

Yeah, well, they were.

And they told me as much.

They said it was on the, he was gone.

Until you said.

Everyone did it in two minutes, three seconds, or something, and then four to five minutes.

Anyway, we'll talk about it.

We will.

What did Phil do in this one?

I can't remember what he did.

Phil got the bear mascot out and then

made the mascot with croissants and it didn't.

It didn't look as much like a pig as your one.

Yeah, it's more like some sort of thing, the creature from the thing.

Yes.

Carpenter's the thing.

Maisie just.

But he's still got more points than me.

He's still got more points than you, yeah.

Maisie just gets the bear out and

puts a sign on it.

Yeah.

Yeah, so that's not an ideal situation either.

She doesn't really make the model.

Made all the worse by the fact in her brain somewhere is the fact that the Chesham Scott is the pig.

And there's a photo of her in the studio

next to it.

Terrible insult.

She doesn't seem worried about it until later on when we get to the snakes and ladders.

But Sanjeev gets one point, Maisie gets two points.

But I feel like as they didn't make a little model at all, they just used the pre-existing things.

I don't...

Call me harsh, but I don't think they should have got any points.

Yeah, they've not done the task by any stretch.

I mean, literally nothing.

At least I did something, and there was a link with the word general.

Yeah.

I'm talking through the prism of my bits, but nevertheless.

That's why you're here.

Three points, you got.

Did I?

Yeah.

Phil got four points for the Croissant Bear.

That's mistakes.

Yeah.

And Anya got five points.

Not speaking.

Do you agree with that one?

Yeah, yeah, I agree with that one.

Sanjeev, God forgive me, but someone's got to point it out.

You made the pig do a Nazi thing.

They're

No, that was the general's bit.

It was the pig was leading the charge because you can't.

They had no fingers, so you couldn't point.

So in summary,

you created a new mascot involving the pig, the bear and the donkey.

I didn't create a new mascot.

I involved the mascot in a new tableau

suggesting...

Oh yeah, as according to that's what you were asked to do as well.

Evolve the mascot into a new tableau.

Was that the wording?

It was make the most accurate little model of the Cheshire United mascot

yeah that's that was smaller than one i was going for

okay would you want to see all five mascots with them real mascots i mean not really yep okay the real ones bottom right i'm surprised that sanjeez isn't further right

task two

this i think is one of my favourite tasks in a long time really Alex said so, didn't he?

As well, he enjoyed this one.

Did he?

I mean, I texted him and Andy Devonshire straight after I saw this, being like, this is just amazing, because it's edited like a thriller as well.

Yeah, I know, yeah.

It's really well done.

It's such a good conceit as well.

Discover the name of the person in the lab.

You must take it in turns to ask one question, and the person may only say yes or no.

The other team members must remain in this room until the questioner returns.

Each person in your team must address this person by their correct name before the task is complete.

Fastest wins, your time starts now.

So of course it's twins.

It's twins, it's always twins.

They're swapping around.

They're swapping her out.

Yeah, we didn't realize until about the half an hour.

It is good.

The moment Maisie finds finds the twin

and you can't like

us as a viewer can't see what's behind the curtain, she pulls the curtain back and gasps.

I know.

It's proper exciting, isn't it?

It's really good, yeah.

Yeah.

It's a great reveal and a great twist.

It's like, oh, right.

Yeah.

So inventive.

And it's amazing that Maisie figured that out.

Right, well, so here we are.

This is the behind-the-scenes podcast.

Here to tell you, I figured it out.

And it was edited to look like she figured it out.

So you didn't figure out the twins because she also found out.

She discovered the twins.

I'll give her that.

But what happened was, actually, in reality, have you had her on yet?

No, not yet.

Okay, well, you can question it.

The truth is, I said in the room, what if

we're asking the girl in the middle of the room this question?

It's not for the question, it's not for her.

It's for one of the crew.

So I said, go in and ask someone else this, you know, maybe it's not her at all.

We're focusing on this person.

So in my mind, that is halfway there.

Yes.

Because it's not, there's another person.

You're speaking to the wrong person.

Yeah.

And then next thing is, I see the edit and it's like, maybe, what if there's another person in the room?

I was like, you're kidding me.

Because I remember remember in it thinking, why have you repeated what I said as if you've thought of it?

Because you cut to.

Man.

So do you think she's thinking about the edit as well?

She's like, give them options.

Knowing her.

Yeah.

I think she knew what she was doing.

But

yeah, it's just unfortunate that they've gone with...

They had to make a decision about who to look like was thick and only knows A-E-I-O-U.

That was quite funny when I repeated A-E-I-U.

Because you did.

Very proud of yourself as well.

Because Maisie's God, it's just you in the room.

I was just ruminating on what might it be?

Anyway, so yeah, and then it's further complicated, of course, because they're swapping out as we go back to reaffirm questioning.

Yeah.

And then

you get yourself, you know, it's twins.

Yeah.

And then you get yourself all mixed up.

You're both asking

does your sister's name begin with L?

Yeah, yeah.

It was very confusing.

And it did, and I didn't quite, it was quite, when they said how long

we'd taken, it was longer than I thought.

It was 45, 50 minutes, 45-ish minutes long.

It's a lot of time, isn't it?

Yeah, but I thought we'd never do it.

When it was like, let's go through all the girls' names in the world.

And it's quite amazing we did it so quickly, really.

But then I think they did it very well as well, didn't they?

The other team.

Well, they had three, so I guess that's more.

Because they only needed to figure out one name in the end, didn't they?

Yes.

But you guys are always seeing the other one yes so you've got to do both of the names advantage in a way yeah and it was lindsay was the other name with a why which is

it took you a while to to

figure through that but a really great inventive

funny task that's brilliant from outside of it when you know what's going on yeah

but i would also say maisie did not necessarily get the edit of being the clever one in the team because of the mambo number five system oh yeah of course yeah when and in actual fact facts, in the end, the name wasn't even yeah, she didn't know.

She doesn't know the names from Mambo.

She doesn't know.

Yeah.

So she's trying to eliminate.

She manages to think of the song because it's got lots of girls' names in it.

But what she doesn't know is any of the girls' names

to be able to eliminate anything anyway.

Yeah.

But I think my favourite moment of the entire task was when she gets it's Louise.

She says, are you Louise?

She says, yes.

She's like, it's Louise.

You go in.

Are you Louise?

And she says no.

And you come storming back down the corridor.

And you just see Maisie go, oh no, he's angry.

No.

Oh, no, I don't want to upset Raise.

And then

she says, She was just trying to calm down.

I know.

She's trying.

Weirdly gaslighting me and thinking that I'm furious.

And actually, most of the time, she's the one stomping around smashing things.

She has smashed a lot of things.

I know she has.

Don't you build her for it all?

I did some smashing as well at some point.

But yeah, should we calm down and take a little breath?

Do you think that's going to make me calm?

Later on, as well, you forget that you is a vowel.

Yes.

I did do that, didn't you?

And you practice your vowels just because.

Because I was there alone, calmly, before the storm hits.

I went through them, didn't I?

Yeah.

Phil, Anya, and Sanjeev Zephyr, like I say, there's three of them.

So

I think they are at a slight advantage.

But the disadvantage is Phil is there,

I think.

Because at one point he finds a snooker cue.

He's looking for clues in the room.

He finds a snooker cue, which I don't know why that was there.

Yeah.

And starts wielding it around and goes, billiards, snooker cue, snooker cue.

And then turns to her and says, is your second letter an E?

No link at all.

I thought

I'd helped by sticking it by identifying one of them with a bit of salotip off the floor.

That was good.

I thought that was really good.

And I didn't know whether they would allow me to have that, keep that on it.

But yeah, to be able to keep track of an actual one.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It was a good system.

It was a good system.

Really hard, though.

I mean, they were proper, identical, weren't they?

I mean, extraordinary.

Yeah.

And

you never expect twins, do you?

No.

No.

I mean, it's...

I think in horror films, it's often twins, but not a task.

No.

I don't think of it.

See, this is the problem.

You should have been in your normal mindset.

Of course, my mindset would have gone, well, it's twins.

Yeah.

It's always twins.

A mad twin.

Or a ghost, or you're dead.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's the three things that we've done on rotation for 10 years.

This, I mean,

they really don't do great at this.

I mean, there's a point where they discover it's twins through Thompson twins.

Right, yes, Thompson written on it.

Yeah.

I forget that.

It's so annoying.

But there's so many things going on.

It's extraordinary, actually.

You think...

It's that thing, isn't it?

You sat at home shouting at the television because you think you would do better.

When you're in it, you just don't see things.

It's weird.

And they get Thompson twins.

Phil takes takes that back to them to discuss.

But it's discarded, isn't it?

Well, at no point do they go, they are twins.

Sanjeev starts going, so twins, is that like a double letter?

Right.

So they just don't think it through, and then Anya finally discovers them.

Right.

They get themselves in a real muddle because they're going through the alphabet.

A pickle, yeah.

Yeah, and then they think the name's loud.

Yeah, it was

clever of Maisie to eliminate via sections of the alphabet.

Yeah, I thought that was good.

She just go through bum bum.

Yeah, it's quite methodical, yeah.

Yeah.

So she's a bit clever, sometimes.

She is, of course, she is.

No, she's very bright and clever, but it's just annoyingly she's been edited to look cleverer than she actually was.

Yeah.

On this occasion.

There's a moment when Anya goes in as well, knowing that, I think knowing they're twins or knowing there's someone else in the room, and she checks for the other twin under the table.

Right.

And there's no tablecloth or anything.

It's just like

perhaps if I look more carefully.

Yeah.

So I look into that.

Oh no, that really isn't.

Or as if it's like two people on each other's shoulders or something.

Yeah, like

a long coat, I know.

But in the end, you and Maisie did it in 44 minutes, 30 seconds, and get the five points.

Right.

And they do it in one hour, three minutes.

Oh,

quite a bit longer then.

And they get one point because Phil suggests he should get one point and give the other two two points.

So Greg gives them all one point.

Right.

Yeah.

Again, slightly not sure about that, but

there you go.

You also, you made a funny little noise when you went in and said, does your name begin with A to P?

And she says no, and you went, oh.

I felt like you were really enjoying this one.

I did enjoy it.

It was like a sort of Sherlock Holmes mystery to me.

Yes, a clock.

The coat.

A comb was perfect for the scenario, yeah.

And I think I remember it was fun when I went in and said,

we're on to you.

Yeah.

I enjoyed the fact that we were ahead of the game finally.

The wall was no longer over our eyes.

In that room as well, which has an interrogation feel to it, doesn't it?

Yeah, it's horrible.

It's like means some of that rat.

Hi, Louise.

Hi, Louise.

No.

Not!

It's not Louise!

Hey?

Oh, he's really angry.

He's really angry.

What does it mean?

She just said to me her name was Louise.

What?

Go and say is your name, Louise.

I did that last time.

Is your name Louise?

Yes.

Reese!

And she said yes.

Ugh, all the names in the world, we got down to Louise, and it's not.

Yeah, should we maybe try to stay a bit calm?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Calm and collected.

Hello, Louise.

Are you lying about your name?

No.

Okay.

We're missing something here.

What are we missing?

Task three, part one, create your own snakes and steps board.

Right.

You must add one snake and one set of steps.

You must also add one mystery box.

The instruction inside the mystery box is up to you.

You have 10 minutes.

Your time starts now.

Yeah, this was odd.

When that was bestowed on us in a sort of twilight evening here down there, I thought, well...

There wasn't much instruction to it, so I didn't even really get that.

I was thinking, what do you mean, snakes and steps?

Invent new rules for it?

It was almost like I'd never heard of the idea of a board game.

That's why I think it came across like, but obviously I did, but then I was thinking, obviously, I didn't think this was going to come back to biters later on when you'd be on a huge version of the same game.

Well, that's what Alex said.

Yeah, Alex said none of you suspected that you'd have to play it later on.

No, I mean, and it's so obvious now to think, of course, we're setting up something that's going to pay off.

Because that's never just going to be the task to do it.

Oh, yeah, because in and of itself, it was nothing.

It was like, thank you very much.

Go now.

What have we done there?

That was nothing other than lay things that were literally going to come back to bite later.

Yeah.

And did for me.

And yeah, very much did.

Part two is win snakes and steps.

Players will move from youngest to oldest.

Again,

such an ageist show.

You must throw the die properly each time and you must not tamper with the die.

If you land on the head of a snake, you must slither down its tail.

If you land at the base of a step, you must climb it.

If you land on a mystery box, you must do what it says.

First to land exactly on the finishing seat wins.

Your time starts starts now.

Yeah, and who was the only one that actually was doing snakes and steps board and going along them and crawling around them?

Me, yeah.

Everyone else, oh, it'll be there, straight up, straight up when you're on the back.

Oh, well, that's not fun, is it?

At one point, you got so annoyed with the dice as well.

Yeah, it was unbelievable.

You go, it's just a spongy thing with numbers written on it.

Yeah, the dice, massive spongy dice.

I mean, things didn't go the comedy gods, as far as like

maintaining that that was going to go on for as long as as it did, were in play that day.

It's so funny.

It was just about such bad luck that I couldn't, I kept going down the snake.

And it was always Phil.

Phil had done it.

Yes.

And it was always Phil who screwed you over, so it was the one that goes up to the top and then down again.

My nemesis, he was there at that point.

I'd never even met him at that point.

Yeah.

In the world of just doing the tasks in isolation.

I thought, who is this person that's out to get me?

It's set these this trap.

So you're annoyed with him before you'd even met him at this point.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, he was lovely when I met him.

Yeah.

And things had moved on by then.

So

but in the moment on that day when I was not making any progress, it didn't occur to me that everyone else did it in three or four.

That was, I think that's even wilder that they managed to.

It's extra.

I mean, surely that in itself is luck on all of their parts.

Yeah.

I got bad luck the other way, but they got good luck the other way as well because it was quite something that it went on as long as it did.

And I was genuinely falling.

All the chairs were snapping.

They were like, like, you alright, you've got a show tonight.

Yes, I know.

It was, yeah, from that, like the tragedy of you not doing well in the game and then the slapstick of you falling over in your big coat.

Yeah, the coat was flapping and smashing through.

Yes, but I mean, I was surprised no one else did clamber along the steps, but maybe they just thought it's too dangerous.

But I was going for it.

Yeah.

I was climbing up and back and down.

I was exhausted.

Yeah, well, you were doing it for ages.

Yes.

Yes was.

And the mystery box, you got your own mystery box.

My own mystery box, bit by a snake.

Which was great, which I think you enjoyed because you were like, I'm glad someone's doing this.

At least it's my own

hois by my own.

So you did the bitten by the snake and go and get the.

Yeah, I went and got to do it.

Yeah.

But then, yeah, when I couldn't win, I thought, is this, I don't remember my life before this.

Have I always been playing this game?

Terrible, hellish

cycle.

And you got Phil's mystery box, but you didn't know it was Phil's until afterwards.

Who Who is this one?

Yeah.

All right.

Hello, mate.

How are you doing?

Endless things, the time ticking away.

Go back to the start.

I was impressed with it as a sort of irritating way of doing the task.

Oh, it was funny, but by that point, I can't imagine.

All humour had gone.

I mean,

and yet, was that across?

Not really.

I wasn't that cross-class.

I mean, I thought,

in my mind, I was thinking, this is really funny.

It's good.

Yeah, yeah.

And this is why I thought, I think, had I done it in three minutes, like everybody else, it was almost like that's not really landed as a task.

I think you're right.

I don't, I don't think it's a good thing.

I don't think they could have used it.

And now there's a reason why we picked this.

Yeah.

The perfect thing that could have happened has happened to this poor fucker.

I bet they were delighted.

Yes.

I bet they were over the moon.

Yeah.

Do you know what?

Because I was the last.

Oh, you were last.

Yeah.

I think they were all hoping that something would happen.

Yeah.

They'd all done it.

Everyone else had done it.

It was like, this is in the bin.

If he does it, it's gone.

But no, saved it.

Because I'd imagine.

What did did I have points that I get?

One?

Oh, yeah.

All that

comedic effort.

You took 42 minutes, Rhys.

Of course you got one point.

There should be an alternative world where the reality of what you should get gets bestowed.

So you get five points because it's the funniest.

Five points because it's the funniest.

Saves the whole task.

Yeah.

Of course it should be.

Yeah.

Saves the whole task.

Saves the whole task.

Allows it to be on television.

You're being consigned to the edit.

Which is all what you're there for.

You're all there to be on television.

Yeah.

Do you want the gold or not?

From the treasure chest.

Thank you.

Yeah.

I'd imagine they wanted it to be in as well because of the Maisie situation.

Yes.

Of the fact she walks in and says, What's all this?

She didn't remember any of it.

Yeah.

Oh, that's right.

That was brilliant.

Yeah.

And Alex says, well, you're playing against

you.

We did the thing you had to inventor.

She had no idea.

No memory of it.

No memory of it.

No idea.

The other players.

She's like, where are the other players?

It was like the other comedians.

And he's like, well, you can't let other people design it because that's favouritism.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I know.

It was like...

It's astonishing.

Where have you been?

Have you...

Do we need like a tag around you

when you go outside?

She's like, I am lost.

Please take me back to a phone number on it.

I mean, I know she's busy, baby, but

this is a lot.

It didn't seem really, it didn't seem like

I'll do this for a bit because you could be saying I didn't know but I don't think she knew no that was absolutely

memory of it yeah no memory of it absolutely real so that that and

you taking 42 minutes definitely save saved the task yeah yeah I think so yes of course yeah and thank you and thank you for that by the way

that's all I was thinking of it was all designed very carefully planned yeah you're rolling that dice and just yeah yeah

hopefully it'll be a sevening uh six again if you go I'll come sliding down

Yeah, by the end, I let go of actually clambering on the board, I thought, because it was going wrong so often.

Roll upon roll upon roll.

It'd be up there, it'd be down again.

Even to the point you have positivity beaten out of you that in the last roll, when you do get up to the finishing square, you're like, oh, right, yeah, I guess down and then all the way down again.

And Alex has to say, no.

You've made it.

Have I?

It's like

some sort of like Stockholm situation.

Yeah.

Like, I can't believe I can go.

I've achieved it.

Yes, yeah, you can.

I can't.

I need to stay and do this forever.

This is my job now.

It was 42 minutes with 32 throws for you, Rhys.

One point.

Extraordinary.

Anya did it in four throws.

That was the two points.

The two points did it in four throws.

What throws did I have to do?

32.

And she did it in four throws.

And she's next.

So she's next up in the points.

Phil did it in three throws, three points.

That's.

And Sanjeev and Maisie both did it in two throws, five points.

Two.

Two throws.

How is it possible?

They must have been thinking, well, what's the thing?

Yeah, what's the task?

This has not been attached.

Yeah, yeah.

That's like doing the snakes and steps game again, where it was nothing.

Yeah.

Oh, we came all the way here, and then you've got a big board only on these steps.

Roll, roll.

Good, good point.

Yeah.

What's a rubbish task, Alex?

That's extraordinary.

Well, thank goodness for me.

Yes.

Two.

That's fine.

Seventeen.

Three.

Six.

Six.

Thirty-three.

Five.

Four.

Six.

Three.

Two, three.

Five.

Sixty-five.

You've got to throw a seven to finish.

I need a seven.

Six.

That's the worst you could have thrown.

Let's start again.

I did tell you what you needed.

The four is in this, it's just about this stupid thing with the numbers on it.

Spin down the stairs.

Three.

You're at the base of Anya's ladder.

And then I come all the way down.

Follow it up and see what happens.

Oh my god.

I did it.

I finished.

So let's talk about the live task.

Yeah.

Did you enjoy the live tasks as a whole?

As a whole, yes.

They're slightly nerve-wracking because you just literally don't know what you're going to be made to stand up and do is going to be put over my head am i going to be blindfolded am i

so but it and and they hang over you for the record because you know that that's the last thing that's going to happen and it might be if you care the difference between winning and losing the episodes yes if you think i could sweep and get in and get some more points i didn't really ever think about that i was mostly thinking about just um

trying to not look and

not do too badly you might you've got some sort of pride you didn't want to do quite well.

Yeah.

Yeah, this was annoying as well.

This was because I did really well,

but I did it completely wrong.

So let's talk about it.

Turn your cup triangle completely upside down.

Your upside down cup triangle must be freestanding and you must obey the instruction written on each layer.

If any cups fall, you must completely start again.

You may not affect other people's cup triangles.

Fastest wins.

So Anya finishes first, does it quite well by flipping them over layer by layer?

Yeah.

Doesn't have to follow instructions.

No.

You think you've done it really well.

And finished second is

second, I think.

Yeah.

Completely, completely sending you all over.

Nothing falling.

Yes.

But it's not completely upside down.

The cups are up the wrong way around.

The cups the wrong way around is like a twist in the tail.

It was devastating to see Rhys, especially after we've just watched the snakes and snakes and steps.

He was like, you're kidding me.

It was like a slap.

Slap, slap, slap, slap this entire episode.

And I'm so glad we can talk to you about this one.

yeah i don't know if it's by design or not you'd have you'd have to ask daisy the producer whether we've sat down and planned let's get reese in on the one where he does really badly and has multiple disasters oh yeah i mean i just i was so confident because i've got a steady hand and i'm i and i i can do balancing things yeah as i did in another

episode where i was on my foot for the entire time yeah 20 minutes didn't put my foot down everyone else was resting on a thing yeah i said what's this everyone's cheating didn't say you couldn't rest it.

So I did it, and I did it wrong because all the cups were the wrong thing.

Yes, I did it really quickly, and I would have come second after you would have got four points.

Yeah, I think so.

I think you would have got the four points.

But I ended up failing completely, no, because it all fell out of my hands.

It all fell out of your hands, yeah.

I almost gave up.

I thought, I'm actually, do I even need to bother?

But then I would get no points, would I?

So I did try, and yeah, it came last.

It is difficult in those live tasks where it's going really wrong.

Like, my instinct is just knock it all over

and give up.

Give up.

There's no point even trying.

And do you really want to sit out five minutes later watching the person struggle to terrible one point?

Just because, so you've got, I did do it.

Yeah.

It's aesthetic.

The worst as well with those sometimes is where everyone else has done it, so they just stop the

task.

It's like you don't even get to do it.

Yeah.

You may as well not be in the edit.

Yeah.

Because the records take a long time.

So the audience are getting tired by this point.

Yeah, you know, forget it.

Yeah.

Forget it.

forget it.

So you've literally given up hope.

Yeah.

Terrible, yeah.

So that was a shame.

I mean, it was in its own little tiny way.

They're looking like I've done it and then Alex pointing out, I'm really sorry if the cup's throwing around, is a little reveal and a weird little sort of.

Yeah.

Oh.

So is this another one where you saved it?

In some ways,

I added to it

with a little bit of a flourish of a

surprise within it.

Everyone else just did it.

Yeah, no, I just started doing it.

Yeah.

I mean, they followed the instruction, did it very quickly and succinctly.

And you've, and you, I thought, no, you can't help but write a twist.

No, this is the problem.

I've had 10 years, and now I've got to upend everything quite literally.

Yeah.

And in

this one, it came back to bite me.

Yeah.

I failed miserably.

It's terrible losing.

Well, it's been quite the episode for you.

It was one point for Yuris, two points for Maisie, three points for Sanjeev, four points for Phil, and Anya finishes first with the five points.

Meaning, Maisie wins the episode on 19, Anya close behind on 18, Sanjeev on 15, Phil on 14, and you come bottom in this episode, Rhys, with 11 points.

But isn't it telling that I think and I hope it was funny along the way?

It was very, very funny.

Yeah.

And what's more important?

Winning.

It is winning, but no, it's my favourite episode of the series so far.

I will say that.

Good.

And I think a lot of that is because you were very funny in it.

Well.

And you saved the tasks.

Yes.

Where they might have all been just there'd be nothing.

There'd been like ten minutes.

Yeah.

They wouldn't have been thinking, what are we gonna

this episode three, there's nothing to it.

Yeah,

we always ask our guests on the podcast, Rhys, to rate their experience on the podcast between one and five points, Taskmaster style.

So you get you get a chance now.

There's been multiple injustices towards you.

Yeah.

You can dole out the points and you can do what you like with that power.

Is it how many do I do?

I give you points or well the podcast, just your experience on the podcast in general.

In some ways, it's annoyed me because I've had to troll over these terrible injustices.

So in one way, I would say two.

Yeah.

Shit.

And in another way, I would say five because it's made me re-evaluate my contribution to the funny aspect of the comedy that is Tasmas.

And so I'm pleased with that.

So

you've done both.

It's yin and yang.

Okay, so you're going to pick three.

I'm I'm going to put three.

Give you three.

Three.

Could have been four, but we'll go with three.

Yeah.

Definitely not four.

Thank you so much, Reese.

Welcome.

Thank you.

Thank you so much to Reese for coming on the podcast.

Absolutely loved that chat.

We'll be back next week, of course, straight after Taskmaster has been on channel 4 at 9 p.m.

We'll be here at 10 p.m.

And we'll be back with another special guest.

I'm delighted to say it's Sanjeev Bhaskar.

Sanjeev will be on the show next week to talk about episode 4 of Series 20 of Taskmaster.

Until then,

I love you.