Taskmaster's New Year Treat trophy.
Taskmaster's New Year Treat is an annual one-off New Year's special that first aired on 1 January 2021 on Channel 4. These specials feature five celebrities from different specialities competing to win a trophy in the shape of the Taskmaster's eyebrows. Originally it was advertised as "five celebrities you would never expect to see together", however from 2022 onwards it has simply been described as featuring non-comedians. For the specials, the Taskmaster House has a classic cinema theme, with Greg's black-and-white portrait referencing Buster Keaton. The lounge is decorated with a red curtain, with movie theatre props like a popcorn machine, a movie reel, and a projector.
2021[]
| |
| The fastest duck. |
The 2021 episode was the first one-off New Year's special of Taskmaster and aired on 1 January 2021 on Channel 4. The episode was entitled The fastest duck. and featured panellists John Hannah, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Nicola Coughlan, Rylan Clark-Neal and Shirley Ballas. The episode was won by Shirley Ballas.
Episode breakdown[]
| Task | Description | John Hannah | Krishnan Guru-Murthy | Nicola Coughlan | Rylan Clark-Neal | Shirley Ballas |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episode 1: The fastest duck. (1 January 2021) | ||||||
| 1 | Prize: Best thing to bring to a party. | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| 2 | Get the biggest thing through the doughnut without breaking the doughnut. | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| 3 | Sculpt the scene on the other side of this wall. | 3 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| 4 | Build the lightest tower on this set of scales. You may not move the scales or tape anything to them, and you may not tamper with or block the fan. The fan will be on for 1 minute every other minute. Your tower must be taller than a wolf and stand by itself for 10 seconds. | 5 | 4 | 0 | DQ | 3 |
| Bonus: Every time Alex rings his little bell, you have to pretend you've had a brilliant idea. | – | – | – | 0 | – | |
| 5 | Live: Without your fellow contestants seeing, select one object from your box. If you select the same object as one of your fellow contestants, you will both lose 1 actual point. | -1 | -1 | -1 | 0 | -1 |
| Live: Strike the most balls into the bath with your object. If any of your balls touch the Taskmaster, you lose 1 actual point. | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | |
| Total | 10 | 12 | 10 | 13 | 17 | |
Trailer[]
2022[]
| |
| Basic recipe 28. |
The 2022 episode was the second one-off New Year's special of Taskmaster and aired on 1 January 2022 on Channel 4. The episode was entitled Basic recipe 28. and featured panellists Adrian Chiles, Claudia Winkleman, Jonnie Peacock, Lady Leshurr and Sayeeda Warsi. The episode was won by Adrian Chiles.
Episode breakdown[]
| Task | Description | Adrian Chiles | Claudia Winkleman | Jonnie Peacock | Lady Leshurr | Sayeeda Warsi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prize: Most beguiling, unwieldy, shiny thing. | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| 2 | Put the egg in the egg cup in the most daring way. If the egg breaks, you are disqualified. | 5 | 2 | DQ | 3 | 4 |
| 3 | Drink all the vinegar. | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Choose a length for this pole, then guide it through the course. The person who completes the course with the longest pole wins. Every time your pole touches something other than your hands, 10cm will be taken from its length. | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| 5 | Live: Choose a ball. | 4 | 2 | 3[1] | 1 | 5 |
| Live: Turn your ball into a head. Your new head must be the head of one of your fellow contestants. | ||||||
| Total | 22 | 6 | 15 | 12 | 13 | |
- ↑ These points were attributed to Jonnie but won by Alan Davies, who replaced him for the studio segments of this episode.
Trailer[]
2023[]
| |
| That's a swizz. |
The 2023 episode was the third one-off New Year's special of Taskmaster and aired on 1 January 2023 on Channel 4. The episode was entitled That's a swizz. and featured panellists Amelia Dimoldenberg, Carol Vorderman, Greg James, Mo Farah and Rebecca Lucy Taylor. The episode was won by Mo Farah.
Episode breakdown[]
| Task | Description | Amelia Dimoldenberg | Carol Vorderman | Greg James | Mo Farah | Rebecca Lucy Taylor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prize: The thing which Greg would be most surprised that you own. | 3 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| 2 | Count all the dots on this card. You may not touch or mark the card. You must answer the door and obey the instructions every time the doorbell rings. | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Recreate the picture that Alex is holding. Your face must not move from this position. Alex will show you the picture for five seconds when you've finished reading the task and then for a further three seconds every time you land a ball in the bucket. | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | Put the most carp pellets in the fishbowl. You must not bend at the waist or knees at any point. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| 5 | Live: Obey Greg's instructions. You must only obey the instructions which start with "Greg says". | 5 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| Total | 14 | 14 | 14 | 20 | 14 | |
Trailer[]
2024[]
| |
| Huh? |
The 2024 episode is the fourth one-off New Year's special of Taskmaster and aired on 2 January 2024 on Channel 4. The episode was entitled Huh? and featured panellists Deborah Meaden, Kojey Radical, Lenny Rush, Steve Backshall and Zoe Ball. The episode was won by Lenny Rush.
Episode breakdown[]
| Task | Description | Deborah Meaden | Kojey Radical | Lenny Rush | Steve Backshall | Zoe Ball |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prize: The most fun thing to be carrying when you enter a room full of people you don't know. | 1 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| 2 | Eat these poppadoms. After each mouthful, you must lose a letter of the alphabet from your vocabulary, then either compliment Greg or insult Alex. Your insults and compliments must all be different. If you use a lost letter at any time, 10g will be added to your final poppadom weight. | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| 3 | Draw a picture of yourself eating some fruit on this tablet. You may not touch the touchscreen with any part of your hands. Also, throughout the task, you must become increasingly angry. | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| 4 | Make these things pop when the timer hits zero. | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| 5 | Live: Say whether the item will fit through the hole or not fit through the hole. If you get it right, you lose an egg. | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| Total | 13 | 14 | 19 | 18 | 13 | |
Videos[]
