Unaired Tasks

There have been several tasks that have been revealed to have been pre-recorded but not shown as part of the competition.

Series 1

• There was a warm-up task where the contestants had to say as many five-letter words as possible in five minutes, which was used in the unaired pilot for the show. Roisin only managed to say 48 words but Tim would have won the task with 106 words.
• There was a solo task where the contestants had to get as many people to sign a piece of paper whilst dressed as a parrot. It wasn't aired as it felt too much like a prank show. The notes of Tim Key's attempt was later revealed on the Taskmaster Podcast. The parrot costume later appeared in the Series 8 Work out what Alex Horne is wearing next door task.
• The series 1 contestants attempted the pizza ordering task that was later used in series 2, but their efforts didn't make it into the show.
• There was a solo task that was attempted in each of the first three series where the contestants had to pop an entire roll of bubble wrap as quickly as possible. The task was cut as most contestants ended up doing the same thing and jumping on the bubble wrap. A shot of Tim Key attempting the task is shown in the opening credits and he attempted to use a garden roller. Josh initially attempted to pop the bubble wrap with a knife.
• Tim was set a special task of transferring the most money into Alex's bank account, but it was cut as the unspecified amount Tim transferred made the crew feel uncomfortable to show on TV and Tim received his money back.

Series 2

• There was a warmup task where the contestants had to say as many different items of clothing as possible in alphabetical order in 2 minutes.
• There was a solo task where the contestants had to skim chocolate digestives across a pond.The task was cut from the show as it was difficult to determine the difference between a biscuit skim and a biscuit float.
• The bubble wrap task was attempted for a second time in this series.

Series 3

• There was a dummy episode recorded for series 3 to help the contestants get used to the show. The episode was won by Al Murray. The tasks used in the episode are unknown.
• The alphabetical clothes warm-up task was attempted for a second time. Dave managed to name 18 items of clothing, whilst Paul Chowdhry only managed to name 4 things.
• The bubble wrap task was attempted for a third time in this series. Paul initially attempted to pop the bubblewrap using Alex's van.

Series 4

• Noel Fielding received an individual task asking him to paint Alex "looking cool" onto his shed. This was referenced in the episode I've sinned again..
• There was a solo task where the contestants had to represent the planets using fruit, getting the sizes and order as accurately as possible in 3 minutes. They were allowed one minute phone call, with Hugh calling the BBC's head of radio comedy; Joe calling his friend Ben; Lolly calling brother; Mel calling her Mum; and Noel failing to call Professor Brian Cox. The task was cut from the show as all five contestants knew the planets well enough to accurately represent them with fruit.
• There was a solo task where the contestants had to run the full length of the Meadow whilst typing a 50-word story on a heavy typewriter strapped to their chest. The task was cut as it looked too difficult and the typewriter stopped working properly due to the temperature. Lolly's 55-word story, which she wrote in 4 minutes and 3 seconds, was revealed in Taskmaster: 200 Extraordinary Tasks for Ordinary People. This task would inspire the Series 7 task Write a ten-word story before you reach the finish line.

Series 5

• There was a solo task where the contestants had to make a concrete flag base. The most firm and fancy flag base would have won, which would have been tested after the base had set for a week. It wasn't shown because the attempts were poor, but later released as an outtake online.
• There was a solo task where the contestants had to make five far-fetched predictions then make them come true before the studio shows. Mark Watson predicted his cat would meet a household name such as Gary Lineker, that he could lure another contestant to a country they've never been to before and that he would steal something from The Taskmaster. He then attempted to make his predictions come true, and later used the trousers he and Ed Gamble stole as a prize task. It was cut because Sally Phillips predicted something that was "legally compromising".
• In the original brief for the prize tasks, the contestants were asked to bring in the most ludicrous uncle. This task was later replaced with Something that makes the most excellent noise.

Series 6

• There was a solo task where the contestants had to make a life enhancing instructional video. It was later released as an outtake online.
• There was a solo task where the contestants had to repurpose an umbrella in the most inventive way. It wasn't used as Liza Tarbuck had no ideas and didn't complete the task. It was later used in Series 15.

Series 7

• There was a special task where the contestants had to write two random lines of a poem about The Taskmaster. Their attempts were later shown together as a treat for the Taskmaster for the 50th episode, and released as an outtake online.
• There was a solo task involving a funfair, which Jessica Knappett says she enjoyed until she realised "the task was to not experience the funfair".
• There was a task where the contestants had to toss as many heads as possible in a row in 2 minutes. If their final coin toss was a tails, the contestant scored 0. James and Phil scored 0 as they did not understand the task, Jessica and Kerry got too greedy and scored 0, whilst Rhod ended up winning by lining up members of the crew and "tossing" their heads.
• There was a solo task where the contestants had to send Alex something unusual. It was cut from the show as only Phil completed the task, sending a boomerang bout in Australia from New Zealand (named the "Boomerwang"), with the other four contestants not bothering to complete the task.

Series 8

• The opening credits feature an unused shot of Paul Sinha in a bath reacting to a loud noise. It is unknown what this task is.
• Lou mentioned on Taskmaster: The People's Podcast that there was a task where the contestants had to solve a murder on a train.It was later revealed to have mainly been created by Amy The AP, and took 2 hours to set up because it featured so many different props.
• There was a task where the contestants had to put six items into a tank whichLou Sanders mentioned on Taskmaster: The People's Podcast that she attempted the task for either Series 8 or the Champion of Champions special, confirming later that it was for Series 8. The task was later used for Series 13.
• There was a tiebreak task where the contestants had to spin around and point due North, which Lou managed to do.

Series 9

• There was a warm-up task where the contestants had to name as many animals as possible in alphabetical order.
• There was a solo task where the contestants had to describe things in another language, using either the dictionaries provided (e.g. Swedish, Swahili) or with a language they already knew. Ed later elaborated that the contestants had to name as many things in another language, but they would have been penalised if they used the same language as another contestant. Ed decided to just use English.
• There was a solo task where the contestants had to disguise one piece of fruit as another. Katy disguised oranges as grapes.
• There was a solo task where the contestants had to do the most serious thing with silly string. Ed did his taxes on the drive with his silly string.
• There was a solo task where the contestants had to seal a task. According to Alex, this is what the contestants did: Ed made a caramel seal; Katy made a real wax seal from candle wax; Jo sealed the task with a fried egg; Rose put the task inside of a banana skin; and David folded the task to resemble a seal, which was put in a bath.
• On his episode of Taskmaster The Podcast, Andy Cartwright revealed the unused tiebreaks for series 9. They included saying the word Taskmaster for the longest time in one breath (won by Ed), shouting the loudest (won by Jo), and correctly guessing which was longer out of a roll of Sellotape and two toilet rolls the fastest (won by Rose).
• There was a solo task where the contestants had to make the most beautiful mess on the task. Ed confesses that his initial thought was to paint his testicles and print them onto the paper.

Series 10

• There was a solo task where the contestants had to design a crazy golf course.
• There was a solo task where the contestants had to make the longest continuous line of spaghetti. They could only break two pieces of spaghetti. A shot of Richard Herring doing the task could be seen in the opening credits of the series. Richard confesses he cheated in this task and hid his third broken piece of spaghetti from Alex.
• There was a team task where the teams had to put up a tent in fast-forward and slow motion. It was likely not shown as it was difficult for the three-person team to complete under social distancing rules.
• There was a tiebreak task where the contestants had to point due North, with the closest winning.

New Year Treat

• There was a solo task involving oranges floating in a fish tank, as well as bowls on which the contestants had to balance things.

Series 11

• There was a solo task where the contestants had to record a conversation with themselves. For her attempt, Sarah Kendall recorded a four-person song.
• There was a tie-break task where the contestants had to turn over as many beer mats on a table in 30 seconds. It was later used as a tiebreak in Series 13.

Series 12

• There was a solo task where the contestants had to paint a scene, cut holes in the painting and stick body parts through the holes. Alan Davies created a scene where his head was erupting from a volcano, and Alex's feet were woodland creatures. It wasn't shown, as two of the other contestants' attempts were too "obscene" to be broadcast. The task was later used for Champion of Champions II.
• There was a solo task where the contestants had to fill an egg cup with holes.
• There was a tie-break task where the contestants had to turn over as many beer mats on a table in 30 seconds. It was later used as a tiebreak in Series 13.

Series 13

• There was a team task which involved Chris feeding Ardal an aubergine in order to transfer it across the garden, which was referenced in their multi-track song. Alex revealed in a Zoom meeting for Bring Me The Head of The Taskmaster that the task was not given to the girls as they hadn't considered the connotations of an all-female team playing with aubergines. Whilst the details of the task were not revealed, Alex's notes on the task was revealed on Taskmaster: The People's Podcast, claiming that the team worked well together, used Ardal's hood and complete the task quickly.

Champion of Champions II

• There was a task where the contestants had to find as many ducks as possible in the lab. It was later reworked and the task was used for Series 13. A "stray" duck left over from this task was found by Judi Love during her attempt. During her attempt, Liza Tarbuck tore the room to pieces trying to find ducks, whilst Ed was too afraid of breaking a rule about stepping over a line to do the same.

Series 14

• The opening credits feature an unused shot of Dara Ó Briain going down an escalator with a croquet mallet. Alex revealed in a Zoom meeting for Bring Me The Head of The Taskmaster that this task involved hitting a large die around a course, up one escalator and down another and into a ring, with different instructions for rolling different numbers.
• Sarah mentioned on Taskmaster The Podcast that there was an unaired task involving golf clubs.
• There was a task where the contestants had to make art out of objects in the house. Fern Brady ended up putting Nutella on a clock.

New Year Treat III

• There was a solo task involving guessing the contents of rubber gloves attached to the fence without touching them with their hands. A similar task appears in Series 17 instead.

Series 15

• There was a tiebreaker task where the contestants had to catch the most balls.

Series 17

• There was a tiebreaker task where the contestants had to throw a ping-pong ball into a glass. Steve struggled and took about 15 minutes.
• There was a task where the contestants had to draw a picture of themselves eating some fruit on a tablet without using their hands. Steve drew a bad picture of himself eating a banana using a banana that looked phallic. The task was later used for NYT IV.