Taskmaster is back and that can mean only one thing - plenty more pointless tasks and a 'diverse' bunch of competitors vying for the win. Bizarre? Maybe. But it's a formula that just works, its creator and co-host Alex Horne tells Gemma Dunn.

CONGRATULATIONS ON TASKMASTER'S UPCOMING SIXTH SERIES. THE SHOW IS HUGELY POPULAR - WHAT'S THE SECRET OF ITS SUCCESS?

I think because we've got a new cast each time, it's still fresh. Everything else stays the same: Me and Greg [Davies, the Taskmaster] are the same, the house is the same and the concept is the same. There is not that jumping the shark thing, where you are trying to come up with new storylines; it's just a new load of funny people being allowed to be funny.

YOU ALWAYS SEEM TO COME UP TRUMPS WITH YOUR CELEBRITY COMPETITORS TOO.


Yeah, but I'm always very nervous on the first episode of the new series. You think, 'Oh God, people just got to really like the old lot'. But this lot are particularly interesting. They are the most diverse lot we've had. You've got someone from Radio 1, someone from Radio 2, then actors and comedians. So it's not just five stand-ups.

ALICE LEVINE, ASIM CHAUDHRY, LIZA TARBUCK, RUSSELL HOWARD AND TIM VINE MAKE UP THIS SERIES' LINE-UP. IS THERE ONE TO WATCH?

I would say Liza Tarbuck is surprising throughout the series; you don't know what she is going to do next. She will either really go for something, not be interested in a task or come out with something absolutely genius. Alice is very sharp but very bad at physical activity, so that's a good blend. And Asim is very lovable and appalling at nearly all the tasks.

IS IT DIFFICULT TO THINK UP A FRESH BATCH OF TRIALS EACH TIME?

It's mainly me sitting at home or going for a walk and letting my mind wander freely. So if you are in a room and you didn't have your phone with you or a telly, you will amuse yourself eventually. I've got kids and I try not to let them use the screens too much, so they just come up with little games and stuff. It's that principle, really. And I try to use stuff that everyone has got, so people can do it at home as well.

DO YOU TRY THEM OUT YOURSELF, BEFORE PUTTING THEM ON SCREEN?


Not always. In this series there's one in which you have to make the highest tower out of lemons and you think, 'Oh that can't be that hard', but it's really hard and if I'd tried that I might have changed it. I get my kids to do them more and more, but they are five, seven and eight, so there's certain things they can't do.

IN TERMS OF GOING FOR THE WIN, WHAT'S YOUR KEY ADVICE TO THE CONTESTANTS?

Often I tell people to just use their first instinct, but actually that's definitely not true because you'll see Russell Howard doing certain things and suffering because of it. So there is no formula to it. Ideally, you've got to be good at art, good at sport, funny, inventive, original, an all-rounder. Someone like Ian Botham.

YOU CAME UP WITH THE SHOW'S CONCEPT EIGHT YEARS AGO FOR EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE. COULD YOU HAVE IMAGINED IT WOULD TURN INTO THIS PHENOMENON?

No, not at all. It was meant to be just a bit of a laugh; I got 20 of my comedian mates to do this thing as a one-off. That was meant to be it. Then I thought, 'Oh it might be a regular, annual thing at Edinburgh', and then it got a life of its own. Sometimes, when the odd thing has happened like the show is being done in Belgium, you sit there and think, 'Well, this is ridiculous'. But while it lasts, I'm absolutely enjoying it.

YOU'RE ALSO STARRING IN THE UPCOMING AMERICAN REMAKE. HOW DO YOU THINK IT WILL FARE ACROSS THE POND?

Yeah, I spent a good couple of months there last year. The Taskmaster house had two pools, palm trees and sunshine, but it's still just me in my suit, opening tasks and doing them. The comics were just as competitive and just as useless, so hopefully the formula will work. We will find out.


YOU'VE ALSO JUST FILMED THE HORNE SECTION SPECIAL AT THE LONDON PALLADIUM. SET TO BE BROADCAST ON TV THIS MAY, WHAT CAN VIEWERS EXPECT?

There will be lots of singing and dancing and comedy. Its three comics, three musical acts and then me and my band [The Horne Section]. The band have been going for about eight or nine years, so we have a lot of stuff up our sleeve and we're really looking forward to it. It's a bit more showy than Taskmaster. It's just a one off thing and it's just a laugh, really. I think it will be good.

DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS FOR ANOTHER STAND-UP TOUR?

Not in the immediate future. Me and the band are always on tour; we do about a gig a week, so that's enough for me at the moment because Taskmaster does take up most of my time. And also I've got these children. The last tour I did was three years ago and it's just not ideal for family life, so right now I'm very happy with the balance I've got.

Taskmaster returns with a sixth series on Dave on Wednesday May 2.

Two-hour special, The Horne Section, will air on Dave on Thursday May 24.