It's Series 8 of Taskmaster and some things remain comfortingly familiar. Greg Davies is still the terrifying Taskmaster who wields enough power in one withering to look to reduce any failing, flailing contestant to a quivering wreck. Alex Horne remains Greg's simpering secretary, fully equipped to provide for all his needs, whether that's in the form of stats, facts or essential grooming products. And there are the tasks themselves, which are, as usual, all at once fiendish, perplexing and utterly pointless.
But there are some vital changes, such as the five courageous contestants who, probably misguidedly, think they have what it takes to impress the Taskmaster. They are: Iain Stirling, Joe Thomas, Lou Sanders, Paul Sinha and Sian Gibson. These five find themselves in a disorienting position. On the one hand, they've bonded as they process the shared trauma of enduring Greg's unpredictable judgements. On the other, they are pitted against each other in a brutal competition to be crowned the new Taskmaster Champion and rightful owner of Greg's 24-carat skull…