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Just airing a TV show isn’t enough anymore – they need a slice of this £80,000,000,000 pie


Greg Davies sitting on a clay throne of himself at the Taskmaster Live Experience venue

Taskmaster has expanded their world (Picture: Taskmaster)

I’m crawling around the floor, looking desperately for clues that could tell me which red button will turn on the correct light bulb, and lead me to victory.

The voice of Little Little Alex Horne, our tour guide who is named after assistant to the Taskmaster, Little Alex Horne, gently reminds me I have one minute until I must lock in an answer.

If I get it correct I will score favourably, and if I get it wrong, I will remain at the bottom of the leaderboard. The prize is the chance to sit on a throne for 30 seconds, which feels like the most important thing in my life at that moment. With nothing to show for myself, I lock in an answer based purely on a vibe. It is incorrect.

How did I go from casually dipping into a few episodes of Taskmaster on Channel 4 and seeking out ‘Taskmaster Most Iconic Moments’ YouTube when I need a boost during a bad day, to being part of the show?

In 2024 it is harder to make a profit from a TV show than ever before, due to factors including competition for attention in a crowded market, and the internet’s impact on traditional broadcasting. In 2023, ITV made 15% less on linear ads than the year before, the BBC lost around 420,000 license fee payers, and Channel 4 reported a loss of £52 million.

To stay viable, the TV industry has had to get creative, and the immersive entertainment market has provided a lifeboat. It has become such a juggernaut that the sector is said to now be worth £80 billion, according to statistics from Grand View Research.

Taskmaster Live Experience cost between £50-£100 (Picture: Ellis OBrien)

All this means that if you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to participate in Taskmaster’s ludicrous games, there is a much easier route than becoming a successful comedian and getting an overworked agent to book you on. Instead, you simply have to part with £50-£100 and find a way to get yourself to Dock X in London’s Canada Water.

With 18 series airing since it began in 2015, there is a readymade fanbase for the experience, and when I arrive at the premises on a Tuesday evening that is abundantly clear.

Inside the converted warehouse, excited ticket-holders are pointing out the carefully positioned references to the series in the ‘Taskmaster garden’.

The toolshed, giant cow, and golden pineapple in a dome are there for those who’ve never skipped an episode. While the more obvious – a clay replica of host Greg Davies sat on a throne, can’t even escape my never-seen-an-episode-friend, who had joined me after a last-minute drop-out.

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Source:: Metro

      

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