Beyond his multifaceted career as a poet, actor, and comedian, Tim Key holds the distinction of being a contestant from the inaugural season of the hit panel show Taskmaster. While he placed fourth in his original run, he has remained a fixture of the production ever since, with his name appearing in every subsequent season’s credits as a “task consultant.”
During a candid virtual interview, I pressed hosts Greg Davies and Alex Horne to demystify what that role actually entails. Their response was as unexpected as it was amusing; the full exchange is detailed below:
Polygon: What exactly does Tim Key do behind the scenes nowadays?
Alex Horne: To be honest, he has no actual responsibilities. The reality is, he was a contestant, and because he’s a close friend, we spent a lot of time discussing potential challenges. I wanted a way to compensate him, and it’s simply a nice touch to keep his name in the credits. He provided genuine help in the early days, but he’s essentially bargained his own pay downward over time. It started at £500 per series, but now it’s down to £50. I haven’t actually sought his advice for about four years.
Greg Davies: So, he’s collecting £50 a year for essentially contributing nothing?
‘It was real cat wrangling’: Alex Horne and Greg Davies on Taskmaster’s ‘chaotic’ series 19
‘If we’d known Jason [Mantzoukas] before he arrived, we could have just had four sleepy people. He could power a city’
Horne: Precisely. I think he’d argue that the headache of declaring the tax on that £50 is more trouble than it’s worth, but he keeps the title anyway.
Davies: Fair enough.
Polygon: It sounds like a fantastic arrangement for him!
Horne: He’s always there for us, and if you press him on it, he’ll certainly claim credit for every single task in the show.
Fans outside the U.K. can catch every episode of Taskmaster’s 21st season via the official YouTube channel. U.K. viewers can stream the series on Channel 4.
Source: Polygon
