The line-up of contestants for the 21st series of Taskmaster has been announced – check it out below.

At the climax of the second part of the BAFTA-winning Channel 4 show’s New Year Treat on Saturday night (December 3), the five names that will be competing in the next full series of the contest were unveiled.

Among them are the Pakistani-American comedian and actor Kumail Nanjiani, known for co-writing and staring in the acclaimed 2017 romcom The Big Sick, for which he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. A successful stand-up, he has also appeared in Silicon Valley, Portlandia, The Boys and Eternals.

Armando Iannucci is also on the line-up. The Scottish satirist is best known as the creator of political comedies The Thick Of It and Veep, as well as directing In The Loop, The Death Of Stalin and The Personal History Of David Copperfield. Iannucci also co-created The Day Today with Chris Morris, as well as Steve Coogan’s Alan Partridge.

The line-up is completed by Joanna Page, the Welsh actress who memorably portrayed Stacey in the sitcom Gavin & Stacey, TV presenter and comedian Joel Dommett, and stand-up and Alma’s Not Normal star Amy Gledhill.

Taskmaster debuted on television in 2015, and its most recent series concluded in November, with Maisie Adam coming out victorious over her fellow contestants Sanjeev Bhaskar, Reece Shearsmith, Phil Ellis and Ania Magliano.

Since then, a Champion Of Champions episode aired over Christmas, with Adam returning alongside Sam Campbell, John Robins, Andy Zaltzman and Mathew Baynton, while the New Year Treat double-episode saw non-comedians compete – Big Zuu, Jill Scott, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Sam Ryder and Susie Dent.

Taskmaster was first conceived by Alex Horne as a concept for an Edinburgh Fringe show in 2010, before being adapted for TV in 2015, when it debuted on Dave with host Greg Davies taking on the role of the taskmaster. After the ninth series in 2019, the show was acquired by Channel 4, where it continues to run.

It has gone on to air in 120 countries worldwide and the spinoff Taskmaster: The Live Experience has also been a big success in London.