Taskmaster creator Alex Horne hosts care home competition

Taskmaster creator Alex Horne has hosted a competition inspired by the Channel 4 TV show at a care home.

The 46-year-old comedian visited Seccombe Court in Adderbury, Oxfordshire, where he set a series of challenges that saw four residents compete against each other.

Tasks included identifying everything related to pineapples and residents closing their eyes and raising their hand when they thought one minute had passed.

Horne said it had been “perhaps the most memorable task session for me”, 15 years on from when he first launched the show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

“The four contestants were as competitive as anyone I’ve tested before, and they demonstrated different ways of lateral thinking, as well as some creative interpretations of my rules,” he said.

“I’ve done Taskmaster with kids in schools, stags and hens in pubs, boys and girls in scout huts, executives in offices and over a hundred comedians on telly over the last 10 years, but this was perhaps the most memorable task session for me.”

Among the challenges, competitors also had a plate of sweets they had to transfer to another plate with only a straw.

The final task involved residents building the tallest tower using spaghetti and marshmallows.

Resident Ruth Johnson, aged 100, said: “At first I didn’t know what was expected of us, and I wondered what we’d need to do with all of that spaghetti.

“Alex was so nice. I thought I had met him before, but I think I just knew him from the television.”

Wojciech Kuczkowski, general manager at Seccombe Court, said: “The residents love to watch Taskmaster and we wanted to give them a chance to take on the challenges for themselves.

“All four competitors did an amazing job, and it was great to see their competitive spirits come out. I’d like to extend a big thank you to Alex for joining us and hosting our challenge.”

Taskmaster first aired on UKTV’s Dave in 2015, before moving to Channel 4 in 2019, and sees five celebrities compete in a series of bizarre challenges presented to them by the Taskmaster Greg Davies, with Horne as his assistant.