Taskmaster season 18 spoilers follow.
Taskmaster has returned after the summer break for more nonsensical challenges with a brand new line-up.
It didn't take long for tonight's (September 12) premiere to turn vaguely existential as new star Andy Zaltzman prompted Greg Davies to reflect on the human condition with an unexpected dig.
Greg and Alex Horne welcomed this year's quintet — also featuring Jack Dee, Rosie Jones, Babatunde Aléshé and Emma Sidi — to the studio, with the Taskmaster himself sat, as usual, in his gilded throne.
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Greg's cushioned, regal armchair was the focus of Andy's shady comment, as he noted: "Does sitting on a big throne like that make the rest of your life seem mundane?"
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The presenter was forced to pause and admit that, while his little chair does provide him with some excitement, other things in life are indeed transient and disappointing.
"I suppose now you've said it... yeah," he told Andy in a pensive moment that was not lost on viewers.
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"Poor sad Greg," one person sympathised with the host on Twitter/X, while another branded Taskmaster "existential angst in a TV format".
The joke also earned Andy some fans, with one person calling Zaltzman a "classic contestant" and possible top contender to lift Greg's gilded head at the end of the season.
It certainly looks like Andy has some competition as Rosie was off to a strong, five-point start in the season's first prize task, asking contestants to name the best thing that's been inside each of them.
After sharing a hilarious, if a little skin-crawling, story on how she used a letter opener to retrieve some bits of food from her bellybutton, the Casualty star also beat her pals in the vinegar-drinking studio task, and ended up winning the episode.
Taskmaster season 18 airs Thursdays and streams on Channel 4. A Junior Taskmaster spinoff has been confirmed.
Read more Taskmaster news on our dedicated homepage
Reporter, Digital Spy
Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).
