Advertisement
Become a member of the Big Issue community
JOIN
TV

Master The Big Issue task set by Taskmaster's Alex Horne

Can you impress the Taskmaster? All you have to do is buy The Big Issue and encourage your friends and family to do the same!

Buying The Big Issue is easy. You visit your local vendor, pay £3 (in cash or increasingly via cashless payment), read, enjoy and look forward to doing it all again the next week. But we want more people to experience all the benefits.

That’s why this week, we have teamed up with Alex Horne, creator of hit series Taskmaster, to set a challenge to readers:

horne-03

It’s simple. Encourage as many people as you can to buy and read The Big Issue, send in some evidence and you might win… well, it’s the taking part that counts.

Alex Horne said: “I think buying The Big Issue is the easiest thing to do in the world. You all know where your Big Issue salesperson is. So persuading other people should be the task…”

Readers are asked to share their photos on social media using the hashtag #bigissuetask to be in with a chance of winning, who knows, maybe a like or retweet from @alexhorne and @bigissue.

Advertisement
Advertisement

The challenge features alongside an interview with Horne in this week’s magazine, where he talks about the show’s move to Channel 4, his relationship with co-presenter Greg Davies and his favourite lockdown challenges.

When the first Taskmaster aired six years ago Horne knew he had a winning format from the start.

He said: “Romesh [Ranganathan] and Tim [Key, poet, and Horne’s former flatmate] smashed a watermelon on the ground, and then started gobbling it up [The task was: ‘Eat as much watermelon as possible in one minute’]. That was the moment that the programme caught alight, showed how competitive people were and the lengths they’d go to.”

Over nine series, Taskmaster has built up such a large cult following that it’s on the brink of being mainstream, and this week it follows in the floury footsteps of the Great British Bake Off by defecting to Channel 4.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for [free-to-air channel] Dave because they were the only ones who took the risk and I love it,” Horne says. “But we came to the end the contract and Channel 4 said how about we show it? I want it to be exactly the same but just easier to find.”

The fresh Taskmaster has exactly the same ingredients: random tasks attempted by a mix of comedians, this year: stand-up veterans Johnny Vegas and Richard Herring, The IT Crowd’s Katherine Parkinson, This Country’s Daisy May Cooper and show-stealing Mawaan Rizwan.

The new series of Taskmaster begins on Channel 4 on Thursday October 15 at 9pm.

Big Issue vendors have returned to selling the magazine across the country. However, with footfall significantly lower on many high streets, vendors need your support now, more than ever. If you don’t have a local vendor, you can support The Big Issue by downloading the app, available on Apple Store and Google Play, or subscribe online.

Advertisement

Become a Big Issue member

3.8 million people in the UK live in extreme poverty. Turn your anger into action - become a Big Issue member and give us the power to take poverty to zero.

Recommended for you

View all
Alma's Not Normal star Sophie Willan: 'Care experienced people have superpowers – we're brilliant!'
Sophie Willan
TV

Alma's Not Normal star Sophie Willan: 'Care experienced people have superpowers – we're brilliant!'

Joan star Sophie Turner: 'People always root for the rebels'
Sophie Turner and Frank Dillane as Joan and Boisie Hannington in Joan
TV

Joan star Sophie Turner: 'People always root for the rebels'

TV star AJ Odudu on why life can be 'humbling' and how we can all restore hope
Exclusive

TV star AJ Odudu on why life can be 'humbling' and how we can all restore hope

Sex, drugs and Bloomberg terminals: How Industry highlights the 'crony chumocracy' of Tory rule
TV

Sex, drugs and Bloomberg terminals: How Industry highlights the 'crony chumocracy' of Tory rule

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know