Rose Matafeo & Mike Wozniak To Host ‘Junior Taskmaster’ For Channel 4
Channel 4 has announced Rose Matafeo as ‘Junior Taskmaster‘ and Mike Wozniak as her Assistant for the new spin-off series. They take the roles filled on the main show by Alex Horne, who decided he was far too busy for the spin-off… and Greg Davies, who refused to be Junior Taskmaster due to his “long-term contempt for young people.”
Channel 4’s children-focused version of the show sees Matafeo assume the role of the mighty Junior Taskmaster to score the efforts and assign points to five plucky junior contestants as they complete a series of characteristically bizarre tasks that are designed to encourage and inspire wile, wit, creativity, and athleticism. Wozniak will work as her Assistant, diligently taking notes, recording statistics and efficiently administering each and every task in the show that recognises genius at any age.
“To be appointed as Junior Taskmaster is one of the greatest honours of my already wildly successful career, said the BAFTA-nominated comedian, writer, and actor Rose Matafeo. “I am greatly looking forward to the power going to my head”.
Matafeo is probably best known for her hit BBC comedy series ‘Starstruck’, along with popping up in E4 comedy ‘Dead Pixels’, and appearing on various UK panel shows. Wozniak most recently appeared on-screen in the UKTV film ‘We Are Not Alone’ from ‘Ghosts’ Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond. He is also a writer on various Greg Davies projects including ‘The Cleaner’, ‘Never Mind the Buzzcocks’, and ‘Man Down’. Both of them were previously “contestants” on the main ‘Taskmaster’ show.
“All I ever wanted to be when I grew up was a Little Alex Horne (or a regional manager for a major provider of motorway service stations) so this is literally a dream come true,” adds critically-acclaimed writer and performer Mike Wozniak. “I hereby vow to do my utmost to hold the office of Junior Taskmaster’s Assistant in the spirit of the original Little Alex Horne: with his courage, his grit and his dignity”.
‘Taskmaster’ is already watched by a broad multi-generational audience and in terms of profile was Channel 4’s youngest skewing series last year. In terms of audience share of young viewers (16-34) it is in the top three in the coveted 9pm slot, with ‘Gogglebox’ and ‘Derry Girls’. ‘Taskmaster’ is also hugely popular on Channel 4’s streaming service, where it is available for free and, since 2021, the average views per episode [0-7Days, O+O] have grown for the title with each series.
‘Junior Taskmaster’ is produced by Avalon and Executive Producers for the series are Richard Allen-Turner, Rob Aslett, Andy Cartwright, Andy Devonshire, Alex Horne, James Taylor, and Jon Thoday. Mia Cross is Series Producer. Taskmaster is commissioned for Channel 4 by Tom Beck, Head of Live Events and Commissioning Editor, Entertainment, with Phil Harris, Head of Entertainment and Events.
‘Junior Taskmaster‘ does not yet have a premiere date, but will air on Channel 4 at some point in 2023. If you want to keep track of this or any other show, you can add it via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when it gets a UK premiere date.
