The Natural Friends go their separate ways for a while

After Julian reads the task brief, Sam asks Alex if the secret task has always been present during filming, as opposed to just for this task. Alex replies simply that it’s been on his mind the entire time, and Julian translates that to Sam as meaning that Alex is not going to answer his question (which Greg finds particularly amusing).

To start with, Julian searches the dome, Lucy searches the caravan, and Sam searches the living room. Lucy finds the clue that Sue had overlooked, which hints that the secret task is behind a “secret door”. Julian finds the clue beneath the pineapple, which hints that the secret task is behind some initials. Sam searches the living room with a notable lack of enthusiasm, half-heartedly looking through drawers, and stating to the camera that he doesn’t think the task is in that room.

After the horn blows, Sam goes to the hutch, Julian goes to the caravan, and Lucy heads to the kitchen, where she finds lots of doors on the appliances (“but they’re not very secret”).

The next room swap finds Julian in the lab, Sam in the kitchen, and Lucy in the living room. When Sam finds the clue in the kitchen, indicating that the secret task is often behind them, he actually checks his own back to see if a task envelope has been placed there. Lucy spends most of her time in the living room whispering to Alex about secret doors (“Do you think it’s a real door, or like a secret door?”) and searching the ground for trap-doors.

The three team-mates pass in the corridor, at the next horn-blow, and though Sam attempts to ask Julian if there’s anything worth searching for in the lab, it’s clear that Lucy and Julian are treating the task as directed, and not planning on working as a team.

At the next room swap, Julian – having figured out the location of the secret task, thanks to finding the clue in the lab about it being beneath the Taskmaster – heads for the living room, while Sam goes to the lab, and Lucy heads back to the kitchen. As Lucy stretches her legs in the kitchen (having spent much of her time in the living room on the ground searching for trap-doors), and Sam stands in the doorway of the lab listening to what’s going on outside, Julian begins searching the portrait of Greg, and quickly finds the hidden compartment behind the ‘TM’ initials.

After reading the secret task brief, Julian nominates Sam Campbell.

When the horn blows again, Sam asks Julian what he was talking about, and Julian simply replies that the living room contains “things of interest”. Sam re-enters the living room, while Lucy heads to the hutch. Julian doubles around the house and calls to Sam through the open double doors from the garden, saying that he’s “just passing by”, but heavily implies that Sam happens to be standing in the correct location. Sam seems surprised that there is a secret compartment behind the ‘TM’ initials. As he reads the secret task brief, a frustrated Lucy sits playing a note on the French horn, in the hutch. Sam nominates Sue Perkins.

When the horn blows again, Lucy returns to the living room, likely aware by now that the secret task is in there, but she makes sure to tell Alex that she’s getting genuinely frustrated by the whole task at this point. Lucy calls out to Sam, through the double doors, asking him where the secret task is, and Sam tells her to look at the ‘TM’. Lucy finally finds the secret task, and nominates Sue Perkins.

Julian compliments Alex, when he stops the clock, calling the task one of his “better efforts” (the tone of which Greg characterises as being suitable for Julian’s potential audition to play a James Bond film villain).

Julian finds the task first, in 6 minutes and 30 seconds, deducting 5 points from Sam. He seems somewhat upset, as he explains he’d thought he was awarding Sam 5 points, not taking them away. Sam finds the task second, in 8 minutes and 50 seconds, deducting 1 point from Sue. Lucy finds the task third, in 13 minutes and 25 seconds, leading to the ‘special hat’ being awarded to Sue.

(Written by Jenny R and edited by Karl Craven)

(Illustrations collected by Jenny R and adjusted by David Fuller)