That's a swizz

Episode synopsis

The 2023 New Year's Treat special aired on 1 January 2023, and featured the contestants Amelia Dimoldenberg, Carol Vorderman, Sir Mo Farah, Greg James, and Rebecca Lucy-Taylor, aka 'Self-Esteem'.

Filming of the live studio segments took place at Pinewood Studios, near Iver Heath, on 22 November 2022.

During the special, the contestants had to bring in the most surprising thing they owned, count all the dots while completing some other distracting tasks, recreate a picture from the comfort of a massage chair, collect carp pellets in a fish-bowl while evading booby-traps, and obey Greg's instructions to ensure a collection of objects were in the right places.

Title context

'That's a swizz' was uttered by Carol Vorderman during the 'Collect carp pellets in a fish bowl' task.

Alternate Titles

• On Norway's Discovery+ Norge streaming platform, this episode is titled 'En skuffelse', which translates as 'A disappointment'. Note: this Norwegian translation of the title only appears in the subtitles for the episode, whereas the episode title listed on the platform is the original English title. [Translator credit: Jan Harald]

Taskmaster Intro

Hello! I'm Greg Davies. Welcome, everybody, to a very special Taskmaster New Year's Treat. Yes, it's that time of year for drawing a line under ugly aspects of your life, starting afresh. What am I talking about? I'm talking about that lump on the sofa next to you that you married! And the kids! It's not like they're doing well at school. Get rid! It's also that time of year when we open up Taskmaster to those in the public eye that wouldn't normally qualify. 'Oh, how hard can Taskmaster be?', they say. 'I'm versatile, I'll call my agent.' Well, they're about to find out what a terrible mistake that call was. And I don't want to put a damper on the night but, from our calculations, at least one of these people has done so badly that the damage to their reputation will result in a complete cessation of work and lead ultimately and directly to the loss of their home. So, let's greet them with the applause that they currently deserve.

Assistant Intro

And next to me, a man who told me, in a private moment, that he believes climate change is a hoax propagated by, and I quote, "Liberal pussies who don't know how to party". It's little Alex Horne!

Episode prize

The prize up for grabs in this special is a trophy featuring Greg's golden eyebrows.

Taskmaster's Sign-off

Have a great year and join us soon for another series. But for now, it's our Special Treat winner, please, Sir Mo Farah.