TaskMaster.Info

Obsessively documenting the international Taskmaster franchise. Warning: This site is lousy with spoilers!

New Year's Treat 2021

Cover image for the first New Year’s Treat special of the UK show Taskmaster, picturing the cast of the special.

Air date:

01/01/2021

Episode title:

The fastest duck

Title coined by:

Alex Horne

Episode title context

'The fastest duck' was how Alex Horne described the duck made by Nicola Coughlan during the 'Sculpt the scene on the other side of the wall' task.

Alternate Titles

On Finland's MTV Katsomo streaming platform, this episode is titled 'Uuden vuoden kujeet 1', which translates as 'New Year's larks 1'. [Translator credit: zador]
On Norway's Discovery+ Norge streaming platform, this episode is titled 'Den raskeste anda', which translates as 'The fastest duck'. 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]

Image of the silhouette of a feather on a stick against the sky, viewed through the ceiling of the plastic dome outside the Taskmaster house (a reference to the 'Build the lightest tower on a set of scales' task), with the episode title, 'The fastest duck', superimposed on it.

Special synopsis

In this one-episode special, actor John Hannah, news anchor Krishnan Guru-Murthy, actress Nicola Coughlan, presenter Rylan Clark-Neal, and head Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas compete to win Greg's golden eyebrows.

Along the way, they must bring in the best thing to bring to a party, get the largest thing through a doughnut hole, sculpt a scene on the other side of a wall, build the lightest tower on a set of scales, and strike balls into a bathtub with a randomly-selected object.

The studio recording sessions for this special took place at Pinewood Studios in Iver Heath, near London, without a live studio audience.

Assistant Intro

And now for a man that is forever generous with facts and figures as he is uncomfortable talking about sexual intimacy. It's... little Alex Horne!

Special prize

Image of the New Year's Treat prize, a trophy featuring Greg's golden eyebrows.

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

Taskmaster's Sign-off

Well, there we are. That's an end to it. Now, what will become of our fearless five? Well, we know that following the broadcast of this special, there'll be at least three brand-new TV shows. 'John Hannah Caravaner' will be a big hit. 'Crap Craft With Coughlan' is gonna give us all hope. And when people are clearing out all the useless tea out of their cupboards, they're all going to want to watch Krishnan presenting the 'Channel 4 Brews'. As for Shirley Ballas, well, she'll be expressing herself with a flourish, locked behind the doors of Rylan's two-person cult. Join us soon for another full series, but for now, let's see our one-off winner celebrate their career high. It's Shirley Ballas!