Pull the sword from the stone

Task notes

• The rock, which is situated by the decked area, where Greg’s statue has been positioned, has a sword stuck into it, which must be released by uttering the correct password.
• The password that the contestants are looking for is “Widdicombe”, referring to season 1 champion and Champion of Champions 1 winner Josh Widdicombe. There are multiple clues to this solution around the area of the Taskmaster garden where the task is taking place.
• One set of clues are the letters in the name ‘Widdicombe’, which are scattered around the area, including on Greg’s statue, on a gargoyle, and attached to the Taskmaster champion contestant photos inside the hutch. The locations of all of these letters are not revealed in the footage shown. One of them may be the capitalised letter ‘W’ at the end of the task brief itself.
• Inside the new TM-themed hutch, there are framed photos of all of the Taskmaster UK champions to date, except for Josh Widdicombe. On the picture of Dara Ó Briain, there is a cut-out of the letter ‘D’ and, on the picture of Rob Beckett, there is a cut-out of the letter ‘O’.
• Also in the hutch, there is a framed picture of the county of Devon, with a red ‘X’ marking a specific location (presumably Haytor Vale, near Widecombe-in-the-Moor, where he grew up).
• Another clue inside the hutch is a partial family tree, indicating that the password relates to someone who was born in 1983, and is a descendant of someone named ‘Catherine Knollys’ (this familial connection was apparently revealed when Josh appeared on the BBC TV show Who Do You Think You Are?).
• Near the hutch, there is a mannequin with an MBE medal pinned to its chest. Presumably, this represents the letters ‘MBE’ in his name, and can be combined with the other cut-out letters from his name which are scattered around the area.
• Also near the hutch, there is a mailbox containing an envelope, inside of which is the message ‘Join the Women’s Institute, Darling Daughter, 99, 0, 1000? 🐝!’. The first letters of the first few words in the message spell out ‘J WIDD’, the Roman numerals for the number 99 are ‘IC’, the zero represents an ‘O’, the Roman numeral for 1000 is ‘M’, and the bee emoji represents the letters ‘BE’.
• Josh’s last name is also written on the roof of the hutch, unviewable from ground level by the contestants (a parallel to the clue written on the roof of the shed in the ‘Find out what’s in the briefcase’ task from the first Champion of Champions special).
• Next to the hutch, there is a black door in the wall of the Taskmaster house, behind which there is usually only a greenscreen. When opened during this task, though, it reveals a large cut-out of Josh Widdicombe, apparently leaning around the doorframe.
• Greg’s statue has a few clues on it: cut-outs of the letters ‘B’ and ‘I’; a Christmas cracker; a flag with a coat of arms featuring the motto ‘With Diamonds Come Bears’ (from which the first 2-3 letters of each word may be combined to spell ‘Widicombe’; and the word ‘JOSH’ written on its right ankle (a playful reverse reference to when Josh had Greg’s name tattooed onto his own foot, for his submission to the 'Buy a gift for the Taskmaster' task).
• Inside the cracker, there is the usual paper crown, along with the joke set-up, ‘Which comedian knows how to make their hair smart?’ (with the answer and punchline, ‘Widdicombe’, sounding something like ‘with a comb’), as well as an action figure’s foot with the word ‘GREG’ written on it (a direct reference to Josh’s infamous tattoo).
• Behind Greg’s statue, there is a banner for Plymouth Argyle Football Club, of which Josh is a supporter.
• There is also a gargoyle on the decking (not sure of the relevance of this, unless it also somehow references Plymouth Argyle), with a cut-out of the letter ‘E’ attached to it.

Official task video