Pat the dog

Task types:

Solo

Live

Physical

Objective

Single brief

Original

Locations:

Task brief

The brief for the task is as follows:

Pat the dog.

You must be wearing your blindfold, and cannot step off or move your mat.

Fastest wins.

Your time starts when Tom releases the dog.

The contestants are lined up side-by-side on stage, each standing on a small circular Taskmaster-branded marker spot, and equipped with a pair of blindfold goggles with images of their own eyes printed on them.
In the centre of the raised platform on the lower part of the stage, there is a wooden crate. The sounds of a dog barking appear to be coming from inside the crate.
Before the task brief is read, Tom Cashman instructs the contestants to place their Taskmaster-branded market spot anywhere they like within the platform which forms the lower part of the stage.
After the task brief has been read, Tom Cashman clarifies that the contestants will also be disqualified if they touch the stage floor with their hands, or knock the dog over.
After the contestants have donned their blindfold goggles, Tom removes the wooden crate, releasing a stuffed toy dog riding a Roomba, which then wanders around the platform of its own accord until all but one contestant has been disqualified or managed to pat it.
This task has similarities to the ‘Avoid the rubbish robots‘ task, but the objective is essentially inverted, and it’s also different in many other ways, so it is categorised here as original