Tell Alex why the light bulb turns on

Task notes

• Also on the table, there are five small, yellow, round, 3D-printed tokens (which have images of an expressionless face on one side, and the text ‘+2’ on the other), a large analogue clock on a turntable, a plate full of raisins, and a small wooden box with a red lightbulb mounted in it (and a small hole in the front, just large enough for a raisin).
• On the back of the clock, there is a label which reads ‘Speed of light = ?miles / 2 seconds’.
• On the plate, beneath the pile of raisins, there’s another label which reads ‘Comedy is tragedy plus time.”
• It turns out that Alex is turning the light on two seconds after the contestants smile.
• During the task, both Mathew and Rosie look under the table and discover an additional (very long) task brief there which has been written specifically for them, and must be read in full before they can return to the task at hand, just as Jason had previously done during the ‘Answer the cheese phone’ task in episode 3. Although we do not see or hear the entire brief being read out, Mathew’s includes the following snippets:

  Read this out loud and in full.
  If you fail to read this out loud and in full, you will fail the current task.
  Dear Mathew,
  Congratulations. You have looked under the table, and found this, a letter just for you.
  If you didn’t have such curious instincts, you wouldn’t now be reading this personal note…
  …I’ve always thought that you, specifically you, would be great for all sorts of reasons.
  Here are some of those reasons:
  I respect you.
  I think you are funny.
  I like your hair.
  I think you’ve got a nice, slow, deliberate, measured, unrushed rea…
  I’d like to spend quite a lot of time in quite a lot of rooms with you.
  I’ve always thought you’re the sort of person who would look under tables, when most people…
  …you’re a humble person…
  And thankfully, something told you there might be something under the table that would help you and you were right, this is meant to help you:
  Forget what those other people say – you are smart!
  You are perceptive!
  You are Mathew Baynton!
  Ok then, I better go now.
  Well done again on finding this valuable paper…

  …and Rosie’s includes the following:

  Read this out loud and in full.
  If you fail to read this out loud and in full, you will fail the current task.
  Dear Rosie,
  Congratulations. You have looked under the table, and found this, a letter just for you…
  …things that I haven’t told any of the other people you’re competing against.
  So get ready for this. Deep breath, Rosie Ramsey.
  Here goes: This is not the only hidden thing in the Taskmaster house.
  In almost every drawer, on almost every shelf, beneath almost every stone, and inside almost every satsuma there are clues, useful nuggets and, often, cash.
  Don’t be content that you have found this bonus, keep looking, keep searching, and keep finding the truth.
  For I am telling you the truth. The truth is that Taskmaster is not just about the tasks in front of you.
  It’s about peeling away the layers of the tasks, the…
  It’s about opening that box and finding…
  And then searching for what that key is for and discovering that it’s actually a key… little car that’s hidden in the…
  That sort of thing.
  Ok, carry on.
  Yours,
  Greg Davies