Taskmaster New Year Treat One / Characters

John Hannah

"It's because I'm northern!"

An actor known for The Mummy Trilogy and many other TV and film franchises.

Boring, but Practical: When tasked with building the "lightest" tower, he took a very straightforward approach and balanced a bamboo stick using a funnel with a feather on top for a bit of flair.
The Gadfly: After completing the studio task, he admits that he started hitting balls toward Greg on purpose, even though he knew that each hit would cost him points.
Oop North: When Alex notes that he's handlng the lollipop man model very roughly, John claims that it's because he's northern.

"I have been to some of the world's most dangerous places, but that was scary!"

A journalist with Channel 4.

Fish out of Water: Greg riffed in the studio on the juxtaposition between Krishnan's respected professional persona and his appearance on Taskmaster, even joking that no matter how the other contestants debased themselves, Krishnan's career would be more damaged.
Greg: Krishnan, I saw a moment during this when I think you realized, for the first time, what sort of show you were on when you said: "Why would he be holding a duck?"
Oh, Crap!: He notes that he's been to some of the most-dangerous locations in the world, but that reaching into a hole on a TV set to feel what's on the other side genuinely terrified him.

"It's all "chump" in the middle!"

An actor known for Derry Girls.

Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: When tasked with getting something large through a donut, she got sidetracked dressing up a cactus.
Cloud Cuckoolander: For the studio task, she kept trying to hit balls with a snooker triangle as if it were a tennis racket despite Greg repeatedly telling her to bump the balls with the triangle's sides. Predictably, she missed more than she hit.
Height Angst: Nicola is quite short, and on Taskmaster: The Podcast, Nicola mentions that her height hampered her ability to complete tasks such as an unaired dummy task involving a fish bowl and the "build the lightest tower" task, the latter for which she needed to source a step ladder. She and Ed muse that Greg would not have shown her any sympathy whatsoever if she had brought it up.
Self-Deprecation: As the contestant in the centre, Nicola refers to herself as trapped between the smart team (John and Krishnan) and the sexy team (Rylan and Shirley).
Nicola: I'm sat here between "sexy" and "brainy" side and then it's all "chump" in the middle!

"I'm trying to work out how I can cheat."

A broadcaster who first rose to fame after reaching fifth place on Series 9 of the UK series of The X Factor.

Butt-Monkey: During the lightest tower task, he was given the additional task of pretending to have had a good idea whenever Alex rang a bell.
Call-Back: When tasked with getting the biggest thing through the hole of a donut, he used the cow in the garden as part of a forced-perspective trick like Mawaan did in Series 10.
Costume Copycat: Rylan's studio outfit is based on Greg's all-black Taskmaster suit, as flagged by the badge he wears with it.
Guile Hero: Greg commented in the studio how Rylan's eloquent and passionate defences of his efforts easily took the former in, and almost managed to distract Greg from the objective and obvious flaws in Rylan's task attempts. Rylan's magnetism is even compared to that of a cult leader or a used car salesman.
Impossibly Tacky Clothes: He performed his tasks while wearing trousers made up to look like he was riding on Greg's shoulders. Or, in Greg's view, made up to look like he stuck Greg's face on his penis.
Greg: So you have essentially come in wearing a costume meant to look like you're riding on my back, but really it just looks like my face is on your penis. As far as I can see.
Rylan: That is "filthy bastard".
"It" Is Dehumanizing: When trying to sculpt a lollipop man out of Play-Doh, Rylan is the only to treat the model like a human and dubbing him "Scene" because he didn't know his name. The other contestants roughly manhandled the model and referred to him as "it" or "thing".

"Life starts at 60, my darling."

A professional ballroom dancer, and head judge on Strictly Come Dancing.

Dirty Old Woman: For the New Year Treat's first pre-recorded task, she put various long, black drain pipes through a donut, with the sexual implications being very clear. She capped the task by performing a shimmy that mainly caused her breasts to shake. Greg seemed quite overwhelmed by her.
Greg: When I heard [Rylan was] booked, I was A: delighted, and B: I suspected [Rylan] would drag this show into the gutter. But, Shirley Ballas, it would appear, is the person I should have kept my eye on.