Rose Matafeo and Mike Wozniak to front Junior Taskmaster

'I am greatly looking forward to the power going to my head'

Rose Matafeo is to be the Junior Taskmaster with Mike Wozniak as her sidekick, it has been revealed today.

Channel 4 previously announced the spin-off from Alex Horne’s hit format, which was one of its most popular shows among young adults last year.

Matafeo said: ‘To be appointed as Junior Taskmaster is one of the greatest honours of my already wildly successful career. I am greatly looking forward to the power going to my head.’

Wozniak added: ‘All I ever wanted to be when I grew up was a Little Alex Horne (or a regional manager for a major provider of motorway service stations) so this is literally a dream come true.

‘I hereby vow to do my utmost to hold the office of Junior Taskmaster’s Assistant in the spirit of the original Little Alex Horne: with his courage, his grit and his dignity.’

Matafeo appeared in the ninth series of Taskmaster in 2019, coming runner-up, while Wozniak was runner-up in series 11, in 2021.

Junior Taskmaster will feature contestants aged 9 to 11 and will run for eight episodes.

When the spin-off was announced in March, Horne said: ‘I've watched many, many comedians flounder when given simple instructions over the past few years and I fully expect the competitors in Junior Taskmaster to be both more competent and just as funny.

And original Taskmaster Greg Davies added: ‘My long-term contempt for young people is a matter of record but other people here at Taskmaster HQ seem convinced that they have merit.

‘I am thrilled that two new team members are putting this questionable hypothesis to the test and will take on the challenge of corralling and assessing them on television. I will be watching closely to ensure standards are met.

Taskmaster already targets a young audience with a bleeped PG version of the main show, while an increasing number of schools have been taking Taskmaster into the classroom, either informally, or via School Tasking, the not-for-profit primary school outreach project, and Taskmaster Education, which partnered with children’s mental health charity Place2Be.

Tom Beck, head of events for Channel 4 previously said: ‘Junior Taskmaster is set to be hugely entertaining family-friendly treat with as much madcap nonsense as the main series and, who knows, it might unearth the comedy stars of tomorrow.’

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Published: 16 May 2023