What Taskmaster series is Ed Gamble in?

The short answer

Ed Gamble is in series 9 of Taskmaster, which aired on Dave from 4 September to 6 November 2019. He didn't just take part — he won the whole thing, finishing on 167 points and taking the golden head home. It was the last series broadcast on Dave before the show moved to Channel 4.

The series 9 line-up

Ed shared the studio with a strong cast:

• David Baddiel — comedian and author, in a state of near-permanent confusion.
• Jo Brand — magnificently unbothered by the scoring system.
• Katy Wix — a cult favourite among Taskmaster fans.
• Rose Matafeo — Ed's closest rival; he once beat her in a tiebreaker to take an episode with just 12 points, the lowest episode-winning score in the show's history at the time.

Ed won 4 individual episodes across the series — the first contestant ever to win more than three.

He came back — and it went badly

Winning series 9 earned Ed a place in Champion of Champions II, a one-off special that aired on Channel 4 on 23 June 2022, pitting the winners of series 6 to 10 against each other: Ed, Liza Tarbuck, Kerry Godliman, Lou Sanders, and Richard Herring. Ed finished dead last with 11 points. Richard Herring took the title.

He was still delighted to be there. Speaking to the press ahead of the special in June 2022, he said:

"Taskmaster, in general, is just like a shot of pure adrenaline into the veins."

The podcast

Since 2020, Ed has hosted Taskmaster: The Podcast, launched to coincide with series 10 — an episode-by-episode companion show where he picks apart the programme with former contestants and guests. So while he's only competed twice, he's arguably now in every series.

For the record: for Champion of Champions II, Ed sent his prize — a model of Greg Davies's head — to the edge of space on a high-altitude balloon, hitting temperatures of -56°C and speeds of up to 150mph.

Greg's verdict: a lovely piece.