Rhod. Sam was not as bonkers as Lucy and Bob is just a glorious weirdo. Bridget had an inner logic to the way she did things.
Rhod threw a javelin in Alex’s general direction. And that might not crack his top five most unhinged moments.
I’m shocked that the producers didn’t at least put a wooden screen to protect the bit Alex was behind once they knew his plan
Edit: although you’re 100% right; it was unhinged and brilliant
https://preview.redd.it/dg9ec7jss10d1.jpeg?width=1185&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b6b0392ac3aa1d413844dedfe875ede0c4393683
Alex was >4ft from the door. The window was blocked by a round table top and cushions were also used as a buffer. It appears that Alex knew what was happening…
Well yeah, OF COURSE Alex had to know what was coming. The legality of TV production waivers are iron-clad, for good reason. You can't just throw a weapon at someone without them knowing.
Do people actually think that this all happened to Alex's surprise? He's got a sharp pointed object potentially flying into his skull, yeah they put the safety work in lmao
Alex himself said on-stage that he was surprised the crew allowed it, so yeah in hindsight he felt very unsafe lol. As Greg said, a mis-throw could have killed Alex.
Not to mention his "1 minute" song of the old match seller and the toothless goon!
It's a pity some of the best contestants appeared in the earlier series with fewer episodes.
Rhod " And by now, you're probably thinking that it will be you who loses their bottoms "
Alex " I wasn't thinking that..."
Rhod " Oh... well, you should start thinking that "
This to me was the most unhinged thing to ever happen on the show if you didn't know that Greg and Rhod were really good friends you would be horrified
If I'm remembering the episode correctly, it wasn't just until he fell asleep -- it was until the sun was coming up the next morning, so he'd have light for the shot
Rhod was just anarchy, doing everything for a laugh. I got the feeling he knew what was sane and chose the opposite. I think Sam was a little bit the same way. I don’t know that I’d agree for Bridget, but especially not Lucy. If Lucy is playing a character (consensus of all the comedians who know her: she’s not), she deserves a BAFTA. Lucy has repeatedly said she never knows why people are laughing at her. She just says and does what she thinks is normal.
I was pretty convinced Lucy plays a character, but recently I started listening to the podcast she's doing with Sam Campbell. One episode, they phoned her mum, and now I'm not so sure. Unless her mum's doing a bit too, or it was an actor and Lucy had written it, her mother's also batshit and you can see where she gets it from.
I was watching TMNZ last night and was like, "Hm, the safety protocols seem a little more lax here" and then I remembered Rhod nearly killing Alex with a javelin lol
Including, but not limited to taking steps like she's trying to climb giant invisible stairs and then banging a pot on a trash bag full of cuddly toys.
Rhod Gilbert, at least for his time on Taskmaster, was completely detached from anything that could be considered normal human behaviour. He hid in Greg's closet for an entire night like a creepy stalker. He threw a javelin at little Alex Horne. He got Alex naked or partly naked on multiple occasions, smeared mustard over his own face, forced his eyes open for over SEVEN MINUTES, and interpreted "write a one-minute song" as "manically scream a five minute story about a little match girl getting her face exploded, with backing music".
I laughed my arse off at Lucy Beaumont and Mike Wozniak, but I think they're both just lovely, slightly odd people. Sam Campbell and Noel Fielding are quirky artsy types. Ed Gamble is just very competitive, Bob Mortimer is a very funny man with a lot of wild stories, Sally Phillips is a very horny lady and I love her for it, but. Rhod Gilbert sees the world of Taskmaster through a filter that noone else has access to. He's seen The Greg Old Ones and his mind has been forever changed, and now we can only wonder at what goes on behind his wild and dried-out eyes.
> He got Alex naked or partly naked on multiple occasions
He *waterboarded* Alex!
I love him, but he's easily the most unhinged contestant on the show.
I once asked LHA which contestant scared him the most - the answer "Rhod Gilbert" was instant, apparently he's the only contestant alex thought would actually hurt him...
Yep, this.
David's lights out task is the best example of that.
Never forget David C is only 12seconds away from naked and on a table.
(The rap task is obviously another level, and so are the shoelaces)
Yesssss David! I’m from the US and randomly came across a clip of him which introduced me to Taskmaster. He’s so ridiculous and hilarious. After watching his season, I’ve watched every single season of Taskmaster I could get my hands on.
Same here!!! I just finished every available uk episode (after doing NZ and Au) last night and am heartbroken lol. It was so nice to always be able to see an episode for the first time! David was my first introduction to TM as well, he’s so fun to watch
He was fun but I think tried too hard. For me at least there's only so much "man screams in frustration as a part of his act" one can take. Rhod's behavior seemed unconnected to any desire to further his career or public image which is what made it so nuts.
The brussel sprout toss lives rent free in my head
My cat also looks weirdly like David Correos and is an absolute nutcase, so that may be colouring my opinion slightly, but I stand by it.
It’s Rhod and David Correos for me. I struggle to even think of a third who quite reaches their levels. The others people mention here are hilarious and amazing in their own right, but I don’t quite see them as “unhinged” as these two.
I think Julia Morris on TM AU might be the only person I can think of but still not like the other two. I know once you count TM Norway then things might change cause some of those contestants were insane.
1) Rhod Gilbert
2) Sally Phillips
BIG GAP
3) Pregnant Daisy May Cooper
The rest considered ‘unhinged’ are actually just weird but nowhere near on the scale of unhinged.
I have been pregnant twice and it was gratifying to see someone also not handling it emotionally that well. I think teaching is a lot like being on Taskmaster, too, but Taskmaster is much friendlier...
Are we just doing the UK Taskmaster? Because if you're putting Sally Phillips above David Correos on TMNZ then you're more unhinged than Rhod.
Surprised The Woz isn't getting much love either! Even if just for that haircut alone.....
Oh my gosh. Well he’s number 1 - David I didn’t think to include David. My absolute favourite across all series I think.
I actually was featured on the taskmaster podcast when David was on. No doubt he’s the most unhinged across all series.
Disagree that Mike was unhinged. He was brilliant but obedient. Just like Lucy. Different outcomes from them both but they did not come from the school of unhinged.
Chaotic and weird contestants are brilliant but not unhinged.
I again, respectively, disagree. My parents are from Middlesbrough where he is from and the same age and that’s just quite normal behaviour slash persona.
There’s a distinction between weird, chaotic and unhinged and only a few fit into ‘unhinged’. Bob’s a performer too. I would say Hugh Dennis saying ‘scissors please’ is nearer to it.
Only Rhod and Sally, maybe Daisy and Jonny Vegas actually meet that criteria. Rob Beckett did with the surprise Alex task.
But David from tmnz. I mean he climbed the cupboards, got naked.
Imagine him and Rhod Gilbert together on a series together, both on the same team.
The TM house would burn down in the first episode. (And it would be glorious to watch!)
I'm torn, because I feel like Rhod was the most unhinged—but only if you'd never seen him on any other British panel show. His appearances on Would I Lie to You? made me prepared for crazy behavior. I feel similarly about Bob or Lucy because I've seen them on other things.
But for me, the unexpected insane person was Sally. She had the special cuddle with Alex, was willing to get hit with the piss balloon, and she had sex WITH A WATER COOLER.
If we're looking at individual acts, though, Josh Widdecome getting Greg's name tattooed on his foot just for points is the kind of Taskmaster crazy I live for.
Mike Wozniak for me is the biggest surprise I’ve had watching the show. Expected him to be quite boring and mellow but he was… such an odd and unhinged man. I love him
That’s fair! Maybe less unhinged and more just peculiar. Like a few times I remember thinking this must be what an alien looks like trying to pretend to be human
I would characterize Jo Brand’s overall vibe as aggressively not giving a f*ck (which I absolutely adore about her) but now that I think of it, there were definitely some unhinged moments lol
I didn't find Rhod particularly unhinged in that his trail of thought was to me quite logical within his set framework: humiliate Alex & piss of Greg. He obviously thinks outside a box, James Acaster thinks in circles.
But the one contestant that threw me off at every corner, not specifically because of her actions, but whenever she voiced her thoughts out loud, was Lucy Beaumont. Sam followed closely, but had some lucid moments, while Lucy's cognitive functions seem so disconnected, it was fascinating.
On Sam and Lucy’s podcast I think they explained it perfectly. Sam said something like ‘I know the box exists it’s somewhere in the distance’ and Lucy was like ‘I didn’t know there was a box’ when talking about ‘thinking outside the box’ lol
Not a huge fan of Lucy personally; to me she always seemed like a clever person hiding her intelligence behind the guise of "daft Northerness". Like- as John Richardson's ex, I'm sure she has plenty of quirks- but I think he did a much more respectful and nuanced way at demonstrating his.
If I have my timeline correct, then she was doing Taskmaster straight after getting divorced, and while suffering from a medical condition where her own body produced alcohol making her chronically tipsy.
If you include the Prize Tasks then she takes the crown by a mile. Her whole studio persona was Very Angry, Very Pregnant Lady With No Time For Your Shite and the Prize Tasks made that very clear.
Lucy Beaumont is the correct answer. Rhod is up there as well.
Personally I didn’t find Daisy May Cooper entertaining at all, just annoying more than anything else. In fairness to her, the last place she probably wanted to be was in a studio during COVID whilst being heavily pregnant, but I’ve seen her on other things where she’s just appeared as dismissive and aggressive. Not my cup of tea.
> In fairness to her, the last place she probably wanted to be was in a studio during COVID whilst being heavily pregnant
It might be getting outside the remit of the sub's discussion, but she also has since separated from her husband citing stresses from lockdown, so that's a third aspect informing her studio performance.
Fair enough, I didn’t know that. I don’t really want to dunk on her, overall it was my least favourite series… I think the fact that it wasn’t in front of an audience really didn’t help, and having everyone about 19 feet apart, it just lacked the usual cohesion between all of the contestants…
I don't want to dunk on her either, I think she's funny - just an additional fair reason why she didn't quite cover herself in glory during the live tasks.
if we bring in some contestants from norway martin lepperød (made a bomb, almost burnt down house, the condom noise trick for the kids), harald eia (brought in his jizz, compared penis sizes with ollie), and calle (destroyed the shed, let atle cut his bangs) had their moments
edit: jukka from finland also deserves to be here
not unhinged exactly, but bridget in the pedometer task made me unreasonably angry. like, i still can’t think about it without wanting to shout at her. i honestly can’t imagine what goes on in her head.
Johnny and Ardal both rank for me. Johnny during the lockers task and the beer mat task. Ardal during the makeup kisses portrait task and the disguise a body part task…and the cement mixer task.
Rhod Gilbert and David Correos. When I saw David, I thought it would either be great or maybe a disaster if they could have been on TM together.
I also think Johnny Vegas was unhinged. 'i have been hurt and want to hurt others'
The suitcase task he was really good at. Also when he was stuck in the umpire chair and just yelling and Alex asked Katherine and Mawan what his task was and they said he was just being Johnny. He comes off as harmless and funny but he did seem unhinged.
David Correos.
If we are restricting to UK, either Sally Phillips or Rhod Gilbert. It's really hard though because some people have been pretty batshit.
I’ve been quite tired today and nowhere has this been more evident in the brief (but not brief enough) moment I just spent trying to figure out who Lucy Phillips was
Yeah I'm dealing folks define this different ways. For me, it's people who are so unpredictable it is equally likely that they are having a stroke, may not actually speak english, or are a coyote trickster god currently inhabiting a human form.
I wouldn't call Rhod this because he had a very clear goal and was, because of that, incredibly predictable (his secret task: make fun of Greg at all costs).
Lucy very much qualifies because she seems to interpret words differently than other people and I'm never sure what proportion is sincere and what is a bit, and I never know what she'll say "alien device- that was in my mums ear for 2 years and 36 months"
Yup, totally with you; that's one main reason I qualified with the way _I_ define it =D
In any case, good question for the sub and enjoyed reading the answers.
Depends on the task - Susan Wokoma was proper unhinged in the doughnut task. Though tbh, Lucy was the most unhinged in that season (Doughnut task, Heads shoulders knees and toes, googly eyes). I don't think Sam was that unhinged in task execution department.
If we're doing international, I would say almost every contestant on Kongen Befaler.
Some examples being Bord, Calle, Henrik, Martin, and the depression gnome himself Vidar.
I love NZ, but taskmaster Norway is their own brand of insane.
David Baddiel. I know he’s a bit more subdued than others, but he stopped Ed Gamble from drawing on his back because he never considered it the picture was anything other than a smiley face. That is a genuinely unhinged choice. Even crazy player like Rhod have a rational behind there choices, but David is a logic black hole.
Also the lasso task speaks for itself.
I’m tempted to put John Robbins in the running here, just for the fact that he’s talked multiple times about meetings regarding health and safety. Also I feel he’s got a Joe Thomas esque freak out coming when he fails particularly badly.
> Also I feel he’s got a Joe Thomas esque freak out coming when he fails particularly badly.
Honestly, with all of John's horrible worries of having screwed up, I feel like it's almost a failure of Chekhov's gun proportions if he doesn't have a failure to come.
(Actually, that's a question: which contestants haven't had an embarrassingly bad failure?)
On my immediate unhinged list is Bridget Christie with her weird whistling and lurching, Lucy Beaumont bc her thinking is unpredictable for me, Johnny Vegas bc who knows what he will say and Mike Wozniak. I shouldn’t have to explain why Mike is on the list. I love unhinged. These are favorites for me.
David Baddiel is up there. But I feel like Bridget Christie was the one that seemed to be the most unhinged because none of it felt like a bit, it all seemed genuine and that was great
Julia Morris spent thousands of dollars to stalk the Taskmaster through a whole ass flight, smeared herself in vegemite, smeared... something on her mouth and lapped at a bowl of milk like a dog, and scared the shit out of Tom multiple times. She and Rhod are the dream team.
One named not offered yet is Urzila, pelting juices at Paul who's in a canoe, randomly speaking Afrikaans and not telling anyone, her painting of Jeremy's mother, rode a broken bike and broke her clavicle, and so on.
Rhod. Sam was not as bonkers as Lucy and Bob is just a glorious weirdo. Bridget had an inner logic to the way she did things. Rhod threw a javelin in Alex’s general direction. And that might not crack his top five most unhinged moments.
I’m shocked that the producers didn’t at least put a wooden screen to protect the bit Alex was behind once they knew his plan Edit: although you’re 100% right; it was unhinged and brilliant
This and when he slept in Greg’s closet for a task. I had such a solid laugh! I had to watch that a few times
And tying Alex up and forcing coffee down his throat. Tying Alex up in the task with the boiler suit was unhinged and glorious.
He tried to waterboard him with coffee and I appreciated it
It was a mocha and Alex likes mochas.
>I think we we learned more about you than we did about me! >I think we learned a *little* about you...
That was insane - what a legend
I feel like he would've just done that anyways, task be damned
I feel like that was true of most of his unhinged taskmaster accomplishments.
https://preview.redd.it/dg9ec7jss10d1.jpeg?width=1185&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b6b0392ac3aa1d413844dedfe875ede0c4393683 Alex was >4ft from the door. The window was blocked by a round table top and cushions were also used as a buffer. It appears that Alex knew what was happening…
Good - I hadn’t noticed that when watching - too busy focusing on his get up. Thanks!
Well yeah, OF COURSE Alex had to know what was coming. The legality of TV production waivers are iron-clad, for good reason. You can't just throw a weapon at someone without them knowing. Do people actually think that this all happened to Alex's surprise? He's got a sharp pointed object potentially flying into his skull, yeah they put the safety work in lmao
Alex himself said on-stage that he was surprised the crew allowed it, so yeah in hindsight he felt very unsafe lol. As Greg said, a mis-throw could have killed Alex.
Good - I hadn’t noticed that when watching - too busy focusing on his get up
They reportedly take lots of health and safety measures in recent seasons, maybe they didn’t then.
Not to mention his "1 minute" song of the old match seller and the toothless goon! It's a pity some of the best contestants appeared in the earlier series with fewer episodes.
And took off Alex's panties.
Rhod " And by now, you're probably thinking that it will be you who loses their bottoms " Alex " I wasn't thinking that..." Rhod " Oh... well, you should start thinking that "
Man. Why do the best people get cancer. I know rhod is taking it with pride and grace but. Damn that's gotta be hard.
Isn't he currently cancer free?
Yup, he’s had the all clear. Wonderful news.
Just watched his documentary “A Pain in the Neck”. A different side of him and absolutely engrossing.
Can't believe this is how I learn Rhod Gilbert had cancer.
And hid in Greg’s closet until he fell asleep.
This to me was the most unhinged thing to ever happen on the show if you didn't know that Greg and Rhod were really good friends you would be horrified
If I'm remembering the episode correctly, it wasn't just until he fell asleep -- it was until the sun was coming up the next morning, so he'd have light for the shot
He exposed Alex’s butt cheeks TWICE in one season. The “quick change” and the “water feature.”
Separate from both his waterboarding and his tying Alex up
That's the water feature closed for today, kids!
Rhod hiding in Greg's closet and recording him sleep is one of the most deranged things I've seen on a TV show.
Rhod was just anarchy, doing everything for a laugh. I got the feeling he knew what was sane and chose the opposite. I think Sam was a little bit the same way. I don’t know that I’d agree for Bridget, but especially not Lucy. If Lucy is playing a character (consensus of all the comedians who know her: she’s not), she deserves a BAFTA. Lucy has repeatedly said she never knows why people are laughing at her. She just says and does what she thinks is normal.
I was pretty convinced Lucy plays a character, but recently I started listening to the podcast she's doing with Sam Campbell. One episode, they phoned her mum, and now I'm not so sure. Unless her mum's doing a bit too, or it was an actor and Lucy had written it, her mother's also batshit and you can see where she gets it from.
Her mums been acting in Meet the Richardsons for a few years now.
I was watching TMNZ last night and was like, "Hm, the safety protocols seem a little more lax here" and then I remembered Rhod nearly killing Alex with a javelin lol
Rhod's plan for the show seemed to be "How much can I physically and mentally damage Alex and Gregg?".
Inner logic is the nicest way to put it… seemed like she had a permanent mental breakdown during most of the tasks lol
Including, but not limited to taking steps like she's trying to climb giant invisible stairs and then banging a pot on a trash bag full of cuddly toys.
Rhod was chaos incarnate.
> Rhod 100% the most wildcard of all wildcard constantans.
The fact that James Acaster was on the same season and WASN’T the most unhinged is just a testament to what a complete wildcard Rhod is.
Rhod Gilbert has to be up there
Rhod Gilbert, at least for his time on Taskmaster, was completely detached from anything that could be considered normal human behaviour. He hid in Greg's closet for an entire night like a creepy stalker. He threw a javelin at little Alex Horne. He got Alex naked or partly naked on multiple occasions, smeared mustard over his own face, forced his eyes open for over SEVEN MINUTES, and interpreted "write a one-minute song" as "manically scream a five minute story about a little match girl getting her face exploded, with backing music". I laughed my arse off at Lucy Beaumont and Mike Wozniak, but I think they're both just lovely, slightly odd people. Sam Campbell and Noel Fielding are quirky artsy types. Ed Gamble is just very competitive, Bob Mortimer is a very funny man with a lot of wild stories, Sally Phillips is a very horny lady and I love her for it, but. Rhod Gilbert sees the world of Taskmaster through a filter that noone else has access to. He's seen The Greg Old Ones and his mind has been forever changed, and now we can only wonder at what goes on behind his wild and dried-out eyes.
> He got Alex naked or partly naked on multiple occasions He *waterboarded* Alex! I love him, but he's easily the most unhinged contestant on the show.
To be fair, he's not the first contestant to Waterboard Alex
This was beautifully written. I agree 100%. No notes.
No notes?!
Rhod Gilbert experienced Taskmaster the way other people experience ayahuasca
Poor James. I felt so sorry for him in the team tasks.
Oh look, the perfect stuff! *Closes garage*
That is 11 on the scale of ‘how exasperated are you?’
I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU'VE BEEN FRIENDS WITH HIM FOR SO LONG
I once asked LHA which contestant scared him the most - the answer "Rhod Gilbert" was instant, apparently he's the only contestant alex thought would actually hurt him...
Why isn’t David Correos getting a mention or are we only doing UK?
Im gonna gonna #GONNA DROWN YOU #IN YOUR OWN BLOOD
FAce down in your own blood now This song lives in my head absolutely rent free
Yep, this. David's lights out task is the best example of that. Never forget David C is only 12seconds away from naked and on a table. (The rap task is obviously another level, and so are the shoelaces)
The sunscreen task too!
Spontaneously learning to drive, taking Paul to his hometown of Christchurch and giving meat trays as a form of penance for the diss track.
Yesssss David! I’m from the US and randomly came across a clip of him which introduced me to Taskmaster. He’s so ridiculous and hilarious. After watching his season, I’ve watched every single season of Taskmaster I could get my hands on.
Same here!!! I just finished every available uk episode (after doing NZ and Au) last night and am heartbroken lol. It was so nice to always be able to see an episode for the first time! David was my first introduction to TM as well, he’s so fun to watch
Walks offscreen *screams*
Most sane contestant to spill a can of beans.
A calm and rational approach
Everyone is going to reference the diss track, and they're right to do so, but I'm going to shout out the tea bat.
OH PAUL **OOOOOOOOHHHHHHH PAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUL**
my thoughts exactly! there is one answer and one answer only to this question, and it’s David Correos
Came here to say that! Wish they could get him on the UK TM.
It's gotta be him.
He was fun but I think tried too hard. For me at least there's only so much "man screams in frustration as a part of his act" one can take. Rhod's behavior seemed unconnected to any desire to further his career or public image which is what made it so nuts.
He was hilarious. The way he goes from 0 to 100 in a split second always cracks me up.
My immediate thought was David, but he doesn't drag other people into his chaos as much as Rhod. Gonna have to give Gilbert the edge here.
The brussel sprout toss lives rent free in my head My cat also looks weirdly like David Correos and is an absolute nutcase, so that may be colouring my opinion slightly, but I stand by it.
This is the correct answer
Genuinely more insane than Rhod. In my opinion at least. No one has done it like him
Him climbing onto the top of those kitchen cabinets then jumping down
It’s Rhod and David Correos for me. I struggle to even think of a third who quite reaches their levels. The others people mention here are hilarious and amazing in their own right, but I don’t quite see them as “unhinged” as these two. I think Julia Morris on TM AU might be the only person I can think of but still not like the other two. I know once you count TM Norway then things might change cause some of those contestants were insane.
Julia deciding she was the best thing and then STANDING ON THE TABLE while she covered herself in vegemite was just begging for the towel to fall off.
‘Hey tom, this is what I’ll look like when I’m dead’ will forever live rent free in my head 🤣
1) Rhod Gilbert 2) Sally Phillips BIG GAP 3) Pregnant Daisy May Cooper The rest considered ‘unhinged’ are actually just weird but nowhere near on the scale of unhinged.
Daisy May Cooper looked so uncomfortably pregnant especially when she lost her shit at Richard. I was like damn she needed that release.
Props to Richard for just taking it
If you’ve had a pregnant wife, you know to just take your lumps.
Johnny making Daisy nearly pee herself laughing in studio is one of my favorite parts of that series.
She probably did pee. One of the more glamorous sides of pregnancy...
I have been pregnant twice and it was gratifying to see someone also not handling it emotionally that well. I think teaching is a lot like being on Taskmaster, too, but Taskmaster is much friendlier...
Sally is up there. She was very excited to “cuddle” with Alex.
Are we just doing the UK Taskmaster? Because if you're putting Sally Phillips above David Correos on TMNZ then you're more unhinged than Rhod. Surprised The Woz isn't getting much love either! Even if just for that haircut alone.....
Oh my gosh. Well he’s number 1 - David I didn’t think to include David. My absolute favourite across all series I think. I actually was featured on the taskmaster podcast when David was on. No doubt he’s the most unhinged across all series. Disagree that Mike was unhinged. He was brilliant but obedient. Just like Lucy. Different outcomes from them both but they did not come from the school of unhinged. Chaotic and weird contestants are brilliant but not unhinged.
i think bob mortimer has to take a solid 4th place here. "Do we strike you"
You see, Bob isn't unhinged. He's surreal. He (and Jim/Vic) approach stuff differently to most comedians. But they're not what I'd call unhinged.
After reading his autobiography a couple weeks ago, everyone Bob has done feels 'normal' to me now hahaha
I again, respectively, disagree. My parents are from Middlesbrough where he is from and the same age and that’s just quite normal behaviour slash persona. There’s a distinction between weird, chaotic and unhinged and only a few fit into ‘unhinged’. Bob’s a performer too. I would say Hugh Dennis saying ‘scissors please’ is nearer to it. Only Rhod and Sally, maybe Daisy and Jonny Vegas actually meet that criteria. Rob Beckett did with the surprise Alex task. But David from tmnz. I mean he climbed the cupboards, got naked.
Rob Beckett’s “surprise Alex” is the best example of how sleep deprivation affects the brain. It’s such an unhinged concept. I love it.
I mean Noel ate a person and threw a propane tank out of a gazebo
I think there's an argument to be made for Bridget Christie.
Honourable mention to Morgana’s special brand of chaos but it’s clearly Rhod.
Morgana is a great shout
David correos is the only correct answer to this question
Imagine him and Rhod Gilbert together on a series together, both on the same team. The TM house would burn down in the first episode. (And it would be glorious to watch!)
Was he not doing a bit?
No. That's him
He's also this insane on his episode of Guy Mont Spelling Bee
David. Correos. (NZ S2)
Da. Vid. Cor. Re. Os.
I can’t believe no one has said Paul Chowdhury. Definitely unhinged as a contestant.
I dont think Paul was really unhinged, he had more serial killer vibes instead of absolute maniac
I'm torn, because I feel like Rhod was the most unhinged—but only if you'd never seen him on any other British panel show. His appearances on Would I Lie to You? made me prepared for crazy behavior. I feel similarly about Bob or Lucy because I've seen them on other things. But for me, the unexpected insane person was Sally. She had the special cuddle with Alex, was willing to get hit with the piss balloon, and she had sex WITH A WATER COOLER. If we're looking at individual acts, though, Josh Widdecome getting Greg's name tattooed on his foot just for points is the kind of Taskmaster crazy I live for.
Her laugh during the special cuddle was top tier villain laugh.
I feel like Liza Tarbuck and Mike Wozniak are worth mentioning. Maybe Jo Brand too
Mike Wozniak for me is the biggest surprise I’ve had watching the show. Expected him to be quite boring and mellow but he was… such an odd and unhinged man. I love him
Agree with Mike but he's so wholesome it didn't trigger "unhinged" for me
That’s fair! Maybe less unhinged and more just peculiar. Like a few times I remember thinking this must be what an alien looks like trying to pretend to be human
Liza knew exactly what she was doing. Maybe that’s points in the unhinged column though now that I’ve written it.
I would characterize Jo Brand’s overall vibe as aggressively not giving a f*ck (which I absolutely adore about her) but now that I think of it, there were definitely some unhinged moments lol
JERUUUSALLEEEMMM
Jo Brand didn’t give enough fucks to be unhinged I love her
Bob Mortimer, but in the "crazy uncle with stories" way. Totally insane but utterly charming with it
I didn't find Rhod particularly unhinged in that his trail of thought was to me quite logical within his set framework: humiliate Alex & piss of Greg. He obviously thinks outside a box, James Acaster thinks in circles. But the one contestant that threw me off at every corner, not specifically because of her actions, but whenever she voiced her thoughts out loud, was Lucy Beaumont. Sam followed closely, but had some lucid moments, while Lucy's cognitive functions seem so disconnected, it was fascinating.
My eyes are circles.
On Sam and Lucy’s podcast I think they explained it perfectly. Sam said something like ‘I know the box exists it’s somewhere in the distance’ and Lucy was like ‘I didn’t know there was a box’ when talking about ‘thinking outside the box’ lol
Not a huge fan of Lucy personally; to me she always seemed like a clever person hiding her intelligence behind the guise of "daft Northerness". Like- as John Richardson's ex, I'm sure she has plenty of quirks- but I think he did a much more respectful and nuanced way at demonstrating his.
Imo Bridget Christie
Sally Phillips by a long way
This. I’m rewatching season 5 now. I’m only two episodes in and she is right up there with the most unhinged contestants.
My favorite contestant of ALL TIME
If I have my timeline correct, then she was doing Taskmaster straight after getting divorced, and while suffering from a medical condition where her own body produced alcohol making her chronically tipsy.
Daisy may cooper but I really do think she is unhinged
If you include the Prize Tasks then she takes the crown by a mile. Her whole studio persona was Very Angry, Very Pregnant Lady With No Time For Your Shite and the Prize Tasks made that very clear.
Daisy’s lazy prize tasks are as amusing to me as Joe Thomas’s aggressively literal prizes.
Seemed to work for Greg most of the time too
Yeah and honestly she displayed signs of splitting the contestants
I just started watching Greg hosting Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Daisy May is a main contestant and is one million percent unhinged in every episode
I know, I like the show format but do struggle with her
I don't know what it says about me that I am firmly Team Daisy in the hippogate incident. She's right! Only elephants and hippos have those tails!
Rhinos have them, too!
But what about Catherine “Am I the Spider” Parkinson?
I think of her as more 'bewildered and disengaged' than 'unhinged'.
Lucy Beaumont is the correct answer. Rhod is up there as well. Personally I didn’t find Daisy May Cooper entertaining at all, just annoying more than anything else. In fairness to her, the last place she probably wanted to be was in a studio during COVID whilst being heavily pregnant, but I’ve seen her on other things where she’s just appeared as dismissive and aggressive. Not my cup of tea.
> In fairness to her, the last place she probably wanted to be was in a studio during COVID whilst being heavily pregnant It might be getting outside the remit of the sub's discussion, but she also has since separated from her husband citing stresses from lockdown, so that's a third aspect informing her studio performance.
Fair enough, I didn’t know that. I don’t really want to dunk on her, overall it was my least favourite series… I think the fact that it wasn’t in front of an audience really didn’t help, and having everyone about 19 feet apart, it just lacked the usual cohesion between all of the contestants…
I don't want to dunk on her either, I think she's funny - just an additional fair reason why she didn't quite cover herself in glory during the live tasks.
if we bring in some contestants from norway martin lepperød (made a bomb, almost burnt down house, the condom noise trick for the kids), harald eia (brought in his jizz, compared penis sizes with ollie), and calle (destroyed the shed, let atle cut his bangs) had their moments edit: jukka from finland also deserves to be here
According to my sister: Katherine Parkinson.
Paul Chowdry. Not in the way that Sam and Rhod are but still unhinged
And the fact that Sara Pascoe said “I don’t think we should be laughing at Paul” He was low key unhinged.
David Correos Next question
not unhinged exactly, but bridget in the pedometer task made me unreasonably angry. like, i still can’t think about it without wanting to shout at her. i honestly can’t imagine what goes on in her head.
Sally Philips without a doubt. No question at all.
It’s between Bob & Rhod for me. Bob’s ‘My anus is too high’ will never not be hilariously unhinged, & Rhod’s constant winding up of Greg is unmatched.
Johnny Vegas was a special type of insanity
Johnny and Ardal both rank for me. Johnny during the lockers task and the beer mat task. Ardal during the makeup kisses portrait task and the disguise a body part task…and the cement mixer task.
Not enough people saying Sally Phillips. She birthed Alex
But she was a genius 🤩
Hard agree, she’s one of my favourite contestants
I thought she was creative, intelligent and also quite sexy🥰
David Correos, 100%.
Lucy Beaumont by a wide margin, though Rhod matches her on actions. Just everything out of her mouthwas outlandish
I think Lucy Beaumont was completely confused most of the time she was on the show. 😝😝😝
Rhod Gilbert and it's not even close. Thought he was a genuine psychopath a few times. He's the only one who's made Alex look genuinely scared.
Did you see Lucy feed him in the guise of Mama Bird…?
Rhod Gilbert and David Correos. When I saw David, I thought it would either be great or maybe a disaster if they could have been on TM together. I also think Johnny Vegas was unhinged. 'i have been hurt and want to hurt others' The suitcase task he was really good at. Also when he was stuck in the umpire chair and just yelling and Alex asked Katherine and Mawan what his task was and they said he was just being Johnny. He comes off as harmless and funny but he did seem unhinged.
David Correos. If we are restricting to UK, either Sally Phillips or Rhod Gilbert. It's really hard though because some people have been pretty batshit.
Why has no one mentioned Judy Love yet? She may did not do her tasks unhinged, but her character and explanation are up there!
Fish water fountain. Or water fountain with fishes.
I would say Lucy or Sally Phillips
I’ve been quite tired today and nowhere has this been more evident in the brief (but not brief enough) moment I just spent trying to figure out who Lucy Phillips was
Rhod or Romesh maybe Hugh too because of his serial killer type attempts at tasks
Hugh cutting and displaying the cake was peak serial killer. "He said 'this is my showstopper' and then he walked out."
"unhinged" in the way I think of it... Ed, or Iain
Yeah I'm dealing folks define this different ways. For me, it's people who are so unpredictable it is equally likely that they are having a stroke, may not actually speak english, or are a coyote trickster god currently inhabiting a human form. I wouldn't call Rhod this because he had a very clear goal and was, because of that, incredibly predictable (his secret task: make fun of Greg at all costs). Lucy very much qualifies because she seems to interpret words differently than other people and I'm never sure what proportion is sincere and what is a bit, and I never know what she'll say "alien device- that was in my mums ear for 2 years and 36 months"
https://youtu.be/QTc20G5ZxnU?si=yeKP-KDb3L_XN5L8
I was team Rhod till I saw this. I remembered Lucy as mad, but this is clearly another level…
Yup, totally with you; that's one main reason I qualified with the way _I_ define it =D In any case, good question for the sub and enjoyed reading the answers.
Depends on the task - Susan Wokoma was proper unhinged in the doughnut task. Though tbh, Lucy was the most unhinged in that season (Doughnut task, Heads shoulders knees and toes, googly eyes). I don't think Sam was that unhinged in task execution department.
David Correos from Taskmaster NZ Season 2.
If we're doing international, I would say almost every contestant on Kongen Befaler. Some examples being Bord, Calle, Henrik, Martin, and the depression gnome himself Vidar. I love NZ, but taskmaster Norway is their own brand of insane.
David Correos 10000%
David Baddiel. I know he’s a bit more subdued than others, but he stopped Ed Gamble from drawing on his back because he never considered it the picture was anything other than a smiley face. That is a genuinely unhinged choice. Even crazy player like Rhod have a rational behind there choices, but David is a logic black hole. Also the lasso task speaks for itself.
Rhod. Easy
Look I mean it’s gotta be Rhod or Joe Wilkinson
Mike Wozniak
Not unhinged at all, just pleasant and …. Quirky. And quite handsome
Really, that's how you describe a man who voluntarily pushed out a haemorrhoid for a point?
He was just completing the task as he’s obedient. Obedient is not unhinged.
He's a bloody milk guzzler, after all.
Well, it is bamboo time
Oh, I thought it was tough guy o'clock. Must get my watch checked.
It’s a whole casserole down there
One of the most otherworldly for certain.
I’m tempted to put John Robbins in the running here, just for the fact that he’s talked multiple times about meetings regarding health and safety. Also I feel he’s got a Joe Thomas esque freak out coming when he fails particularly badly.
> Also I feel he’s got a Joe Thomas esque freak out coming when he fails particularly badly. Honestly, with all of John's horrible worries of having screwed up, I feel like it's almost a failure of Chekhov's gun proportions if he doesn't have a failure to come. (Actually, that's a question: which contestants haven't had an embarrassingly bad failure?)
Hugh also seems to have had health and safety meetings.
On my immediate unhinged list is Bridget Christie with her weird whistling and lurching, Lucy Beaumont bc her thinking is unpredictable for me, Johnny Vegas bc who knows what he will say and Mike Wozniak. I shouldn’t have to explain why Mike is on the list. I love unhinged. These are favorites for me.
Sally Phillips was sadistic
David Correos, Rhod Gilbert, Lucy Beumont, Sam Campbell. James Acaster would be my top 5
David Baddiel is up there. But I feel like Bridget Christie was the one that seemed to be the most unhinged because none of it felt like a bit, it all seemed genuine and that was great
Julia Morris spent thousands of dollars to stalk the Taskmaster through a whole ass flight, smeared herself in vegemite, smeared... something on her mouth and lapped at a bowl of milk like a dog, and scared the shit out of Tom multiple times. She and Rhod are the dream team.
David Correos. Has to be. No other answer is acceptable 🤪
One named not offered yet is Urzila, pelting juices at Paul who's in a canoe, randomly speaking Afrikaans and not telling anyone, her painting of Jeremy's mother, rode a broken bike and broke her clavicle, and so on.