Taskmaster series 9 launches next month

David Baddiel and Jo Brand will star on the new series of \'Taskmaster\'.

Greg Davies will be back in the titular role for a ninth series of Dave\'s competitive comedy show when it returns on September 4 with another batch of celebrities looking to take home the golden trophy.

As well as David and Jo, Ed Gamble, Katy Wix and Rose Matafeo will also star in a comedian-heavy run while Alex Horne will be back as Greg\'s popular personal secretary.

The new quintet will be faced with a range of simple - yet very complicated - tasks which they have to perform competently and without looking too foolish.

This is easier said than done, and the five stars are sure to be in line for a verbal put down from the taskmaster himself.

The upcoming ninth series was commissioned before the previous season - which featured \'The Inbetweeners\' actor Joe Thomas, \'The Chase\' quizzer Paul Sinha, \'Car Share\' actress Sian Gibson, \'Love Island\' narrator Iain Stirling and eventual winner Lou Sanders - had even made it to air, with the hit show standing tall as the channel\'s most successful original format.

Alex created the programme, originally as a live show, and he previously admitted he\'s delighted with how far the show has come since it first aired in 2015.

He said: "I recently watched an episode from the first series of Taskmaster and was amazed at how fresh-faced and cheerful I looked. I had no idea then that I\'d still be serving such a powerful Taskmaster now or that I would have been demeaned in so many different ways in the intervening 50 episodes. I am a very lucky little man."