Taskmaster's Alex Horne would "love" international Champion of Champions – but reveals why it's unlikely

Alex Horne has revealed that he would love to see a ‘Taskmaster World Cup’ pitting international contestants against each other.

Fans of the Channel 4 comedy show have long called for an international Champion of Champions made up of winners from various versions of Taskmaster around the world.

And speaking on Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Theatre Podcast Book Club, Horne explained that while he is a fan of the concept, TV bosses are sadly less keen.

“I would love that,” Horne said of the idea. “I used to love International Gladiators. Also Going for Gold.

“But I think commissioners aren’t that interested. They don’t want to see [a] Swedish person particularly. But I think that’s interesting. I’d love to see that.”

After first airing on UK screens back in 2015, Taskmaster has gone on to become a global hit and spawned multiple international versions running in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, New Zealand, Australia and more.

In more optimistic news, Horne hasn’t completely ruled out a UK Champion of Champion of Champions, despite previous comments that the show was looking to do something different.

Speaking to Radio Times earlier this year, Horne had said: “ People ask us about adding a Champion of Champion of Champions. I think, instead of that, we have got something up our sleeves in the near-ish future, of doing a slightly interesting series.

“It’s just some tweaks, but I can’t say any more than that. So [we have got] something. We’ve got something up our sleeve.”

However, speaking to Herring – himself a former Champion of Champions – Horne said of a CoCoC special: “We’re not at that stage yet – we’ve still got one more Champion of Champions to go before we even consider that.

“I do have a slight hunch that you should leave people wanting more. And you shouldn’t always give people what they want.

“But I also think more people would prefer to watch a Loser of Losers, because that’s what I get asked most, but I also have a problem with rewarding failure!”

Horne was appearing on Herring’s podcast to discuss his children’s book The Last Pebble – a story of a young boy, his granddad and the mystery of a special stone they discover on the beach at Bognor Regis.

The Last Pebble is available to buy now.

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Taskmaster’s current run comes to an end this week, but viewers don’t need to worry about the show’s future, as it was renewed for a further six seasons earlier this year – with an Oscar winner even lined up to take part.

Taskmaster airs Thursdays on Channel 4 in the UK and on the official Taskmaster YouTube channel elsewhere globally.

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