Kiell Smith-Bynoe is one of the five comedy stars taking part in Taskmaster season 15, alongside Frankie Boyle, Ivo Graham, Jenny Eclair, and Mae Martin.
The Ghosts actor will be at the mercy of the supreme Taskmaster Greg Davies and his loyal assistant 'Little' Alex Horne as they set more fiendish and downright bizarre challenges for the stars to complete — with tasks in the first episode involving dancing, string, and a barge!
We caught up with Kiell to find out what his experience of taking part in the show was like — and he thinks we might be surprised by what we see from him!
Here's what Kiell had to say...
Kiell Smith-Bynoe interview for Taskmaster
How did you feel about signing up for Taskmaster? Was it an instant yes?
"I was about to turn up outside the [production company] Avalon offices if I hadn't been asked! No, it's something that I've really wanted to do for a long time — my aim isn't to be myself on TV, I don't really want to be a personality and I don't see myself as a comedian, but if there was anything that I was going to do within that realm, it would be Taskmaster. The entertainment side was obviously a big part of it, and it's something that I'm really interested in — but I was much more interested in the competitive side!"
Are you quite a competitive person generally, or did this show bring that out in you?
"Oh yeah, big time. Yeah, the show definitely brings out the worst in me, there was no doubt about that! People will be saying, 'I had no idea you were such a monster!'"
Your Ghosts co-star Charlotte Ritchie took part in 2021. Did she have any tips for you?
"Charlotte's advice was 'you'll be fine' — because I guess I was sort of worried about revealing too much of myself, being the actual me, which I'm not sure anyone needs on television! We're actors, not comedians, so it's not our go-to thing to be able to come up with a witty remark — which isn't a task, but it is part of the studio element of it, being entertaining — so I guess we had similar worries in that respect. But I saw how great she was on it — and to be honest, her series is the only full series I've watched. That's not out of disinterest, that's out of jealousy — I'd start watching and be like, 'I'm just thinking about what I would do' rather than watching it for what it is, until I watched Charlotte's series in support of her."
Did you do any preparation, like going back and watching old epsodes?
"I probably should have prepped for it, yeah! [chuckles] I can't say I did — I didn't want to come up with anything beforehand, I just wanted to do it all in the moment, otherwise I think I would have maybe created a character or something rather than just being myself. I'd done Catchphrase in 2021, and a lot of people told me I was too competitive to be entertaining! And they were completely right, when I watched it back my face was so serious, it was like I was on Newsnight or something. So I was trying to find a happy medium, and still get jobs afterwards!"
You seem to approach all the tasks with optimism and confidence — is that a reflection of your real-life personality?
"I think there's a thing about me that goes, 'yeah, I could do that. How hard can it be?' — and when you watch the series, you'll realise that I do that before I've even thought of what the process should be! Some other people approach the task quite differently, like 'what's the trick here?' — I was not thinking that!"
We've seen contestants get frustrated with Alex during the tasks in the past. How did you get on with him?
"On the tasks he was fine. In the studio? That boy needs a strong talking-to! What is he playing at? I thought he was on my side, I thought we were mates. And then I realised, not at all. Constantly reminding Greg of what the task actually was! [laughs] A couple of episodes in, I started to feel like this was a personal attack, that Alex was just out to get me..."
Were there moments you thought had gone brilliantly that looked worse when you watched them back in the studio? Or vice versa?
"That's a great question — yes, there's one particular music task where I watched it and I was like, 'I'm so good at this' — and then they checked me, basically. I'd been tricked, I'd been done. That was Alex again! And there is one particular debate which I think will really get the viewers going. I still stand by the fact that I think it's ridiculous that it was allowed, but we'll get to that — and I will be kicking off on Twitter!"
Are you looking forward to everyone getting to see it?
"I am, yeah — I don't know if I'll be able to watch it, though. The reason that I watched the whole series of Charlotte's was, obviously she was in it, but we were filming Ghosts at the time, it was in lockdown and we were in the same hotel, so that was our Thursday night thing. I'd go and watch Taskmaster with her, she couldn't watch it by herself because of the same sort of thing as me, being worried about showing our true selves."
So it's Charlotte's turn to do that for you this time?
"Yes! She came to one of the records, so she's had a glimpse!"
Taskmaster season 15 starts on Channel 4 on Thursday, March 30 at 9 pm
