One of Taskmaster’s most recurring jokes is that Alex Horne is the show’s lackey. The affable, awkward assistant is described as “little Alex Horne” by host Greg Davies, even though the hit comedy series was actually his idea. But now he’s breaking out. Horne has his own comedy series called The Horne Section TV Show (Channel 4), about his fictional quest to create his own comedy series called “The Horne Section TV Show”, with his real-life band, who are called… The Horne Section. Still with me? Buckle up; we’re getting meta.
And meta it is: the show opens during a recording of Taskmaster, with Davies – clearly hamming up his tyrannical on-screen persona – berating his co-host to the audience while Alex (Horne playing himself with extra humility) fidgets in the wings. Alex is a man with great ideas, worn down by years of TV bureaucracy and living in Davies’ shadow. Asked if he wants any lunch, he meekly replies: “Me? No, I ate yesterday.”
