What Really Happened With the Taskmaster Series 18 Episode 6 Recap
Honestly, if you tuned into the latest episode of Taskmaster expecting a sane, logical progression of events, you clearly haven't been paying attention to Series 18. This week was a fever dream. Between Andy Zaltzman’s persistent commitment to the bit and Rosie Jones’ chaotic energy, the sixth installment felt like the moment the wheels finally started to wobble on the season’s wagon. It was glorious.
Watching Greg Davies and Alex Horne navigate this specific group of contestants is like watching a weary kindergarten teacher try to manage a room full of toddlers who just discovered espresso. We’re past the halfway mark now. The desperation is setting in. You can see it in their eyes during the prize task.
The Prize Task: A Lesson in Disappointment
The prompt was "The most boastful thing." Now, usually, this is where we see some genuine ego, but the Taskmaster Series 18 Episode 6 recap has to acknowledge that "boastful" is a subjective term when you're dealing with comedians.
Jack Dee, predictably, looked like he wanted to be anywhere else on the planet. His "boast" was so underwhelmingly Jack Dee-ish that Greg almost didn't know whether to laugh or deduct points immediately. There’s something deeply relatable about Jack’s refusal to play the game with any actual enthusiasm. It’s his brand, sure, but in Episode 6, it reached a peak of lethargic excellence.
Meanwhile, Babatúndé Aléshé brought a level of hype that the items rarely deserve. It’s that contrast that makes the show work, isn't it? One person brings a literal piece of trash and claims it’s the Holy Grail, while another brings a gold medal and acts like it’s a burden.
The Tasks: Pure, Unadulterated Mayhem
The first proper task involved a lot of running and a very specific set of instructions that almost everyone ignored. It's the classic Taskmaster trap. Alex writes a sentence. The contestants read the first three words, scream, and then sprint into a hedge.
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Emma Sidi is becoming the dark horse of this series. Her logic is... let's call it "unique." In the task involving the giant inflatable, she didn't just try to complete the objective; she tried to bargain with the laws of physics. It didn't work. It rarely does. But the effort was frantic.
Why the Team Tasks Are Splitting the Fanbase
We need to talk about the team dynamic. Rosie, Taskmaster’s resident whirlwind, paired with the more analytical minds, creates a friction that is objectively funny but also physically painful to watch if you like efficiency. In the Taskmaster Series 18 Episode 6 recap, the team task stood out because it highlighted the total breakdown of communication.
- Rosie Jones: Pure instinct, high volume.
- The Rest: Trying to find a calculator.
There was a moment involving a bucket and some very specific placement where you could actually see the spirit of cooperation leave the room. It’s these moments that Google Discover loves—the snippets of genuine, unscripted frustration that remind us these people aren't just reading a script. They really are that stressed about a bucket.
The Zaltzman Factor
Andy Zaltzman is playing a different game than everyone else. He treats every task like a statistical anomaly that needs to be solved with a pun. His approach to the "hidden" task in Episode 6 was vintage Zaltzman. While others were sweating, he was basically conducting a cricket commentary in his head.
He didn't win the episode, but he won the "Most Likely to Have a Spreadsheet About This Later" award. The way he interacts with Alex Horne is also shifting. There’s a mutual respect there—or perhaps a mutual recognition of shared weirdness.
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Scoring Controversies: Did Greg Get It Wrong?
Let’s be real: Greg Davies is a tyrant. A hilarious, oversized, unpredictable tyrant. In the Taskmaster Series 18 Episode 6 recap, his scoring for the creative task felt particularly harsh.
Emma Sidi deserved more than two points. There, I said it. Her interpretation of the "artistic" element was sophisticated, yet Greg dismissed it because he didn't like the way she looked at him. This is why we love the show, but it’s also why the leaderboard is currently a mess. Jack Dee getting points for doing the absolute bare minimum is a recurring theme that finally boiled over this week.
- Jack Dee: Still grumpy, still somehow surviving.
- Babatúndé: High energy, mid-tier results.
- Rosie: Chaos personified.
- Emma: The intellectual who keeps tripping over the rug.
- Andy: Just happy to be involved with the statistics.
The Final Live Task: Tension You Could Cut With a Spoon
The live task was one of those "simple to explain, impossible to do" scenarios. It involved balance and a very loud buzzer. The studio audience was audibly gasping. Usually, live tasks are a bit of a throwaway, but this one actually shifted the podium.
Seeing Jack Dee actually focus for ten seconds was the highlight of the night. He didn't win, obviously, but for a second, you saw the competitive fire. Then it went out, and he went back to looking like he was waiting for a bus in the rain.
What We Learned from Series 18 Episode 6
This episode proved that the "middle-season slump" isn't happening here. If anything, the contestants are getting weirder. They've stopped trying to impress Greg and have started trying to survive Alex.
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The Taskmaster Series 18 Episode 6 recap shows a clear divide in strategy. You have the "Just Do It" camp (Rosie, Babatúndé) and the "Think It To Death" camp (Andy, Emma). Jack Dee is in a camp by himself, probably one without a tent or a fire.
Actionable Insights for Taskmaster Superfans
If you're following the points closely, you need to stop looking at the individual tasks and start looking at Greg's mood. The "Daddy" energy is at an all-time high. To predict the winner of the next episode, don't look at who is the fastest—look at who makes Greg laugh the hardest during the banter.
- Watch the background: Alex Horne’s reactions are often funnier than the tasks themselves. In Episode 6, his "disappointed father" face was working overtime.
- Analyze the edits: The editors are leaning heavily into the "slow-motion failure" trope this season. If a task starts with upbeat music, someone is about to fall over.
- Check the stats: Andy Zaltzman is actually doing better than the points suggest if you account for "artistic integrity," but unfortunately, that's not a real category in Greg’s book.
The series is wide open. Anyone who tells you they know who is going to take home the golden head of Greg Davies is lying. This episode was a reminder that in the world of Taskmaster, logic is a suggestion, and dignity is a liability. Keep an eye on the upcoming teaser for Episode 7; if the glimpses of the "water-based task" are anything to go by, things are about to get significantly wetter and much more humiliating for everyone involved.
Make sure to re-watch the silent task from this episode if you missed the subtle clue Alex left on the mantelpiece. It’s those tiny details that separate the casual viewers from the true Taskmaster nerds. The points are almost secondary to the psychological breakdown of five grown adults. Almost.