Latest news with #SanjeevBhaskar
Wales Online
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Channel 4 Taskmaster series 20 first look as star-studded line-up revealed
Channel 4 Taskmaster series 20 first look as star-studded line-up revealed This year, Channel 4's Taskmaster is celebrating a decade on TV as they announce the comedians participating in the 20th series. Sanjeev Bhaskar, known for his role as DI Sunny Khan in ITV's Unforgotten, is set to show a different side of himself as he joins the lineup for the 20th series of Taskmaster. The Channel 4 show, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, will feature a comedic lineup, including Ania Magilano, Maisie Adam, Phil Ellis and Reece Shearsmith, all vying for the title of Taskmaster Champion. To win, they'll need to outsmart their fellow contestants and impress the Taskmaster. According to the show's synopsis, "The almighty Taskmaster Greg Davies and his faithful admin keeper Alex Horne have gathered some of the most brilliant and eclectic comedy minds and assigned them one mission: to become a Taskmaster Champion." Actor Sanjeev Bhaskar will be starring in Taskmaster this year Although the air date for the 20th series has not been announced, the show's creator, Alex Horne, has previously discussed its broad appeal, noting that it's one of the few programs that brings families together. Article continues below In an interview with ABC News last year, he said: "I've got children, and I think it's very rare now for families to sit down and watch a program together at the same time." Greg Davies and Alex Horne are not happy with their fans (Image: Channel 4 ) He added, "We get contacted by people who say it's the only thing that brings us together once a week. And I really love that." This year, devotees of Taskmaster are in for a treat as they'll have the opportunity to engage in some playful tasks themselves, thanks to a first-time partnership with English Heritage, reports OK!. The fresh collaboration will be available across 17 historic sites, kicking off on July 19th and continuing through to August 31st. The Channel 4 show is celebrating its 10th year on TV in 2025 (Image: Rob Parfitt / Channel 4 ) Article continues below Promotional material for the upcoming event reads: "We're bringing Taskmaster challenge events to 17 of our sites, along with plenty of rubber ducks. With brand new challenges specially designed in collaboration with the team at Taskmaster, this promises to be fun-filled chaos for all. "From Pendennis Castle in Cornwall to Belsay Hall in Northumberland, Dover Castle in Kent to Beeston Castle in Cheshire, make your summer silly." Episodes of Taskmaster are available to watch on Channel 4
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Unforgotten and Doctor Who stars join Taskmaster cast for new series
Channel 4 hit show Taskmaster has announced the comic line-up for its upcoming 20th series, with stars of Unforgotten, Doctor Who and A League of Their Own set to take part Taskmaster has revealed its comedian cast for its 20th series, with ITV and BBC stars joining the upcoming line-up. Tonight's finale of the Channel 4 show saw hosts Greg Davies and Alex Horne crown their latest winner after a nail-biting semi-final with Fatiha El-Ghorri, Jason Mantzoukas, Mathew Baynton, Rosie Ramsey and Stevie Martin. Now, Channel 4 has revealed that Inside No. 9 star Reece Shearsmith and Unforgotten's Sanjeev Bhaskar are among those taking part in the next series. They will be trying their best to impress Taskmaster Greg and faithful sidekick Alex in a bid to become the next champion. The two TV stars will be joining stand-up comic Ania Magliano, A League of Their Own's Maisie Adam and BBC Radio 4 star Phil Ellis in the series 20 line-up. Ania is best known for her appearances on Live at the Apollo, Off Menu, The Stand Up Sketch Show and for writing on Amelia Dimoldenberg's Chicken Shop Date. She recently took on a role in the Prime Video comedy Deep Cover alongside Bryce Dallas Howard. Meanwhile, Maisie has appeared on Celebrity Mastermind, Outsiders, The Big Fat Quiz of the Year and several series of A League of Their Own. Stand-up comic Phil hosted his own BBC Radio 4 show Phil Ellis is Trying and has appeared on The Russell Howard Hour, Drunk History UK and Roast Battle. Reece is the star of BAFTA-winning dark comedy Inside No. 9 and has taken on roles in Good Omens, Doctor Who, Peter Kay's Car Share and Saltburn, while Sanjeev rose to fame in sketch show Goodness Gracious Me and his sitcom The Kumars at No. 42. Last year, Taskmaster star and creator Alex Horne was revealed to be one of Channel 4's highest earners. According to accounts posted by his company Shakey Productions, Taskmaster earns the comedian £7.5million a year. Earlier this week, Channel 4 quietly added the gripping crime drama The Shadow to its online catalogue, based on Melanie Raabe's 2021 novel. In the series, Deleila Piasko stars as journalist Norah, who hopes for a fresh start in Vienna but is haunted by a prophecy that she will murder a man. Earlier this year, Sanjeev Bhaskar opened up to The Mirror about losing out on a film role after gaining weight for the character. 'The main character was a Singapore-based sleuth who was really overweight, so I got fat by eating anything and everything for an appreciable period of time,' he explained. 'But the financing on Inspector Singh Investigates fell apart, it was no longer happening, leaving me to lose a stone and a half.'
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Unforgotten's Sanjeev Bhaskar 'still shocked' he stars in ITV detective drama
Unforgotten star Sanjeev Bhaskar has admitted that despite having starred in six series of the hit ITV drama, he is still shocked to have landed a lead role in a serious show. Comedian Bhaskar is known for sketch show Goodness Gracious Me and sitcom The Kumars at No. 42, but plays a detective tortured by plenty of personal tragedy as well as some grim murder cases in Unforgotten. Following series six's return to ITV on Sunday, he told This Morning why he was as surprised as anyone else that he had been cast in the role. Asked about his career as a comedian leading to a dramatic role in Unforgotten as DI Sunny Khan, Bhaskar admitted: "I'm still slightly shocked I'm in it. It took me two series before I asked (creator) Chris Lang why he'd cast me because I thought if I asked him before that, he might just say, 'oh my goodness, we've made a terrible mistake, you're absolutely right'. "So yeah, I was surprised, and one of the things Chris said to me about casting was that if you had comedy timing - which you can't teach, it's impossible to teach it – and you could apply that timing to drama, you've got everything covered. You can do the light stuff and you can do the more serious stuff. "All of the cast, past and present, they all have the ability to do comedy." Read more: Unforgotten Sinead Keenan: Unforgotten tackles controversial issues in new series (BANG Showbiz, 2 min read) Everything to known on Unforgotten series 6 starring Sanjeev Bhaskar (The Herald, 3 min read) Nicola Walker's Unforgotten exit explained as fans say Cassie's death was 'so bold and yet so right' (Wales Online, 3 min read) His co-star Sinead Keenan joined Unforgotten as DCI Jess James after original star Nicola Walker's character DCI Cassie Stuart was killed off, and Keenan said that she also had reservations about taking the role. Telling how auditions were offered to her and two other actors, she said: "I thought that was so lovely and kind, thank you so much, but absolutely not. Nicola is so brilliant that I thought whoever does that is going to be peeing against the proverbial. But then my agent convinced me to read it." Asked who the other two actors up for the part were, she said: "I couldn't possibly comment." Despite being on his sixth series as a detective, Bhaskar said he had got no better at working out who the murderer was in each storyline, which is notoriously packed with twists and turns. Asked if he was any better at viewers than working it out, he said: "Oh no no, I think I'm slightly worse. I've got the script in front of me so I can reread the pages and I still don't get it. It's testament to Chris's (Lang) writing that even I, after six series, turning the pages and trying to guess who it is, still get it wrong. If I get it right it's completely the wrong reasons." He added of Sunny this series: "He's not dating, but he's on the market. I think he's a little more hopeful. He was carrying a lot of grief and stress in the previous series so I think he's emerged from that. I think he is in a better place, a more hopeful place." Unforgotten fans will be familiar with DI Sunny Khan's backpack, which the character is rarely seen without – and Bhaskar even posts on social media after episodes to reveal what was inside the bag that week. He shared how he had asked the costume department to keep what they'd filled it with each time a secret, so that he could be surprised after filming. Bhaskar said of the backpack: "When I chose it, it was just something to carry stuff in – it's practical, he had kids, it became this thing. From the second series onwards I got the costume department to fill it with anything they wanted and I promised I wouldn't look at the contents until the end of the day. So when I'm carrying around the backpack in those scenes, I have no idea what's in them." So find out what I was unknowingly carrying around in a new #sunnysbackpack post on @WeAre8Official tonight after Ep1 of #UnforgottenI'll post another backpack pic tomorrow night after Ep2. Hope you enjoy the show 🙏🏽♥️ — Sanjeev Bhaskar💙 (@TVSanjeev) February 9, 2025 Keenan and Bhaskar both praised show creator Chris Lang's writing on the show as Keenan explained the format each episode takes: "We're introduced to four disparate people and you wonder how in the name of god are they connected. Then slowly but surely we find out how they may have been connected to the victim and solve the crime." Bhaskar added: "I always believe that there were four mini dramas sitting within a whodunnit every single time. Each of those stories is so rich that they could be a series on their own. We could easily see six episodes of their lives. It's usually a normal member of society who's done one terrible thing as opposed to a serial killer on the loose. That's more relatable." This Morning airs on ITV1 at 10am on weekdays.
