Taskmaster faces boycott fury from trans activists as Richard Ayoade lands role after Graham Linehan support

The broadcaster announced the cast following the conclusion of series 21, describing the new contestants as “a brand-new five-piece set of distinguished comedians” who will face judgment from Greg Davies and his assistant Alex Horne.

The five contestants have enjoyed successful careers in the world of comedy. Ms Petts has established herself as a stand-up regular at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, as well as television appearances including Have I Got News For You and The Last Leg.

Ms Suttie earned recognition for portraying Dobby in Peep Show and has written for programmes including Skins.

Mr Lucas built his career through Shooting Stars and Little Britain before hosting The Great British Bake Off and appearing in Gladiator II.

Ms Conti has carved out a distinctive niche through ventriloquism comedy and recently directed the road-trip film Sunlight.

And Mr Ayoade’s credits span Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, Graham Linehan’s The IT Crowd, and presenting duties on Travel Man and The Crystal Maze.

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Despite the impressive CVs of those attached to the new series, fans soon flocked to social media to express their dismay at Mr Ayoade and Mr Lucas’ appointments, in particular.

Much of the ire aimed at Mr Ayoade stemmed from his public support for cancelled comedy writer Mr Linehan after he was blacklisted by many in the entertainment industry for his stance on trans issues.

Back in 2023, ahead of the release of Mr Linehan’s book Tough Crowd, Mr Ayoade penned a review endorsing the writer’s memoir.

Mr Ayoade, who starred in The IT Crowd between 2006 and 2013, wrote in his review: “Graham Linehan has long been one of my favourite writers – and this book shows that his brilliance in prose is equal to his brilliance as a screenwriter.

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“It unfolds with the urgency of a Sam Fuller film: that of a man who has been through something that few have experienced but has managed to return, undaunted, to tell the tale.”

Parts of the quote appeared on the cover of Mr Linehan’s memoir. The book charted how Mr Linehan went from an award-winning comedy writer to a victim of cancel culture over his views on gender.

Mr Ayoade’s endorsement of Mr Linehan prompted a wave of complaints from trans activists on social media once he was confirmed to star in the next series of the Channel 4 comedy.

“Richard Ayoade on the next Taskmaster, apparently. Great job giving a terf a gig @AlexHorne.” one X user raged.

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A second weighed in: “Couldn’t Richard Ayoade have been on Taskmaster before he started saying bulls**t because now I’m not even excited about it.”

Meanwhile, a third explained their opposition to the appointment: “He wrote a foreword for Graham Linehan’s memoir praising him and the memoir itself, which, if you’ve read the memoir, is a massive yikes as it contains a lot of anti-trans rhetoric.”

“The three female contestants deserve so much better than the awful Matt Lucas and Richard Ayoade on Taskmaster,” a fourth argued.

“Having not one but two horrible men in one series is a new low for Taskmaster,” a fifth complained, while a sixth added: “For Ayoade, throwing his lot in with that man, who has caused sooo much harm to trans people, makes him transphobic regardless of his personal views.”

However, it wasn’t all bad for Mr Ayoade, with many others excited to see him in the line-up, and some defending him in light of the attacks from pro-trans X users.

One fan argued: “Matt Lucas was a bad choice, but I can not give a s**t about Richard Ayoade being on Taskmaster. If he did something other than write a foreword to Graham’s book, please do tell me, but if that’s it, then I don’t care.” (sic)

And a second also backed the comic: “I think the discourse around Ayoade lacks nuance, people are quick to judge but forget that the British comedy scene is very tightly knit and people with different worldviews are bound to interact at some point, and it’s not fair to ‘cancel’ Taskmaster for collaborating with certain people.”

Meanwhile, most of the complaints lodged against Mr Lucas’ involvement stem from the jokes made alongside David Walliams on Little Britain, with the actor accused of using blackface and anti-trans rhetoric in the BBC comedy series.