‘I was going insane!’

BEHIND THE SCENES WITH best

Mel Giedroyc has presented shows ranging from The Great

British Bake Off to Let It Shine. The mum-of-two, famed for working with regular comedy partner Sue Perkins, is 48 and lives in London.

Hi, Mel. What made you decide to do Taskmaster?

I love the show, so I was chuffed to be asked. It appeals to my completely childish side, which is me thinking that, in my 48year-old body, I’m still 13 or 14.

It does look like a lot of fun!

Definitely, and it’s a chance to let rip. You’re not hampered by anything. If you say, ‘Look, I could really do with a Gouda cheese the size of a cottage’, they will sort it out. Or, if I need to hose myself down in Horlicks while holding an umbrella made of goose feathers, they’ll go, ‘Absolutely fine.’

Are you a practical person?

I sort of blow both ways – either the house is in chaos, or it’s scarily neat as a pin. But I am really happy if I have a day of chores. Yesterday, I had to parcel up some stuff, get ingredients for a recipe, measure up for some shelves and wash my youngest

daughter’s dressing gown. I love ticking stuff off a list. What task were you most proud of on the show?

Oh, getting the autograph of four members of Take That on four different kinds of vegetables. And I didn’t win the task! It took me days to get those autographs... I’m livid.

Did you come up with any fun tasks of your own?

Don’t think so… you do so many tasks that it did get to the point, while I was doing 42 tasks over six days, that I was going insane.

How do you think Sue Perkins would do on Taskmaster?

She’s very quick of brain, so she’d do really well. Taskmaster, Tuesday, Dave, 9pm