Taskmaster’s Alex Horne brings sitcom back for season 2

The Horne Section will be returning for another season of their Channel 4 TV show.

By James Hibbs

Published: Monday, 26 June 2023 at 12:00 am

Alex Horne, creator and star of Taskmaster, is returning with a second season of his musical sitcom series The Horne Section TV Show.

The second season is currently in production, and will see Horne back in action with his band, including Joe Auckland on trumpet and banjo, Mark Brown on saxophone and guitar, Will Collier on bass, Ben Reynolds on drums and percussion and Ed Sheldrake on keyboards.

They will be joined by returning special guests and cast members including Tim Key, John Oliver, Desiree Burch, Georgia Tennant and Camille Ucan, while new cast members for season 2 include Reggie Watts, Ronni Ancona, Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Stevie Martin and Anna Crilly.

The first season followed Horne as he attempted to strike out on his own, after getting fed up of being introduced as Greg Davies’s sidekick on Taskmaster.

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Alex Horne and Greg Davies in The Horne Section TV Show.
Channel 4

Alongside his band he attempted to produce a late night music chat show from the comfort of his own home, with other guests seen in season 1 including Big Zuu, Martin Kemp, Anneka Rice, Imogen Heap and Dr Ranj Singh.

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Horne has been busy of late, with the 15th season of Taskmaster wrapping up at the start of this month and the 16th season on the way later this year, with Julian Clary, Lucy Beaumont, Sam Campbell, Sue Perkins and Susan Wokoma set to feature in the cast.

There is also a Junior Taskmaster series on the way, although that won’t be hosted by Davies and Horne. Instead, Rose Matafeo will step into Davies’s role as Taskmaster, while Mike Wozniak will take on Horne’s role as her assistant.

When their roles were announced, Matafeo said in a statement: “To be appointed as Junior Taskmaster is one of the greatest honours of my already wildly successful career. I am greatly looking forward to the power going to my head.”

Meanwhile, Wozniak said: “All I ever wanted to be when I grew up was a Little Alex Horne (or a regional manager for a major provider of motorway service stations) so this is literally a dream come true. I hereby vow to do my utmost to hold the office of Junior Taskmaster’s Assistant in the spirit of the original Little Alex Horne: with his courage, his grit and his dignity.”