Taskmaster stars Greg Davies and Alex Horne apologise after censored episode baffles viewers

‘What’s with all the bleeping? Is this a children’s programme now?’ asked one person

(Channel 4)

Taskmaster stars Alex Horne and Greg Davies have apologised after a censored version of the season premiere was accidentally aired.

Last night (23 September), the Channel 4 reality show returned for its 12th season premiere with both Horne and Davies reprising their roles as taskmaster and sidekick.

While Taskmaster’s return was welcomed by fans, viewers were baffled by the unusual censoring of the show’s swear words.

“What’s with all the bleeping? Is this a children’s programme now?” asked one puzzled viewer.

Horne responded to the comments on Twitter after the episode aired, explaining that the censored version of the episode – reserved for the streaming platform All 4 – was broadcast by accident.

“Ah, just come off stage & have been told many times that the wrong versioning [sic] Taskmaster was played out,” wrote the comedian.

“Really sorry. Bleeped should be on All4. The normal version of this ep will be there soon. And normal service resumed next week.”

The 43-year-old thanked viewers for “understanding”.

Davies followed suit with his own apology shared via Twitter.

“So sorry the bleeped version of Taskmaster got accidentally played out tonight but I’m so delighted to see so many people livid about a lack of bad language,” joked the Inbetweeners star.

Despite the mistake, however, fans were pleased to see the return of Davies and Horne on screen.

The pair were joined by new additions to the series, Alan Davies, Desiree Burch, Guz Khan, Morgana Robinson and Victoria Coren Mitchell.

Taskmaster airs on Thursdays on Channel 4 at 9pm.