I just watched the 2024 NY treat taskmaster episode.
Lenny Rush was a contestant aged 14; Lenny has dwarfism.
I’m a huge fan of this show and when I realised they had a child contestant (for the first time) with a physical disadvantage (they do have older contestants but that’s always played for laughs), I wondered how they’d play it.
Spoilers from here on if you’d prefer not to know the result (not that that’s what the show is about).
They didn’t pander to his age. The tasks were as complicated as usual and the humour was the same.
They stuck to tasks where his height and mobility wouldn’t be a disadvantage, and in the final task that usually would have all the contestants on stage, they swapped it so Greg and Alex did all the physical activity.
Lenny won, but completely on merit.
It was such a great example of how small adjustments can be made to include a person who is a genuinely great comic (I can’t wait to see how his career develops) irrespective of his physical limitations.
I’m just chuffed that a TV show I loved, didn’t pander and didn’t discriminate. I laughed just as much and enjoyed the show just as much. No one I know watches this show, so that’s why I’m sharing this here.
Ooh yes