Mortal men and women can only dream of holding Greg Davies’ golden head in their hands. The only way to cradle his gleaming bonce is by winning Taskmaster* – the funniest, silliest, maddest show on TV as comedians compete against each other in a 10-episode gauntlet of ridiculous tasks, judged by Davies and set by his assistant, “Little” Alex Horne.

Every time five winners are crowned in this long-running show, those victors are brought together to battle against one another. Josh Widdecombe (the OG winner of series 1) won the first Champion Of Champions contest. Now it’s time for the winners of series 6-10 to enter the Fearsome Thunderdome – aka the Taskmaster studio, and a detached house in Chiswick.

Returning are Liza Tarbuck (series 6 winner), Kerry Godliman (series 7 winner), Lou Sanders (series 8 winner), Ed Gamble (series 9 winner) and Richard Herring (series 10 winner).

All of them have proven their worth as Taskmaster champions, beating all who stood in their way. But which of the fab five can say that they’re the Champion Of Champions? Ahead of the special standalone episode on Channel 4 HD (CH 104/141) on Thursday 23 June at 9pm, we crunch the stats. And our results may surprise you…

*Actually, if you wait long enough, you’ll eventually find one previous winner trying to shift it from their garage on eBay.

Liza Tarbuck

There’s a reason why Liza Tarbuck is an all-time Taskmaster great: just look at how she dominates nearly every category. To date, Liza has the highest grand total score of any contestant in the show’s history. As we saw in series 6, she can do anything – from squirty cream art to tablecloth magic to the most brutal public execution of a wind-up toy we’ve ever seen. But the Prize and Studio Tasks (in which she only bagged top marks once and twice respectively all series) could be her undoing in a single episode.

Kerry Godliman

Bish. Bash. Bosh. That was Kerry Godliman’s path to series 7 victory: very little thought, near-perfect implementation, put the kettle on. Wallop. She won her series by a single point over Jessica Knappett – her fellow creator of the most suspenseful soap opera cliffhanger – so Kerry knows the value in small margins. She ranks top in the Prize Task here (she got top marks four times), and second for the Studio Task. If she can work out the circumference of a caravan in baked beans, you can never rule out a Godliman victory.

Lou Sanders

After overcoming Taskmaster’s most competitive ever contestant in Iain Stirling (although Ed Gamble is a very close second), series 8 winner Lou Sanders is another very strong contender. While she tops none of the categories here, nor does she come bottom in any of them either. Three wins in the Prize Task, four in the Studio Task and strong average points total in each category means the standalone nature of this contest should work in her favour. Just don’t ask Lou to put anything into a hammock. It does not end well…

Ed Gamble

As the host of the official Taskmaster podcast, you’d think Ed Gamble knows his stuff. And Ed’s show numbers are impressive: he won 50% of the episodes of series 9 with a very high percentage of maximum scores along the way. But he is beatable, with only two wins apiece in the Prize and Studio Tasks. Similarly, his Studio Task average – the lowest of the five here – could be the final banana skin that sees him snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Unless the Studio Task is hiding aubergines, that is. If so, just give him the trophy now.

Richard Herring

The mind plays tricks on you. Watching series 10, you’d have said Daisy May Cooper was winning the show comfortably and Richard Herring’s eventual win was a bit of a shock. But Herring won six out of the 10 episodes. He won six Studio Tasks (albeit he was often paired with Cooper). And only Kerry Godliman has won more Prize Tasks than him (he is tied with Lou Sanders on three). He might have the lowest grand total score of anyone here, and he tweeted that he can’t even remember filming this special, but this is potentially his to lose.

Taskmaster: Champion Of Champions II – the prediction

As the stats show, it’s tight with just a horse’s hair separating the series winners. If this was a 10-episode series, Liza Tarbuck would have it in the bag. But we think the smart money is on winners who did well in the Prize and Studio Tasks, as those scores are likely to make up at least a third of the final score.

While no one has bettered Richard Herring’s Studio Task wins or his average, Kerry Godliman has the most Prize Task wins and the highest average, plus she also has a competitive Studio Task average. So we’re going with Kerry Godliman.

And here’s your chance to tell us who you think will win…

When is Channl 4’s Taskmaster: Champion Of Champions II on TV?

Taskmaster: Champion Of Champions II is on Channel 4 HD (CH 104/141) on Thursday 23 June at 9pm. You can catch up on the special in Apps & Games > All 4, as well as the previous 13 series and Champion Of Champions specials.