Noel Fielding on Comparing 'Dick Turpin' & 'Our Flag' and Non-Traditional Male Heroes

Most Americans hadn't heard of Noel Fielding prior to 2017, when he was hired by Channel 4 to host The Great British Baking Show in place of Sue and Mel when the series moved house from the BBC. But Fielding had a cult following among fans of British comedy for his series The Mighty Boosh, which aired in the U.K. between 2003 and 2007. Fielding starred in it alongside comedian Julian Barratt, and the series's surrealism landed it a spot among the shows on late-night Adult Swim.

However, it had been a decade since Fielding's comedy had come over to America, and his comedy on GBBO wound up overshadowed by comparisons to previous hosts, the succession of co-hosts that passed through the tent beside him, and Paul Hollywood's behavior. So it was something of a relief when Apple TV+ announced it was picking up Fielding's new series, very loosely based in British history on the famous 17th-century highwayman Dick Turpin, then still untitled, in which he would return to his improv-style comedy troupe roots.

The series, now with the extremely unwieldy (and super SEO unfriendly) title The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin, debuted on March 1 with three episodes and continues to air new installments through the month. Our reviewer wasn't that impressed, comparing it to the late lamented Our Flag Means Death. Ironically, when we interviewed Fielding and the show's executive producer Kenton Allen, Fielding admitted that was one of his biggest worries ahead of the show's debut.