Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Religious Music & Entertainment
‘British Baking’s’ Noel Fielding Steals Into ‘Dick Turpin’

‘British Baking’s’ Noel Fielding Steals Into ‘Dick Turpin’

Last updated on: March 4, 2024 at 11:23 am by Kate O'Hare

0 Comments

‘British Baking’s’ Noel Fielding Steals Into ‘Dick Turpin’ 2024-03-04T11:23:30-08:00 Kate O'Hare

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

(L-R) Ellie White, Noel Fielding, Marc Wootton and Duayne Boachie in “The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin,” now streaming on Apple TV+.

Best known in the U.S. as the kindly Goth co-host of The Great British Baking Show, Noel Fielding turns to comic larceny in his latest outing, Apple TV+’s The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin.

Currently streaming, the half-hour show is extremely loosely based on legends about an 18th-century highwayman, themselves extremely loosely based on the real Dick Turpin — a deer poacher, horse thief and killer.

Take a look:

Who Is Noel Fielding?

I’ve seen all the episodes of Dick Turpin, and it is indeed whimsical, fanciful and very silly. It’ll seem familiar to those who’ve either seen Fielding’s earlier U.K. work in The Mighty Boosh or The IT Crowd.

When he joined The Great British Baking Show (called The Great British Bake-Off in the U.K.) in 2017, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of this tall, pale guy with the black hair, eyeliner and peculiar taste in clothing.

But, over time, I discovered that he’s very sweet, in a long-term relationship and the father of two daughters. He’s also quite funny, in his own distinctive way.

So, What Is Dick Turpin About?

The off-kilter, surrealistic humor of Dick Turpin should be familiar to any Baking fans who’ve seen Fielding in the skits that open the show — and to fans of such British shows as Blackadder and Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

The pacifist, vegan son of a butcher (the veganism angle is played for humor, not politics), Turpin, who’s fond of purple boots and outlandish outfits (and has a rather anachronistic sewing machine), falls in with an unfortunate bunch of crooks called the Essex Gang.

He also runs afoul of Jonathan Wilde (Hugh Bonneville of Downton Abbey fame), the Thief Taker General.

Meanwhile, there’s a pamphlet writer (Dolly Wells), who’s pumping up the Turpin legend in her 18th-century version of a tabloid, and a fairly ineffectual, not-quite-official warlock named Craig (Asim Chaudhry).

Is Dick Turpin Controversial or Inappropriate?

While Fielding is more of a comic than a comic actor, he’s surrounded by top-notch British talent. Like most British humor, there’s cross-dressing and some slightly naughty double-entendres.

There is one scene where Fielding dresses as a combination matador and nun, but even that description should tell you that it’s just there for a laugh and not intended as a criticism of Catholicism (even though Catholics were greatly diminished and still persecuted at in England the time).

Parents will have to make their own determinations. I consider the show to be harmless for mature middle-schoolers and up, but it is rated TV-14 (parents strongly cautioned), so if you have any concerns, head off anyone before high school.

Talking to Noel Fielding

Last month, I attended the biannual TV Critics Association Press Tour, where AppleTV+ offered a press conference with Fielding and executive producer Kenton Allen. Afterward, I headed off for a one-on-two interview with the pair (that video is embedded below).

Here are a few highlights from the press conference.

On the appeal of the show to families:

NOEL FIELDING: I mean, I’ve got two children, but they’re a bit too young, they’re five and three. But I feel like maybe 12-year-olds? Ten-year-olds might watch it with their parents. I mean, that’s what we were kind of going for, yeah. It works on a few different levels, but it’d be really nice if the younger ones were into it.

On the real Dick Turpin:

NOEL FIELDING: He’s an outlaw.

KENTON ALLEN: And the real Dick Turpin was a horrible, murdering lunatic, which I don’t think Noel could ever play.

NOEL FIELDING: (Laughs) But a couple of people, a couple of famous writers of note in England, did kind of change Dick Turpin into a sort of dandy, like “The Scarlet of Pimpernel” or something. So, his image changed sort of throughout history and became this sort of dandy. But I think the truth is he was probably quite a nasty piece of work.

On casting Fielding:

KENTON ALLEN: We were playing casting bingo, which we often do, going, who would play that fictional person really well. Somebody said Dick Turpin. My colleague, Victoria, said Noel Fielding, and we were off to the races. It was such a brilliant collision of the right — the wrong attitude with the wrong character, but this sort of magic happened when you add Noel’s brilliance and his surreality and his comic mind to —

NOEL FIELDING: I only really get to play ghosts, vampires, goths, people from the 17th Century. No one real. I’d be up for playing a real human being.

KENTON ALLEN: You played Alice Cooper once.

NOEL FIELDING: Alice Cooper. Yeah, I usually play supernatural people. But Dick Turpin, yeah, also because people don’t know so much about the details, it was easier, and because it’s a comedy, it was easier to sort of reimagine him as a sort of a vegan, pacificist who’s very creative and into his fashion and more of a dandy, so.

KENTON ALLEN: Doesn’t like violence.

NOEL FIELDING: Doesn’t like violence.

KENTON ALLEN: Won’t shoot a gun.

NOEL FIELDING: Has a tiny gun and a tiny horse.

And here’s my chat with Fielding and Allen:

Image: (L-R) Ellie White, Noel Fielding, Marc Wootton and Duayne Boachie in “The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin,” now streaming on Apple TV+.

Don’t miss a thing: Subscribe to all that I write at Authory.com/KateOHare.

Religious Music and Entertainment

Great British Bake Off

Great British Baking Show

Noel Fielding

About Kate OHare'

Based in Los Angeles, Kate O'Hare is a veteran entertainment journalist, Social Media Content Manager for Family Theater Productions and a rookie screenwriter. You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

February 25, 2024

'Bob Marley: One Love': An Unlikely Faith-Based Music Biopic

Next Post

March 7, 2024 'Cabrini' Director Says 'Her Life Is a Prayer'

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"I read somewhere that Jesus claims to be present in the hungry, thirsty, homeless, sick……just ..."

RPlavo .

‘Adore Him: He Is Here’: On ..."

"My husband was Key Assistant Locations Manager on this film and it was so gratifying ..."

Mary Ashley Bannister

‘Coyote vs. Acme’: Never, Ever Give ..."

"Kate, Alan owes you big time...I mean like a steak dinner or something! I have ..."

s ci

‘The Odyssey’: What a (Very) Long, ..."

"It's true: the language was prosaic American English. Yes, some of the characters were shallow ..."

Clayton Emmer

‘The Odyssey’: What a (Very) Long, ..."

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category books breaking news digital media Faith practice food interview jane the virgin media movies music NFL Pope Francis Showbiz 101 social media sports technology television Uncategorized video

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz