Comic Noel Fielding has made a rare public appearance following his recent mystery illness that forced his to quit an Apple TV series. The TV presenter joked he and Dame Prue Leith had done Jager bombs backstage when he made a surprise on-stage appearance at a Kasabian Brits Week gig.
The comedian and actor, 51, who appears on The Great British Bake Off alongside judge Dame Prue, sauntered onto the stage while frontman Sergio Pizzorno shouted “get loose get loose” from the band’s song Vlad The Impaler. Fielding appeared in the music video for the song, released in 2009, and he and musician Pizzorno, 44, are long-time friends. The rock band, known for hits including Fire and Underdog, rolled back the years on Tuesday during their gig in aid of charity War Child at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire.
While on stage Fielding took hold of the microphone and shouted “Shepherd’s Bush” followed by “Shepherd’s Boosh” in an apparent reference to his comedy show with Julian Barratt, The Mighty Boosh. “It’s all kicking off backstage, me and Prue just did Jager bombs, Prue Leith”, he added.
Kasabian began the concert with a rendition of Call, taken from their 2024 album Happenings, which earned them their seventh number one in the UK albums chart following its release in July. During the gig, one of several taking place in the run-up to the Brit Awards this Saturday, the band impressed the crowd with fan favourites such as Coming Back to Me Good and You’re In Love With A Psycho.
Earlier this year, Noel's representatives confirmed that The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin was cancelled due to the star's health issues. Noel played the lead role of the infamous highwayman in the show's first series, which aired last spring. However, according to recent reports, while filming for the second series began in the autumn, production was halted for the Christmas holidays, and Noel did not return on set.
Although Noel's exit from filming The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin was due to health reasons, some of his colleagues are reportedly frustrated by the cancellation of the second season, especially with only a few weeks of filming left. An insider revealed to The Sun: "They were understandably bewildered and infuriated by the bombshell because the shoe show required millions of pounds, months of planning and hours of work. It now effectively means that they are all out of work and looking for new jobs, but they still haven't had a full explanation.".
The publication reports that over 100 cast and crew members are contemplating a class action lawsuit against the show's creators following its sudden cancellation. They were reportedly left jobless when the second series was halted mid-production. However, a spokesperson for Noel clarified that he never intended his decision to step back to result in such a drastic outcome. They said: "This is a private and confidential matter regarding our client's health. We are saddened by the decision to cease production but we cannot make any further comment on this matter.".
