Comedian Noel Fielding is set to return to screens with The Great British Bake Off but has kept a low profile due to health concerns
With the return of The Great British Bake Off, co-host Noel Fielding will be returning to screens just months after abruptly disappearing from a TV show at the beginning of this year.
Presenter Noel, 52, has scarcely been seen on TV since dropping out of filming the second season of his Apple TV show, The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin, leading some to question whether he would be returning to host Bake Off.
The actor’s health was said to be the reason he chose not to return to filming in January of this year, sparking widespread concern, especially since the show was so close to wrapping up. At the time, a spokesperson said: “This is a private and confidential matter regarding our client’s health.”
As Noel and The Great British Bake Off both make a come back tomorrow (2 September), here is a breakdown of his health battle, rare appearances since January and speculation about his future with the Channel 4 show….
Show’s abrupt axe
Concern was raised about Noel’s health after the abrupt cancellation of The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin. The show launched on AppleTV last year and a second season was announced that July.
A source told the Times that Noel had “no choice but to stop”. They continued: “People have been concerned about Noel’s wellbeing and given him time to recover but there are serious repercussions.”
This is not the first time the comedian has not been able to film a show due to health reasons. In 2022, Noel was absent from the first filmed day of The Great British Bake Off finale and then co-host Matt Lucas presented half of the episode alone. Likewise, the year before, eagle-eyed fans noticed Noel seemed to disappear right before the showstopper round during German week. During the episode, Matt Lucas could be heard saying Noel was feeling “under the weather”.
Rare appearances
The comedian has made appearances since he pulled out the AppleTV show, but they have been few and far between. In February, Noel was spotted out in North London with his wife, Lliana Bird. This was his first appearance since leaving the show.
Two weeks later, he made a surprise on-stage appearance at a Kasabian Brits Week gig, where he joked that he and fellow Bake Off star Prue Leith did shots backstage. Noel and his wife were also spotted in July at BST Hyde Park.
Return to The Great British Bake Off
Following his sudden departure from The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin, there were concerns that Noel would be unable to film the next season of The Great British Bake Off. But those concerns were quickly eased when a spokesperson for the comedian put out a statement to assure fans that Noel would be back.
“There has been absolutely no discussion about Noel stepping down from Bake Off,” they told Deadline.
“We have been in contact with Channel 4 and Love Productions throughout all the speculation and his ‘stepping down’ has never been part of that dialogue. We can confirm he will be returning to co-host the next series of Bake Off.”
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