Noel Fielding (; born 21 May 1973) is an English comedian and actor. He is best known for his work with The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongside Julian Barratt in the 2000s, and more recently as a co-presenter of The Great British Bake Off since 2017. He is known for his dark and surreal comedic style.
In the 1990s, Fielding began performing stand-up comedy and met Barratt on the comedy circuit. Together, they produced a 2001 radio series called The Boosh for BBC Radio London. This was followed by the television show The Mighty Boosh, which ran for three series on BBC Three from 2004 to 2007. The show generated a cult following and won a variety of awards.
During the 2000s, Fielding also had smaller roles in a number of comedy shows for Channel 4 including Nathan Barley, The IT Crowd, AD/BC: A Rock Opera, and Garth Marenghi's Darkplace. After The Mighty Boosh, he wrote and starred in two series of a solo show for Channel 4 called Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy, which ran between 2012 and 2014. He also appeared as himself as a team captain on the BBC Two comedy panel show Never Mind the Buzzcocks from 2009 to 2015 and as a guest on Richard Ayoade's Travel Man series.
Fielding has also exhibited his paintings in London and collaborated with Fendi for their autumn/winter 2021 menswear collection. He is the founder of the band Loose Tapestries, which he formed with Kasabian guitarist Sergio Pizzorno.
Early life
Fielding was born in the Westminster area of London on 21 May 1973, the son of Royal Mail manager Ray Fielding (born 1953) and Diane Fielding. He is of French descent through his grandmother. His comedic partner Julian Barratt described Fielding’s upbringing as “feral”; according to an article in The Sunday Times, Fielding's parents "had lots of parties" during his childhood, and Fielding has described how they would party through the night and that he would have to step over the bodies of their sleeping friends in the mornings as he got up.
When Fielding was three years old, his father remarried, and Fielding was mostly raised by his grandmother. He describes his grandmother as someone he had a lot of respect for, saying in 2011 to The Guardian, “My grandma is really strong. I like strong women. That's what I respond to." His father and stepmother Diane would later become more involved in parenting during Fielding’s mother’s illness in the 1980s. His mother had two more children before dying in 1990 aged 37 years old, from complications caused by liver damage. His younger paternal half-brother, Michael, later played various characters in Fielding's television comedy shows, and his father and stepmother would also appear. Ray Fielding had several cameos as Chris de Burgh on The Mighty Boosh.
At the age of 15, Fielding became a goth and had goth girlfriends. At this time he first tried using makeup and said he loved being dressed up by his girlfriends.
Fielding was educated at Croydon School of Art, then studied for a BA in Graphic Design and Advertising at Buckinghamshire New University, then called Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College in High Wycombe, where he lived with friends and future collaborators Dave Brown and Nigel Coan. He graduated in 1995.
Career
Stand-up comedy
In 2010, Fielding was supposed to perform a solo tour across the country. It was cancelled so he could concentrate on writing The Mighty Boosh film with Julian Barratt and creating an album. Fielding announced via Twitter that he was too busy to do the tour. In 2015, he told The Guardian that the film was something he talked about writing with Barratt. His album was released in June 2016. In 2010 and 2014, he took part in Channel 4's Comedy Gala, a benefit show held in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital.
The Mighty Boosh
The Mighty Boosh has won the Shockwaves NME Best TV Award three times: in 2007, 2008, and 2010.
Television
At Bill Bailey's request, Fielding stood in as a team captain for three episodes during series 21 of Never Mind the Buzzcocks. He also achieved a record for the highest team score ever on the show. When Bailey returned, presenter Simon Amstell made various jokes about Fielding's departure. In 2009, Bailey left the show and Fielding became one of the regular team captains. According to Neil Gaiman's blog, Fielding was scheduled to appear in the film Stardust, but had to drop out due to ill health. He also participated twice with Russell Brand in 2006 and 2007 on the annual quiz show The Big Fat Quiz of the Year. He participated again in 2010, 2013, 2017, 2018 and 2019, with Richard Ayoade.