Watch: Noel Fielding and Hugh Bonneville talk The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin
The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin was the perfect opportunity to let loose and have fun, something that co-stars Noel Fielding and Hugh Bonneville enjoyed immensely because their shared sense of humour was “a gift for comedy”, the Bake Off co-host tells Yahoo UK.
Fielding plays infamous highwayman Dick Turpin in the Apple TV+ show while Bonneville plays Jonathan Wild, a corrupt politician who hires Turpin and his gang to work for him. Except when things go south they become sworn enemies, at least they do from Wild’s perspective.
Their push-pull relationship is a key part of the comedy series, Bonneville reflects: “It sort of reminds you of those buddy[-cop], anti hero and hero comedies of the 80s, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, that sort of tone. The rather serious-minded corrupt politician meets the flamboyant Tinkerbell of the woods.
“He can’t quite believe his bad luck that this guy is the leader of the Essex gang now, it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever, and I just love the bit where Dick says ‘we’re going to go on a on a journey together and become best friends’ despite various hurdles to overcome and Jonathan was determined that that won’t be the case, and, of course, he grudgingly has to admit that he does quite like him.”
Fielding adds: “We were very excited that Hugh was gonna be Jonathan Wild, but then it became quite clear very early on —[directpr] Ben Palmer and myself were watching the rushes— that we had quite a good double act, Hugh and I. Ben was like, ‘this is really working, you two on screen together is really working as a double act’.
“So that was like one of those happy accidents, one of those great things that you can’t manufacture.”
Bonneville joked that it was “we’re literally manacled together at one point together, so it’s just as well that we have a good double act”, to which Fielding joked: “Yeah, so we were very lucky. You’re not always that lucky, sometimes you try to force those things and they don’t work, but our clowns statuses seem to be compatible, which is a gift for comedy.”
Dick Turpin was a real figure from the 18th century, as was Jonathan Wild, but it is the stagecoach robber who has become something of an iconic myth in history — one that Fielding was keen to explore further through creators Claire Downes, Ian Jarvis, Stuart Lane’s modern approach to the character.
“The idea that you could build a world, it’s the 18th century, it’s a Stagecoach robbery, there’s hangings, it’s quite a an interesting world,” Fielding says. “It’s a real character, that was quite appealing, but also just the characters slightly been romanticised throughout history and Adam Ant turned him into a sort of dandy highwayman [in Stand and Deliver], so it felt like quite a good area to mine for comedy.
“The world of it felt quite unusual, so it was quite appealing immediately. We had no idea how we were gonna make it, but we felt like the original concept was was a good one.”
Although the series is based on a real person a lot of it is fictionalised, as the title suggests, with Fielding saying that it was “a complete reimagining” of the character.
“We knew that the butcher shop was real, his dad was a butcher and he worked there so we thought great, we’ll make him a vegan and he wants to get out of there. He doesn’t really know what he wants to do. Like a lot of people, he’s creative, but he doesn’t really have a specific goal so he’s bored.
“So he’s on a quest to find some sort of purpose or but then finds himself in this ridiculous situation of being in charge of this criminal gang, and he can’t ride a horse, can’t fight, can’t sword fight, can’t use a gun, doesn’t know what he’s doing so, hopefully, that will work for comedy.”
Bonneville joked that to get into character as Jonathan Wild he “went and hung around the House of Parliament for research”, adding: “And after several nice lunches with various people, and some brown envelopes containing cash, I felt I’d really nailed the character, I won’t mention their names of course. No, really, I think the name Jonathan Wild is historically accurate but that’s about it.”
The Apple TV+ show features an array of guest stars, many of whom fans will recognise from the British comedy scene in one way or another. One such supporting cast member is Tamsin Greig, who plays Lady Helen Gwinear, who is the head of a criminal organisation that Turpin comes across along his journey.
Lady Helen is a hilarious, no-nonsense leader whose interactions with Wild were what appealed most to Greig, she reveals to Yahoo: “The idea being pitched was ‘did I want to play a character who just bullies Hugh Bonneville?’ Well, obviously.
“The scenes where I was being the most bullying there was a huge table in between us, which was a shame because I would have liked to have got up close, but he’s a fabulous performer.”
Greig adds that Fielding is “one of those people that you gravitate to in a room”, adding: “If I’m the moth, he’s the light, and you’re going to get burned but it’s worth it. I didn’t get burned, it’s just a lot of fun to be around someone who’s so playful and creative.”
The Friday Night Dinner star enjoyed getting to delve deep into her villainous role, taking inspiration from an unlikely place: “I just thought about how Lady Helen is a grown up toddler, and when someone has that much power, and money, and influence they can just behave like a rock star, and do whatever they want to.
“You know, if she had a television she would definitely throw them out of the top of the crime syndicate’s building. I love that that unfettered-ness, where you can just do what you want and and not suffer any consequences.”
Greig also reflected on the way in which the show re-imagines Turpin’s life with a modern lens, like making Turpin a vegan and pacifist, or having characters remark on his hair. The actors adds that for the most part people “don’t quite know what’s true” about the highwayman so it makes sense.
She explains: “I think that they just use that premise to be imaginative with this story, like well, nobody really knows so let’s just push the boundaries.
“And then then you put it in the hands of someone like Noel Fielding and then you’re in the realms of wildness, which is where everybody wants to reside, really. And the truth is, he does have lovely hair so why not comment on it at every opportunity.”
The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin premieres globally with the first two episodes on Friday, 1 March, followed by new episodes every Friday exclusively on Apple TV+.
Watch the trailer for The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin:
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
