Apple TV+ Series Canceled After Star ‘Failed to Come to Work’

Season 2 of The Completely Made-Up Adventures Of Dick Turpin has been scrapped after Noel Fielding reportedly pulled out more than halfway through the shoot. The Apple TV+ comedy was reportedly left with no other option after the lead actor “failed to come to work” following the Christmas break, as first reported by The Sun.

The series, which began shooting Season 2 in the fall, was about three-quarters of the way through filming when it paused for the holidays, the outlet reports. When production was scheduled to resume, Fielding didn’t return, ultimately dropping out of the series.

While Fielding has yet to speak publicly about the decision, an insider told The Sun that the cast and crew were told the series was being axed due to “the illness of a key cast member.” Deadline reports that without Fielding, Season 2 cannot be salvaged, prompting producer Big Talk Studios to disband both the cast and crew.

“They were understandably bewildered and infuriated by the bombshell because the show required millions of pounds, months of planning and hours of work,” The Sun‘s source added. “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 Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin is a fictional take on the life of Dick Turpin (Fielding), leader of the Essex Gang, who commits numerous petty crimes with the hope of becoming England’s greatest highwayman. Meanwhile, he is being pursued by the thief-taker Jonathan Wilde and the secretive criminal organization, The Syndicate.

The show’s six-episode first season debuted in March 2024. In addition to Fielding, the cast included Ellie White, Marc Wootton, Hugh Bonneville, Duayne Boachie, Tamsin Greig, Asim Chaudhry, Joe Wilkinson, Mark Heap, Geoff McGivern, Michael Fielding, Kiri Flaherty, Samuel Leakey and Dolly Wells. It was directed by Ben Palmer of The Inbetweeners and Douglas is Cancelled and Noel Fielding was also an executive producer on the project.

Noel Fielding first found mainstream fame with the quirky comedy series The Mighty Boosh in the late 1990s and has since found a new audience when in 2017 he began co-hosting The Great British Baking Show, most recently alongside co-presenter Alison Hammond.