Evergreen

ROB Beckett regularly turns family life into comedy, but his wife Louise Watts has been sharing her side of the story too.

She has swapped the classroom for the bookshelves, becoming a bestselling author with her frank take on parenthood.

Rob Beckett is currently on our screens as the new host of Channel 4 reality show Tempting Fortune, taking over from Paddy McGuinness for its third series.

The show returned on September 22, 2026, with 12 strangers trekking for 13 days through the Malaysian jungle, hoping to protect a £300,000 prize pot from costly temptations.

He is about to swap the jungle for a Scottish castle as one of 21 famous faces taking part in the second series of The Celebrity Traitors.

Claudia Winkleman’s BBC hit returns on October 1, 2026, with Rob joined by stars including Michael Sheen, Maya Jama, Miranda Hart and James Blunt.

TO THE RESCUE

Inside mystery of missing Sir Ranulph Fiennes as celebs unite to find truth

MAYA’S MESSAGE

Celeb Traitors’ Maya Jama says she’s been ‘blindsided’ by liars in the past

Who is Rob Beckett’s wife Louise Watts?

Louise Beckett (nee Watts), who also goes by Lou, previously worked as a secondary school history teacher.

The pair have been married for more than a decade, which Rob revealed on a 2015 episode of Mock the Week.

Lou has spoken openly about leaving a job she loved to be a stay-at-home mum while Rob’s comedy career was taking off.

In March 2026, she told Fabulous’ No Parental Guidance podcast: “He’s been able to leave the house four days on the trot and go to work.

“You get to leave the house and go and talk to grownups. And have a shower.

“You get to be the person that you’ve always been, whereas I feel like the kind of pigeon lady from Home Alone, who’s not left the house for four weeks. 

“And I haven’t had a shower and my clothes don’t fit me.”

In her blog, Louise explained that she had stopped teaching full-time because her ulcerative colitis was particularly severe around the time they became parents.

She wrote: “I didn’t realise how much being a teacher was part of who I was until I wasn’t one anymore.

“Until the only things I really had to speak about were what Rob was doing or how the baby was.

“If I’m totally and embarrassingly honest, teaching made me feel important and suddenly that wasn’t there anymore and I felt like I didn’t have anything to bring to the table.”

But Louise also said she was grateful that Rob’s success allowed her to concentrate on getting better and caring for their baby.

What is Louise Watts’ book about?

Louise released her debut book, Lessons from a Default Parent, in February 2026, which became a Sunday Times bestseller.

It grew out of her blog post A Very Long Whinge, which she posted on March 8, 2024.

The book tackles the often overlooked work of raising children, from organising school activities to tracking everyone’s needs.

It also explores how parents can share those responsibilities more fairly.

Louise told the Daily Mail’s Life of Bryony podcast that writing it helped her explain her feelings to Rob.

She said: “I found I was able to communicate much better with Rob after writing the book.”

Do Rob Beckett and Louise Watts have children?

Yes, Rob and Louise have two daughters, but they prefer to keep their names and dates of birth private.

However, in a December 2025 episode of the podcast Parenting Hell, Rob confirmed that his kids were 10 and eight at the time.

The comedian regularly shares stories about fatherhood on the podcast he presents with fellow comic Josh Widdicombe.

Louise occasionally appears for “right to reply” episodes, giving her own take on the stories listeners have heard from her husband.

Rob recently said he wants to spend more time at home as their children grow up.

In July, he told The Sun: “I’m trying to be at home more, more relaxed.

“I’ve done quite a lot, I think I need to chill out a bit – it’s getting a bit needy isn’t it?

“I’ve got a bit of time off in autumn and I’m looking forward to being at home more and being more present. 

“Because I’m getting older and the kids are too, so I’m trying to work a little bit less and be there for them.”

NOEL Fielding is back in the Bake Off tent as Series 17 gets under way with 12 new amateur bakers.

The comedian returns alongside Alison Hammond, Paul Hollywood and new judge Nigella Lawson for the latest run of the Channel 4 favourite.

Early life

Noel Fielding was born on May 21, 1973, in Westminster, making him 53 years old.

His parents were just 18 when he was born, and after they split he lived with his father and stepmum, Dianne.

He was also close to his grandmother, who helped raise him.

Noel said in an interview in 2013: “My dad was so young, you know when I was 10 he was only 28, 29, so, that’s mind- blowing.

read more on noel fielding

SO SWEET

Bake Off host Noel Fielding makes rare public outing with presenter girlfriend

rising to the occasion

The new 2026 Bake Off presenting line-up with Nigella Lawson

“When I was 20 he was only in his late 30s, he was my age now, so I’ve sort of had some brilliant years out of my mum and dad, and also they were quite young and tolerant and easy going and up for doing stuff.”

Tragically his birth mum, Yvonne Fagan, 30, died when Noel was just 17 in 1990.

Becoming an artist

Noel originally had plans to be an artist, and had no intention of getting into TV and comedy.

He trained at Croydon Art College and had his first solo exhibition, Psychedelic Dreams Of The Jelly Fox, in December 2007.

The comedian has held a number of different exhibitions since then,
including showing his video installation The Jelly Fox at the Saatchi Gallery in 2012.

His artwork remains an active part of his career, with pieces appearing at the London Original Print Fair in May 2026 and Jealous Gallery’s summer exhibition later that year.

In 2006, he told Left Lion: “I wanted to be a painter and went to art school.

“I just got sidetracked into comedy. It was a mistake… I’m trying to get out but I’m trapped!

Despite his success in the art world, Noel is most famous for his comedy and TV work.

Finding fame

Noel shot to fame after teaming up with Julian Barratt to create, write and star in surreal comedy The Mighty Boosh.

Just like in his stand-up routines, Noel played a whole host of different characters in show.

The comedy troupe began in the late 90s, with Noel’s brother Michael also a member of the group.

Some of his humorous alter-egos were flamboyant zookeeper Vince Noir, a cockney hitch-hiker called The Hitcher, and hermaphroditic merman Old Gregg.

The series also featured a number of famous faces, including Matt Berry and Richard Ayoade.

It aired from 2004 to 2007 and scooped the Shockwaves NME Best TV Award three times.

Following the success of The Mighty Boosh, Noel took his series to radio.

Finding love

Also appearing in The Mighty Boosh was Lliana Bird.

She is a writer, actress, author and former radio presenter on Radio X.

Noel and Lliana have been dating since 2010.

She has starred in various theatre shows, and has appeared as a guest commentator on Sky News and BBC Breakfast.

Lliana is also an author, publishing her first children’s book, Baboo the Unusual Bee, in 2023.

She is also a co-founder of charities Choose Love and The Kindly Collective.

Fatherhood

In early March 2018, The Sun exclusively revealed Noel and Lliana were expecting their first child together.

They welcomed their newborn, Dali, in April 2018, who is named after Noel’s favourite artist, the surrealist painter Salvador Dali.

The pair welcomed a second daughter, Iggy, in August 2020.

Opening up about their home life in an episode of Giovanna Fletcher’s Happy Mum Happy Baby podcast, Lliana described Noel as a “magical” father.

She said: “He kind of makes the silliest little moments, he makes having breakfast a real moment.

“I think I’ve just really leaned into that and just going like, ‘This is amazing.

“We’re getting to have porridge and it’s funny, and it’s fun. And we’re wearing silly hats, and we’re dancing. And that’s okay’.”

TV work

As well as working with Richard Ayoade in The Mighty Boosh, the pair both starred in The IT Crowd.

The popular comic is also known for his work on TV panel shows.

He remains a team captain on Sky’s revived Never Mind The Buzzcocks, whose fifth series aired in 2025, and has also made appearances on QI and The Big Fat Quiz of Everything.

He was also the series four winner of Taskmaster.

In 2024, Noel played Dick Turpin in Apple TV+ comedy series The Completely Made-Up Adventures Of Dick Turpin.

Bake Off

Noel gained a whole new bunch of fans when he began co-hosting The Great British Bake Off in 2017.

He presented firstly alongside Sandi Toksvig, then Matt Lucas.

Since 2023, he has fronted the competition with Alison Hammond.

At the time, he welcomed Alison to the tent by posting on Instagram: “Congratulations and Welcome to the tent lovely!! We are gonna have an absolute blast together.

“I can’t wait. I’m buzzing. Two naughty kids together… The bakers will love you x.”

Noel and Alison both return for Series 17, which begins at 8pm on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, with 12 new amateur bakers entering the famous tent.

Paul Hollywood is once again on judging duties, but for the first time he is joined by Nigella Lawson.

Nigella replaced Dame Prue Leith, who stepped down in January after nine series on the programme.

Music lover

And as if that is not enough, Noel is also a huge lover of music.

It will come as no surprise to his fans that he has made appearances in a number of music videos.

He can be spotted in the videos for Kasabian’s Vlad The Impaler and You’re In Love With a Psycho, as well as Razorlight’s In The Morning.

In November 2025, Pink Floyd also commissioned Noel to create a series of paintings inspired by Syd Barrett for the official video accompanying a new stereo mix of Shine On You Crazy Diamond.