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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.

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“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.

Talent runs in Downton Abbey star Phyllis Logan’s family as her husband is a fellow actor

Downton Abbey’s Phyllis Logan isn’t the only famous member of her family.

The 70-year-old actress is best known for playing the resolute yet compassionate housekeeper Mrs Hughes in the hit period drama.

She played the character across all six seasons of the ITV series and also returned for the subsequent feature films, including Downton Abbey (2019), Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022), and Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (2025).

Mrs Hughes, also known as Elsie Carson, ran the entire servant branch of Downton Abbey alongside Thomas Barrow (Rob James-Collier), after he replaced her husband, Charles Carson (Jim Carter), as butler.

The character was involved in a number of memorable storylines during her time in Yorkshire, including a cancer scare, and her slow-burn romance with Mr Carson.

It turns out that talent runs in actress Phyllis’s family, as her husband is also an actor who appeared in Downton Abbey. Phyllis is married to English actor and writer Kevin McNally. They met in 1994, before marrying in August 2011.

Kevin began his acting career in the BBC’s TV adaptation of I, Claudius, but is best known for playing Joshamee Gibbs in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

That’s not all, as he also shared the screen with his wife in Downton Abbey. Kevin notably played Horace Bryant in the series, who was the father of Major Charles Bryant (Daniel Pirrie).

Charles fathered a child with housemaid Ethel Parks (Amy Nuttall) before dying in the war. Horace initially refused to acknowledge or support the child, before later stepping in.

Fans have been left speechless after realising Phyllis’s real-life connection to Kevin, whose Downton Abbey character looks completely different from his role in Pirates of the Caribbean.

“Just found out that Phyllis Logan (Mrs. Hughes) is married to Kevin McNally (horrible Mr. Bryant)!!” one person wrote on Reddit. Another added: “The dude from Pirates of the Caribbean? That’s awesome,” while a third said: “I had no idea they were the same person. He looks so different in DA.”

Someone else wrote: “I had to google who Mr Bryant was as I’d forgotten and wow I didn’t recognise the actor at all,” with another similarly sharing: “The fact that so many are amazed at how different those two characters are attest to McNally’s acting skill.”

Downton Abbey is streaming for free on ITVX