Noel Fielding's acclaimed TV series drops surprise new episode – 9 months after shock cancellation
Fans were gutted when the show was axed midway through filming, but the gang is getting a reprieve in time for Halloween.
The strange case of The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin has seen yet another twist this week, as a surprise seventh episode drops on streaming platform Apple TV.
The Great British Bake-Off host Noel Fielding led the series as the legendary highwayman, playing a more wholesome version of the carriage robber than history buffs will recognise.
The show earned high praise for its surreal sense of humour, utilising fantastical elements and a cavalcade of noteworthy guest stars, from Greg Davies (Taskmaster) to Diane Morgan (Motherland) and Connor Swindells (SAS Rogue Heroes).
A season 2 renewal soon followed, but the plug was pulled in January of this year, midway through production, with The Sun reporting that Fielding hadn't returned to set after the Christmas break.
Fielding's representatives, on the other hand, said that filming had to be suspended due to the illness of a key cast member. In either case, the outcome was the same – an untimely end to the potentially long-running sitcom.
Although initial reports suggested that there was nothing to be salvaged from existing footage, Broadcast broke a story months later that Apple and production company Big Talk were cobbling together one final episode from the interrupted season 2 shoot.
That episode has unceremoniously dropped today, seemingly timed to capitalise on the Halloween buzz, with a plot involving Turpin's ragtag gang taking on a "werebear" that terrorises their neighbourhood.
The 35-minute misadventure will be bittersweet to viewers, giving them one last glimpse of a show that had stolen the hearts of many and promised plenty more hilarious moments.
According to Deadline, Dawn French, Miranda Richardson and sibling comedy stars Jamie and Natasia Demetriou (Stath Lets Flats) were due to take roles in the second season, which will seemingly never see the light of day in its original format.
In its report, the industry trade did let slip interest in a potential continuation of The Completely Made-Up Adventures... brand as an anthology, applying similarly daft humour to other figures from history or legend.
Alas, there's nothing concrete to report on any successor series yet.
The main Dick Turpin cast also featured Duayne Boachie (Supacell), Ellie White (Black Mirror), Marc Wootton (Greatest Days), Dolly Wells (Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy), Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey), Asim Chaudhry (People Just Do Nothing) and Tamsin Greig (Riot Women).
The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin is available on Apple TV.
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Authors
David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
