Production on the Noel Fielding comedy The Completely Made-Up Adventures Of Dick Turpin has been abruptly shut down.
On Thursday, The Independent confirmed that the Apple TV+ series would no longer be moving forward, despite filming on the new season believed to be around three-quarters finished.
An official reason for the cancellation has not been given by Apple.
However, The Sun and industry publication Deadline have both reported that the decision was made after Noel pulled out of the project.
The Sun reported that Noel “failed to come to work” when the show resumed production in January after a break over the festive period.
Noel’s agent denied to Deadline that he had “dropped out” of the project, instead saying that “one of the main cast members who has not been well is not recovered enough to complete the filming”, which was “hugely disappointing” for all concerned.
HuffPost UK has contacted representatives for Noel Fielding and Apple TV+ for comment.
The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin starred the Great British Bake Off host in the title role, and also featured appearances from Hugh Bonneville, Tamsin Greig, Asim Chaudhry and Greg Davies.
Noel also co-wrote several episodes alongside creators Claire Downes, Ian Jarvis and Stuart Lane, and was among the team of executive producers.
The comedian first rose to prominence as one half of the surreal duo The Mighty Boosh, alongside fellow performer Julian Barratt.
He’s now served as host of the Great British Bake Off since 2017, currently co-presenting with Alison Hammond, and is also a team captain on the reboot of Never Mind The Buzzcocks, reprising a role he held for many years during the show’s original run.
A separate report in Deadline cited undisclosed “sources” who claimed that the The Completely Made-Up Adventures… format may return to Apple TV+ in the future, with a different historical figure at the centre.