The Completely Made Up Adventures of Dick Turpin, Apple TV+ (from Friday)
★★★½

It’s a universal truth: stick Noel Fielding in full makeup and dandy garb, watch the mischievous glint in his eyes sparkle at the goofy absurdity he’s about to wreak, and TV gold will be spun. Although the now 50-year-old’s been a constant on our screens since Razorlight was a thing – across panel shows galore and, more notably, as host of The Great British Bake Off – he hasn’t had a lead TV role since his cult comedy with Julian Barratt, The Mighty Boosh, ended its run in 2007.

For that reason alone, Apple TV’s new six-episode comedy The Completely Made Up Adventures of Dick Turpin – starring Fielding as the infamous English highwayman – is a welcome proposition. That the show is essentially an excuse for Fielding to parade around in billowing pirate shirts, leather pants, silk cravats, sparkling capes and “magic mittens” is a beautiful bonus. Don’t expect the one-of-a-kind insanity of the Boosh, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Created by Claire Downes, Ian Jarvis and Stuart Lane, the series is a silly revamp of the Dick Turpin legend, the 18th century bandit who terrorised Yorkshire backwoods until he was hanged for horse theft in 1739. A folk hero in the ilk of Robin Hood in the UK, Turpin’s dashing exploits have been pop culture fodder since the days of silent film.

Set in England in 1735, Fielding’s Turpin gives a New Romantic bent to the macho legend lionised in lore. For starters, he’s a vegan, who takes to the life of banditry after abandoning his father’s ambitions for him in butchery. “I’ll just take these purple shoes and my sewing machine,” Turpin says as he flees home with his most prized possessions.

Even after Turpin becomes the famed highwayman, his exploits spread across the land via popular pamphlets, he’s not your usual gunslinger. He knits balaclavas for his bumbling crew, the Essex Gang; he drinks herbal tea rather than rum; he eats hard Italian biscuits. He also refuses to fire guns, declaring himself a pacifist.

Amid the rampant silliness, Fielding’s a delight. Perennially upbeat and naive, he’s chuffed by his newfound notoriety. “I know who you are, you prick. I’ve seen you prancing around in your funny shirts,” a rival highwayman (played by Greg Davies – there are endless cameos from British comedy faves including Tamsin Greig, Diane Morgan, Fielding’s half-brother Michael, from the Boosh and Rich Fulcher) confronts him. “Really, which one? The ruffle ruched frill?” Turpin cheerfully replies, unfazed.