© Nick Wilson

While E4 is showing Luxury Comedy, Channel 4 is showing Party Paramedics narrated by Julian Barratt. This is a three-part series following the medical units, home and abroad, that patch up the victims of Britain’s binge-drinking culture.

The first part, which is about the hard-working paramedics and volunteers of the SOS bus in Colchester, was shown on Monday at 10pm and is available on 4OD.

Next Monday’s episode is set on Corfu and is called Corfu Carnage!

© Paul Foot

If you like new shiny things as much as we do, you will love Paul Foot‘s new website.

The comedian’s website has undergone a complete redesign and connoisseurs can now feast their eyes on a site that looks as whimsical as Foot’s comedy is. While the website still has the usual components and gives fans access to the tour schedule, press about Paul and the always appreciated merchandise shop, we can now also read about various characters made up by Mr. Foot himself.

Visit Skeleton Johnson, a figure who is half skeleton and half Mr. Johnson and a character that “used to be a brilliant graveyard jockey before he changed.” You can also pop by Penny’s page, Foot’s “bi-sexual hairdresser” who is in charge of the complete inventory of his comedy and who looks suspiciously like the man himself…

All that and more can be found over at the official Paul Foot website, where you also can gain entrance to the highly acclaimed Guild of Connoisseurs members only area (and get information about secret shows, videos and various super secret things!).

If you want even more Paul Foot goodies, take a look at his latest video. Foot turns to Food as he does a cookery video in which he prepares a dish called “Isle of White”. As the name suggests, the dish is white. See Foot in the kitchen and maybe get a little bit inspired yourself, all in the video below.

© Chris O'Dowd (Twitter: @BigBoyler)

It seems that Sky1 are drastically becoming the new place to be for the latest hits in the comedy world – we all completely fell for the colorful wonderment that was This Is Jinsy, and now some familiar names from the Booshdom are still cropping up left right and center!

Firstly Julia Davis is said to be working on a new sitcom for the channel according to Chortle. Julia, who will never be too far from her dark roots, will be writing and starring in Hunderby, which revolves around Helene the survivor of a shipwreck in 19th Century. As you may remember, Davis has already made an appearance on Sky Atlantic (alongside Julian Barratt, dare we forget) in the short film of Chekhov’s The Bear.

The show will also (not-so-surprisingly) be produced by Baby Cow, who you will all know as a popular name for us at The Velvet Onion.

As if Steve Coogan wasn’t busy enough, he is also working on Starlings, another new comedy to come out of Sky1!  Along with this, Chris O’Dowd has landed himself a series based on his short film from the Little Crackers series in 2010. The series MooneBoy, tells the tale of a young boy and his imaginary friend.

For more info on all these exciting new comedy-gems, you can head over to Such Small Portions right here.

During the rise of the Boosh, Dave Brown provided the vast majority of the designs for the DVD covers, menus, posters and beyond. As the work flowed in a steady stream, the time came to start up his own design company and so, APE was born. At the moment The Scribblings of a Madcap Shambleton book and Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy may be at the top of the barrel but you can find APE’s work in many other places.

© Dave Brown

While all this work was being produced, Brown could still be found on screen and on stage either pulling some shapes, singing or posing as our favourite gorilla. The line between designing and comedy could seem somewhat fuzzy; how they become separate from each other is a question that Dave answers with an admirable perspective and confidence, “They do overlap occasionally, I like to think I approach creative work with humor in mind, its not always easy but wherever possible I try, people react and gravitate towards something that makes them smile, its human nature. Over the years I have worked with more comedians through Boosh  work and contacts like Tim Key, Rich Fulcher of course, & Jimmy Carr, I think being involved in comedy helps you understand what comedians are after design & photography wise, I’d like to work with more to be honest, It’s always annoyed me how so many comedians have the same style posters, lazy designs with little ideas, without blowing ones trumpet The Boosh as well as those that do care and appreciate the power of good branding stand out a mile!”

This poignant insight into his workflow is broken as Dave quips about his current situation, “I’ve obviously worked loads with Noel over the years which is great but sometimes, like now, I get a little sick of looking at his face all the time! I did a shoot with him the other day for the Luxury Comedy advertising so his big pointy face is back on my screen once again just when I’d finished the book as well! The people in my studio think I’m some kind of obsessed psycho stalker!”

© Lauren Taylor / The Velvet Onion

Dave may jest at his non-stop working relationship with Fielding, but there is still an air of respect that comes across when he speaks of their long-term friendship and with Noel’s rise in the world of celebrity, “He’s been working on [Luxury Comedy] for ages and ages with Nige. The book (Madcap Shambleton) has been something that happened along side him making of the show. It was hard, I didn’t want to bother him too much with the detail, he’s writing the show, he’s playing loads and loads of different characters, then in the edit all day – it’s intense for him – so me ringing him up going ‘what you think of the layout on page 52?’, wasn’t really going to work so he let me get on with it, he trusts me. Once I’d got it all together and designed, we sat down and he burnt it, gave me a dead leg and made me start again! Nah, he loved it and got all excited, writing loads of new stuff and doing loads of new paintings – I then had Nige [Coan] ringing me up asking for him back!!”

A name that comes up regularly in our conversation is Boosh animator Nigel Coan, “I’ve been somewhat in the background over the years but Nige has been a dot on the horizon he’s so in the background; unlike me though he’s happy to not have any attention, he just sits there working it all like a puppet master. Luxury is amazing, they should both be so proud, Nige has directed and co-written it with Noel, directed all the animation – he’s worked his tiny ladies butt off! All those people asking ‘When is the Boosh next on!?’ they’ll have their fix of madness – it’s nothing you’ve ever seen before and it’s absolutely hilarious!”

The topic of Coan also brings up a memorable recent event for the boys; when Fielding and Brown were awarded a Masters Degree by the University in Buckinghamshire,  “One of our lecturers called me up and said ‘I’ve put you and Noel forward for an honorary Masters Degree!’ I said ‘What about Nige?’ and he said ‘I didn’t have time to put him in too!”. Dave laughs as he recollects. “He was furious, deeply furious – but the more furious he became the more Noel and I found it hilarious.”

© Secret Peter / Channel 4

A sneaky insight into the upcoming surreal series is Brown’s on screen involvement, “I play a character called Jeremy Beautiful Chest. He dances while Noel paints – he’s his muse. I’ve got a sign that says Keep Off The Chest.” It offers an obvious link to one of the Scribblings signing events, when we witnessed dancing hedgehog Dave, while Noel covered a billboard with colour in London’s Soho. “There are some cross overs between the show and the book, the painting master classes being the most obvious, the limited edition box of the book carries Noel’s painting overalls from the show, the paintings he does in the show are also in the book.”

Of course the much anticipated question is also touched upon – will he be getting his face out? “This time I’ve got my face out but I don’t say anything – I do make some sounds as one of the characters I play, a blue mountain! it’s either one or the other with Noel – or either musical or physical.”

I take off some of the pressure by narrowing it down to just Musical Booshdom, and he is a little less hesitant, “Musical Boosh, I  dunno, Julian [Barratt] is a musical force, as is the wonderful Antony Elvin, but Dave Westlake needs a big mention, drummer in the Boosh band on the last tour, he helped produce all the music for the Eleanor show, he also put together all the music for the Boosh album” Westlake is a name that’s sometimes mentioned in Booshy circles but not often, so it’s interesting to hear of his Booshdom roots, “He was the drummer in Sneaker Pimps, he and Julian were at college together, him and Julian are a bit like me and Noel really, just more wise, jazzy and tweed!”

Now that Dave has finally been given the chance to allow his full mug to shine on screen and taken a stab at pretty much everything that’s been thrown his way, is there anything else he’s been hiding from us? “I’m pretty good at table tennis. When I say pretty good I mean fucking amazing. A lot of people like to play ping pong, but no one knows the art of table tennis.” We’ll be sure to keep an eye out in 2012!

© Mog

As we discuss the many aspects of Dave Brown’s career, most seem to come full circle back to the Boosh. It is clear that Dave still has a passion for the show that started it all for him. As we discuss fans’ continued loyalty to the show, it is clear that the Mighty Boosh is far from forgotten for him, “Over the years, I look back at stuff now – I saw someone had made a mix, that Nicey Nicey Zoo Zoo thing and it’s the last part with Vince and Howard in the van that I immediately just pissed myself at. I do miss that chemistry between them, I love it. Julian needs to do more. He’s such an amazing comedy actor.”

I touch on fans’ recent attempts at a petition to ‘Bring Back The Boosh’, ”Do you think if we got enough signatures the government would make us do something? People will ask me questions on twitter that I can’t possibly answer and then they keep asking!” Dave jests.

“Some of us wouldn’t need any signatures, I’d drop everything tomorrow! I could do [a petition] saying bring back Python though but it wouldn’t do anything.” He then continues to defend the quietness of the Boosh at this point “Noel and Julian have never churned it out for the coin, they’ve never done that. Something will happen when the time is right and that’s what’s great about it. It’s a natural thing, these things take time like a good risotto, well, a bit like a good risotto?”

All in all Dave certainly puts an outstanding amount of care and attention into each and every project he can get his hands on – and if that includes working with some of his (and of course) our favourite people, then that’s just a cheeky bonus. Whatever the future holds for Brown I am confident in saying that we’re unlikely to be disappointed.

A huge thank you to Dave for his time with us!

Remember you can pre-order the DVD and still grab yourself a copy of Scribbling’s Of A Madcap Shambleton in our TVO Shop! If that’s still not enough for you then signed Limited Edition copies are still available for you as well!

You can see Dave Brown’s enigmatic face on our television screens for Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy, at some point every Thursday at 10pm on E4.

© Colin Hoult / Dawn Sedgwick Management

Colin Hoult is in for a whirlwind 2012, with new projects on radio, television, stage and an appearance in revived sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf!

The comedian and actor, fresh from his performances in shows as varied as Life’s Too Short,  House Of Rooms and Pixelface, has been cast in an unknown part in the tenth series of the cult classic, which airs on Dave later this year.

The show is part of Dave’s new drive for original comedy, following its enormous success with their initial Red Dwarf mini-series in 2009, ten years after the show last aired on BBC2.  Hoult, of course, made his own pilot for Dave, Zimbani back in 2010, alongside Dave McNeill and Julian Barratt, which you can catch again here.

Elsewhere, it has been confirmed by Colin’s management that he has sold two television ideas to be developed in 2012, of which we’ll no doubt hear more about in due course.  Hoult has also been granted his own radio pilot, and if the result are half as good as his live shows, we’ll have one of the most impressive half hours of radio in some time!

Speaking of live shows, as we’ve previously confirmed, Colin is set to return to the Leicester Square Theatre with his monthly New Adventures strand from March, and he’ll be appearing at the Udderbelly Festival in London in May with his Ultimate Carnival Of Monsters show.

© Channel 4

Katy Wix & Anna Crilly are to feature in their own series on Channel 4.

The duo, who made a pilot as part of the channel’s Comedy Lab range last Summer, have been granted a full six-episode run after the initial episode received a warm welcome.  It is set to air later this year.

Channel 4′s head of comedy, Shane Allen – a key supporter of Luxury Comedy and the kind of funny business we at TVO like to shout about – commented: ”Right from the start of 2012 we’re delivering back to back series with daring and hugely distinct comedy voices as an anti-dote to the safe, broad comedy drama you might find elsewhere.

“Channel 4 is the place to take risks and give opportunities to comedy’s mavericks and lunatics. Katy & Anna are both and we’re so thrilled they wanted to make their break with us”.

Meanwhile, Crilly can be seen alongside Gareth Tunley, David Armand and occasionally, Colin Hoult in CBBC sitcom Pixelface - and the pair continue to appear in adverts for Harvey’s Furniture, including sponsorship tags around ITV’s flagship soap opera Coronation Street!

As you’ll already know if you follow us, Noel appeared on two radio shows yesterday. To start with, he guested on Danny Wallace’s Xfm Breakfast Show in the morning. To hear the show click here; Noel appears at 1:13:48 (precisely). Then in the afternoon he was Steve Wright’s show on BBC Radio 2. You can hear this for 6 further days on iPlayer, and you’ll find Noel at around 1:33:55 (precisely…again!).

There’s also a short filmed interview with Noel on BBC Radio 1′s Newsbeat here, in which he talks about the show and working with Serge Pizzorno from Kasabian on the music.

© E4

Next up is a competition that E4 is running – to win one of his much sought-after infamous painted plates; in fact to win one of the plates that features in the show, signed by the man himself! To enter the competition visit E4′s website here.

© Channel 4/Secret Peter

And finally, what did people think – what did the real world make of Noel’s new creative baby?  The buzz on twitter pushed #luxurycomedy to a Worldwide trend, and the majority of that buzz was positive. The opinion in the wider world reflected the comments in our ‘How was It For You’ post below: there were a few hardcore Boosh fans who refused to accept Noel flying solo, and a few who decided it definitely wasn’t for them, but overall the response from those who watched it was very excited and positive. A typical quote from last night’s twitter feed read: Loved it! It was like a mash up of Button Moon, Mooncat and Banana Splits! Dondylion, hula hoops AND Dave Lee Roth….*win*

If you didn’t catch the show, or you reckon a second viewing might help make things a bit clearer, the first episode is now available to watch on 4oD by clicking here or on youtube here. Crazymad!

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© Channel 4/Secret Peter

After months of eager anticipation, Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy has just aired on E4. If you’ve seen it, we’d love to know what you think.

Given that a number of the people behind the show read The Velvet Onion we thought it’d be nice to offer ourselves up as a place where people could leave their comments about the show. So tell us, what did you think? What were your favourite bits? Your favourite characters? Which sketches are still making you giggle now?  Have you Series Linked Luxury Comedy for all eternity?

But what if some of it passed you by? While the majority of our readers are fans it doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to hold a negative opinion, so do tell us what you think. But please keep your comments constructive; remember, even if you don’t like something a lot of hard work and dedication has gone into making it so please respect  that.

To get things going, here’s what a couple of our Velveteers have to say about the show:

Paulyne
If any show deserves the word ‘Luxury’ in the title more than this one then I am yet to find it. It’s such a magnificent treat for your eyes it’ll leave you with an adrenaline crash a few hours later. Noel Fielding and Nigel Coan have taken the word ‘surreal’ – originally given to Boosh as a description – and turned it on its head, and added more colour and more jokes than you can imagine.

Noel exists in a tree house that looks like what I would imagine the world under a rainbow to look like. There are few and far comparisons between Fielding’s former show and I see this as his ‘Unleashed: for all the family’!

Each sketch is beautifully formed, making you look forward to each and every character’s return in the next episode. It feels like an honour to be able to take a glimpse into the minds of the creators and of course, the creators have minds to envy!  It’s a show takes everything comedy and luxury to new heights.

Mog
Several consistent themes weave through Noel Fielding’s creative output like golden threads; they’re what binds together his stand-up and his art, and what makes it recognisably and uniquely his: It’s daft and yet clever, imaginative and other-worldly, beautiful in both thought and image, and it packs a big comedy punch while offering up lovely little moments of whimsy. All of this is packed into Luxury Comedy.

Channel 4/Secret Peter

Whatever the doubters may say, there are several things that stop the show being a random hotch-potch of empty silliness: Firstly, there’s a delightfully clever logic at work here, much the same as you would find in the Boosh, only more submerged (but it’s there). Secondly, it’s simply stunning to look at; the care and attention that has gone into every detail is astonishing, and sets it apart from the tosh that’s currently cluttering up our screens. And thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, it’s a TV show with heart; it’s been created with love, care and joy – and it shows. At its core sits genuine warmth and human spirit. It’s not a show that’s up itself.

And now it’s over to you, dear Peelers. Let us know what you think about Luxury Comedy in the Comments box below…

© Channel 4/Secret Peter

Our treats just keep coming for our launch week for Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy! Airing is less than an hour away and we’re now bringing you a sneaky peak from our time on set to whet your taste buds!

If you’re on the edge of your seats waiting to see what we got up to last summer with the LC lot, then don’t fret as our full version will be up in the next few weeks for your lovely peelers. So, for now here’s a brief snippet of what Noel had to say about his first solo project post-Boosh.

Enjoy! And keep peeling your heads off, because there’s still so much more to come during our Luxury Comedy Takeover!

© Lauren Taylor / The Velvet Onion

As we approach the long awaited launch of Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy, TVO was keen to talk to one of the main stars of the show with a unique perspective on its production thanks to his titular sibling: Mike Fielding.

Thankfully, Mike was keen to talk to us too – and what follows is a candid and frank insight into a criminally underrated performer who at last, has been given a real chance to shine.  TVO’s editor in chief, Paul ‘Didymus’ Holmes reports…

Naboo The Enigma. That’s what they called him. A mysterious shaman, either in a drug-fuelled trance or listening to Fleetwood Mac. For three television series and two mammoth live tours, Mike Fielding was Naboo, and ultimately, he remained the real enigma throughout. Whereas Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt projected hyper-real versions of themselves into Vince and Howard, Mike was a mystery: the dvd extras revealing the persona of just about everyone else working on the show except him. Sure, we got the odd little wisecrack here and there, but only a few interviews had ever really hinted at the real man underneath the turban.

Meeting Mike again, away from the madness of the Boosh Tours was an experience – not just because our meeting occurred whilst he and his cohorts were knee deep in filming for Luxury Comedy in a North London studio. Here was an instantly likeable man, every bit as charming as his sibling – but in a subtler, more relaxing manner than the star of the show who, quite understandably, was feeling the pressure a lot more when we spoke. Perhaps it helped that Mike is less than three years my elder, so our frame of reference was undoubtedly similar. When he wasn’t needed on set, he was keen to mingle with The Velvet Onion team, ensuring we felt at home, and I’m sure I wasn’t alone in our crew by appreciating him a lot more after that hot weekend in July.

© Lauren Taylor / The Velvet Onion

Catching up not long after his thirtieth birthday, I find Mike in a reflective, but positive mood – open, honest, and as per usual, downright hilarious. We’ve been talking less than thirty seconds and he apologises for not sending his private jet to Manchester to pick me up, only for us to have an impromptu discussion about how it would resemble a hard-boiled, hollowed-out egg, complete with plasma screens and pick ‘n’ mix. With Mike, there’s always pick ‘n’ mix – and it’s clear that he shares his brother’s childlike sense of wonderment with the world – something he pegs on the Boosh itself.

“Before Boosh, I was the shyest person in the world,” he tells me. “I was scared of my own shadow, I wouldn’t talk to anyone that I didn’t know. Boosh has made me who I am now. It’s given me an animated, childish confidence. People say that when you’re thirty, you can’t be stupid like that anymore, but who says? There’s no rules!”

He is quick to agree that the show gave him something of a Peter Pan complex: “I think its important to feel young and stay a bit young. If you get bogged down with the reality of it all, you’d just sit in a hole moaning about bills and cats… …cats? I’ve haven’t got cats, but a lot of old people get cats when they get old. ‘Oh, I’ve got cats, it’s all over for me!’” I suggest, cynically, that you never really grow old, but simply get childish about more boring things – a suggestion that seems to ring true. ““Yeah, it’s important to laugh every day,” he explains. “Not a lot of people do. They get in their office and they go: ‘Oh, I couldn’t possibly let myself go for five minutes and laugh at something.’ I never want to be like that.

“People follow the trend, and think they have to act in a certain way when you turn 30. You don’t. It’s ridiculous. Can you imagine me and Noel ever fully growing up? That’s weirder than anything we’ve ever done, I think.” I wonder out loud if the two of them ever discuss insurance or mortgage finance? “You never know,” he says, “I might be the face of Admiral or something one day. That’s when you know your young days are over.”

Still, not many people can say they’ve sold out the O2 Arena, or become a regular in the NME despite not being a musician! At its peak, the Boosh became an intense roller-coaster ride, before Noel and Julian took a step back and decided to put their partnership into a temporary hiatus. In the past, Noel has explained that he and Barratt spent fifteen years working solidly together, and they had started to become one entity – but how did it feel for those around the duo when the dream came to an end?

“It was a big shock to the system,” he reveals. “First off, I figured I needed to get a job, now!” He bursts out laughing, then stops to consider the implications of those manic times. “It was weird,” he confesses, “but me and Noel both started having flashbacks, like we’d been in Vietnam or something. Our answer to that was to just keep on partying, because deep down we didn’t want it to end. We just kept trying to go out, and keep that energy alive a bit. Noel got out of it a bit earlier on, but I was left spiralling for a while longer.” He thinks for a moment. “It’s a weird feeling when you’re playing the o2, and then the next year… I mean, it was all life changing and mind boggling. It was like being in The Twilight Zone. You can’t explain it to anyone unless they’ve been there.”

Mike’s answer to this was to travel the world, performing dj sets wherever he could, usually to a happy-go-lucky crowd of Boosh fans. For much of 2009 and 2010, he was heavily active on the scene, gigging two or three times a week, which he reveals didn’t exactly help his attempts to quit the party lifestyle, but last year he made an important decision to turn his life around and concentrate on fresh work. “I did one gig at the end of last year,” he explains, “and it wasn’t a very good gig. I got put in a different room to where I should have been, and loads of people paid to see me and thought I hadn’t turned up. It was the first time I did a dj gig and thought: ‘I don’t want to do this anymore.’ It was fun at the time, but I think its run its course.”

© DMC Update

Since then, he’s been writing heavily with his writing partner Max, working on scripts and treatments for the many ideas pouring out of his head. “I’ve been writing my own show four days a week, and that’s been part of the big wake-up call. It’s fallen on me to finally start doing things for myself, you know? Boosh was given to me on a plate…” He stops for a moment, then laughs: “Even though no-one else could’ve played Naboo!”

“It’s nice to be doing something for myself.” he continues. “Production companies love our treatments, and are going to pitch them… and that’s not even the idea we’re writing at the moment!”

That idea was something we spoke about back in July, when Mike was knee deep in Luxury Comedy. A planned six-part mockumentary, the series would see Mike creating a show within the show all about the unexplained. Ghosts, werewolves, vampires, things that go bump in the night and are the stuff of legends – all fantastical creatures which he is fascinated by. Since then, the idea has continued to take shape, and has gained a notable script-editor:

“We finished the first draft just before Christmas and got Noel to script-edit it. Now we’ve started the second draft and we’re making the changes he’s suggested,” he explains. “It’s actually harder making changes than it is just starting from scratch. It’s all there, but we’re just having to change bits. In the end we just started a blank page and used the first draft and the notes as a basis. I think it was just the thought that it was there, on the bottom of the page. But Noel’s been really helpful.”

We certainly look forward to seeing the results of these various ideas – if that is, the commissioners take to them in this difficult period for comedy. I mention some of the casualties of the last few years to him – from Lifespam and Penelope: Princess Of Pets through to How Not To Live Your Life and Mongrels. Alternative comedy, so recently the height of mainstream, appears to have finally become alternative once again. “I think The Boosh opened the door for a lot of weird shows,” he opines. “At some point down the line, things changed. Comedy has gone so samey: safe and commercial. Sitcoms, panel shows, stand-up… it’s all the same people, and the weird shows have disappeared. What’s mad, is that it’s come back around again, and the show that’s going to herald the change is Noel’s show.”

© Lauren Taylor / The Velvet Onion

Yes, Luxury Comedy. The oddest of the odd – a call to arms for the terminally surreal. A candy-coloured, psychedelic children’s show for adults where mash pours into The Audience’s head to produce revolvers, mantarays are record producers and New York cops have talking wounds. It’s a truly unique vision, and one that Mike was keen to be involved with. “I came in after it was written, but I was in rehearsals pretty much every day so we could hone the scripts. When we did Boosh, I was only in bits and pieces, but now I’m a main character, I think I only had one or two days off throughout the whole shoot.”

There has always been talk of how funny Mike can be, and having spent time with him, I can certainly understand why. Whilst Naboo was a glorious gift of a character, the real Michael Fielding was, and is, capable of so much more – and now at last it seems everyone else is realising that, particularly Mike himself. “It was good for me,” he reveals, with startling honesty. “I had a lot to prove to myself, and to Noel and the crew. I’d only ever played one character before. The fact I was playing six proper characters in this meant I had to step up. And I did it, and I’m proud of myself because of it. It’s been good being part of that, and throwing ideas into the mix. I wasn’t really in the mindset to do that when we did The Boosh. I was younger and far less confident. Now, I’m chipping in and Noel’s really encouraged it.”

I ask if there was a conscious effort from both Fielding brothers to ensure Mike wasn’t seen just as Noel’s sibling: “Yeah. I always felt like that anyway,” he tells me, “but Noel would tell me all the time that he put me in the show because he finds me funny, and he wants people to see that, and he wants me to believe it. It’s only in the last couple of years that I’ve started to accept that. Before, when I was in the Boosh, people would come up to me and tell me I made them laugh, but I couldn’t quite believe it. I grew up not thinking I was good at anything. Noel was always the comedian, and then the artist, so I had a lot to prove to myself. I’m starting to accept it now, and I’m approaching the whole process of making the show and its aftermath differently, and I guess a bit more grown-up. Funny, how we were saying about me being childish earlier… in my own way I’ve had to grow up a lot in the last couple of years.”

Somewhat surprised by his candour, I tell him that I’m confident fans will be suitably impressed by his work on the show – and indeed, everyone’s work on the show. It may take a while for people to realise just how great the show is, I suggest, but it’s something that will nestle inside people’s brains and make them love it. Mike is keen to agree, but this raises a thorn in his side about initial reactions to the show from certain corners of Boosh fandom: “I think its so magical, but it’s a real shame that some people are shouting about how they won’t watch it because Julian isn’t in it. I really hope people are willing to give it a chance in its own right. The Boosh will always be there,” he states, firmly. “There will be a comeback, but it will be when they’re ready. It’d be wrong to do it right now, but it will happen… and people can’t force that to happen any sooner. They can’t expect Noel and Julian not to do other things in the meantime… and I really hope people will give the show a go instead of dismissing it. “

I reveal that it took TVO a few viewings to really appreciate the subtleties of the show, and again, Mike is keen to agree that with Luxury Comedy, it may only truly sink in on repeat viewings. “It is so different,” he suggests. “I think it’ll go down well… or people will start throwing rocks at us on the street. A show like this gives people the opportunity to think differently to how the world is today for a while… to have that little bit of time away from reality. Not to watch it seriously, but just let it sink in.”

© Secret Peter / Channel 4

“I think the reason people won’t get it, is the reason people might not have got The Boosh. They didn’t allow themselves to fully immerse themselves inside that world. They’d just go: ‘Oh, I don’t understand it!’ and get annoyed at themselves and feel inferior because the people around them did get it. That just makes them feel less intelligent.” He pauses for a moment, perhaps to consider if he’s going too far… “If they just forget all that – and relax for a minute, they’ll see it. They’ll get it. It’ll be like a light bulb going off in their heads.” He laughs: “People would watch Boosh once, and tell me they didn’t like it, then I’d get them to watch it a second time and they’d go: ‘Oh, yeah I really enjoyed it. I wasn’t ready the first time!’”

And if the show were to get a second series, what would Mike like to accomplish with another shot at making the show? “What would I like to see? Oh god…” He thinks for a moment, stalling with the first thoughts that pop into his semi-subconscious. “I’d like to see a macaroon… and a viscount. I’m gonna pen that in.” Is he thinking seriously, or has his mind wandered to his shopping? “Oh yeah,” he realises, “I just named two biscuits! What the fuck am I doing?” He bursts into laughter. “Not the chocolate bar, an actual viscount. You’re just thinking: ‘He’s just naming biscuits? What’s going on?’”

Still drawing something of a blank, it seems he’s either keeping his guard up on new ideas, or he’s happy to let Noel lead, and for him to follow… with a little bit of added influence along the way: “Who knows what else is in Noel’s brain? Who knows what’s gonna come out of there for a second series? It’s funny though, I had a discussion with Noel about this, and I said I’d love to write a character in, or help him write some of it. I’ve never had the confidence to ever suggest that to him before. Now, after this, I feel like I could do that. “

Now a true Fielding & Fielding collaboration – that would be a sight to see – especially as Mike has a somewhat off-kilter influence: “I really love Victoria Wood, actually. It would be amazing to work with her on something, but I’m sure it would never happen. I really admire her writing, and would love to work with her in whatever context I could.”

“She’s the only person I’ve ever gone starstruck at,” he reveals. “She came backstage at one of our shows and I wanted to tell her how much I loved her work, but I just sounded like Beaker from The Muppets!” I ask if his being starstruck himself made it easier to understand fan reactions to The Boosh? “Yeah, I totally know how it feels,” he explains. “Sometimes, I just put my hand on their shoulder and try to tell them to relax. Try and give them a cuddle. It’s mad sometimes, but you can’t control it when it takes over you like that.”

The Boosh taught me a lot about ‘famous people’ in a very short space of time – their natural charms made me realise quite quickly that the best way to talk to a ‘celebrity’ is to treat them like a normal person. Mike agrees, especially when I suggest that fear is the only possible reaction when someone comes running up to you screaming about wanting your babies. “Yeah. It’s not like I’m gonna go: ‘Well, actually, it’s funny you should say that. I’ve got a little pot of spunk in my pocket.‘”

I immediately erupt into laughter so loud that for once I’m glad we’re not meeting up in person. I’d deafen the poor chap – but still he keeps on going: “Imagine that? ‘Here’s the contract. I’m not paying maintenance.’ Then when the kid turns up on my doorstep saying: ‘I want some money’, I can go: ‘Well, I’ve got a contract here, sir…’”

© Lauren Taylor / The Velvet Onion

It seems that any demons Mike may have had in the past are either excised, or have been put very much on the back burner. More than ever before, he seems ready to take on the world. “I’m really enjoying things at the moment.” he tells me. “I’m in a good place mentally. Me and Noel both know how to approach it now if things get big again, and its good to do my own thing at last too.”

So Luxury Comedy has been a rewarding experience, and it seems that the biggest luxury Mike has discovered along the way has not been a wild party, but simple respect and admiration given and received by those around him. “It’s been really good for me to get to know Tom and Dolly,” he explains, candidly. “I knew them before, but whenever I’d see them we’d be out and I’d be crazy drunk or something, and I never really stuck to them and had conversations with them. I can appreciate now how much of a bubble I was in. I got a bit selfish, I stopped talking to a lot of my friends, and you don’t see it at the time…” No longer trapped in the turban, Mike finally appears to have found acceptance from his friends, his colleagues and most important, himself. “Spending every day with Noel and Tom and Dolly and everyone else has been great. We’ve really bonded, and I miss seeing them all every day. It’s like one big happy family.”

Mike Fielding, thank you very much.  Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy starring Noel Fielding, Mike Fielding, Tom Meeten, Dolly Wells and a string of TVO faces airs on Thursdays at 10pm on E4.