26 September 2023 , 18:15
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As a long-time co-presenter of The Great British Bake Off, Noel Fielding is perhaps best known for his surreal sense of humour and zany dress sense, as well as his humorous habit of distracting frantic contestants at highly inconvenient moments. A number of viewers may not know much about his life away from the Bake Off tent, however, or his reported connections with a famous rockstar's daughter.
As the latest batch of talented bakers get to work impressing the judges, we take a look at Noel's private life away from the cameras, including his perhaps unsurprisingly fun approach to parenthood.
Lliana has described Noel as a 'magical' father (Getty Images Europe)
Noel and Lliana have two young daughters (Dave Benett/Getty Images for Mamma Mia)Radio DJ girlfriend and 'silly' family breakfasts
Noel, 50, has been in a relationship with radio presenter and writer Lliana Bird for a number of years, with the pair reportedly first falling for each other in 2010 after Lliana appeared in several episodes of The Mighty Boosh. Much like Noel, Lliana - who is understood to be the longest-standing female DJ on Xfm/Radio X after 16 years on air - appears to be a highly creative individual.
The presenter and prolific podcaster has recently published her debut children's book Baboo the Unusual Bee, and has also previously written and co-directed two short films, as per her Rocket Bird Books profile, including multi-award-winning short Snapshots. Lliana, 42, and Noel are believed to live in the North London suburb of Highgate with their two young daughters.
The couple welcomed their first child Dali, named after Noel's artist hero Salvador Dalí, in the spring of 2018, while their second daughter, Iggy, was born in August 2020. Opening up about their home life in an episode of Giovanna Fletcher's Happy Mum Happy Baby podcast, Llliana described Noel as a "magical" father, revealing: "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'."
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She added: "Maybe someone else's kids are going to have a few more spoonfuls of porridge because it's going to be quicker, they're eating it properly, and digesting it properly. But, you know, my kids are having a lot of fun."
In an Instagram post shared to mark Noel's 50th birthday on May 21, Lliana wrote: "Babius. We love you more than you'll ever know. Half a century of the wonder that is you. You've made our whole lives, the two most incredible girls in the world are because of you. I hate this bull**** posting stuff but baby, you're so cool. You're so cool. You're so. Cool. Xx."
Rumours of connection with iconic rockstar's daughter
In 2007, Noel was rumoured to be dating Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof's daughter, Pixie Geldof, which he's since denied. The Sun reports that Noel made the following comments at the time: "She's incredible. There's a chemistry between us and we liked each other but she's so much younger.
"When I first met her I had no idea who she was and that she was so young. It caused a lot of problems because her dad wanted to kill me obviously. A lot of that's my fault for getting tempted by different things. It's also because of groupies trying to get in my way and people pretending to be my friends."
The Evening Standard reported that Pixie had been spotted "canoodling" with Noel, and that the teen "couldn't take her eyes off him". In 2019, the same publication reported that the pair had split, with Pixie being the one to call time on their "on off" relationship. However, Noel has previously denied there was a romantic connection between himself and Pixie, stating that they were just friends during an appearance at the Galaxy British Book Awards.
As reported by the Daily Star, Noel said: "It's just these things are… like fairytales aren't they? We're just friends that's all, but you can't be friends in this country without someone booking a church and trying to get you married." In 2012, Noel and Pixie were reportedly spotted kissing in a nightclub, fuelling further speculation and allegedly leaving Noel's then-girlfriend at "the end of her tether".
The Great British Bake Off, Channel 4, Tuesday, 8pm