In Search Of Dogs That Look Like Robert Redford

“When we moved back to England I actually bought an ex-British Army tank,” Noble explains. “It’s got rubber pads on the tank tracks so you can drive it up and down the lane, if you want to, but you have to be a bit careful because it chews up the tarmac when you turn it. Who doesn’t love driving a tank?”

Normally when Noble returns to England, he’d take some time off (which, to him, means maybe entering an extreme off-road bike race) but that’s off the table because he’s scored a three-month tour as part of the ensemble in a touring production of Mel Brooks’ The Producers. Noble plays unhinged ex-Nazi Franz Liebkind, the playwright of fake musical, Springtime For Hitler.

“I’m singing and dancing so I can’t really afford to break my leg and I have to take it easy. I’ll wait until that show finishes, then I’ll get back into racing. I’ve always sort of thought it’d be good to have a crack at the old musical theatre. It feels quite ‘legitimate’, you know? And also it’s the sort of thing no one is expecting me to do. And it’s Mel Brooks as well. If you’re going to give something a try, why not do the absolute best? It’s a bit like going into movies and doing a Steven Spielberg film alongside Robert De Niro. I’ll give it a crack and if I get the bug I might do a bit more. I’m loving it so far; it’s nice to do something with other people. I’m going to have to be on my game, it’s an awesome ensemble.”

He’s back on TV screens in the UK with his new show, Freewheeling, with a new season just airing, generating “a great buzz”. The format is just Noble, on a bike, scrolling though his Twitter feed and then hitting the highway to visit the oddest people.

“We’re getting a lot of people writing in saying ‘It’s one of the most bizarre pieces of television I’ve ever seen,’ which is good, that’s what we wanted. We avoid all the obvious; we don’t do tourist attractions – whatever comes in that’s a bit weird or a bit odd. If somebody tweets in ‘I make owls out of straw, come and visit me,’ we’ll go to that – but if it’s the Straw Owl Museum, we won’t touch it. We only do stuff you’ve never seen on any other TV show. Like if a bloke tweets in ‘I’ve got a dog that looks like Robert Redford,’ bang, we’re there.”