Fielding first met Barratt after seeing him perform his solo stand-up routine at the Hellfire Comedy Club in the Wycombe Swan Theatre, in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The pair soon found that they shared comic interests, formed a double act, and "decided to be the new Goodies". After their first performance together at a bar, De Hems, in London in April 1998, Barratt and Fielding developed their zookeeper characters – Howard Moon and Vince Noir, respectively – in a series of sketches for Paramount Comedy’s "Unnatural Acts". Here they also met American Rich Fulcher, who became Bob Fossil. Fielding's friend Dave Brown and Fielding's brother Michael also became regular collaborators. Richard Ayoade was another original cast member, playing adventurer Dixon Bainbridge, but Matt Berry replaced him in the first television series, since Ayoade was under contract with Channel 4. Ayoade returned in the second and third series as a belligerent shaman named Saboo.