I'd not seen him before, and most of the rest of the cast -- much like the original TP outings featured a cast of relative unknowns. Bringing the same cast back after 30 years was maybe a sop to hardcore fans, but it showed an alarming lack of imagination and daring (for Lynch), deeply damaging to the integrity of the enterprise.

We are in agreement as I suggested

Heh... I thought he was named after the bird, not a Cornish giant.

So did I for most of the first series.

I have formed this half-baked theory from our discussions: American weirdness is less familiar and therefore more interesting to Brits (even on repeat), and vice versa.  :-/