The final episode of the crime drama, COLD TAPES has been released along with the winner of its accompanying competition.
The series is a murder mystery surrounding the unexplained death of 33-year-old scientist Andrew Fairfield, played by Dave Hearn, on a remote Antarctic research base.
Listeners join DCI Tessa McCallister, played by Polly Frame, as she spearheads the police investigation.
In a unique format twist, listeners were invited to solve the murder for a chance to win a £10,000 cash prize.
There were 84 episodes that mirrored a live police investigation with evidence, including victim audio diaries, police interviews, telephone calls and secret recordings that ultimately exposed a murder plot on the remote base.
Listeners needed a keen ear to spot and piece together the clues to solve the murder. The killer was revealed in the long-anticipated final police interview file.
Karen Byford from Bury-St-Edmonds was the lucky winner, drawn at random from the correct competition entries. She will be crowned “Super Sleuth of the Year 2025” at this year’s CrimeCon London in June and takes home the £10,000 cash prize.
The series from Free Turn, was made in collaboration with a variety of professionals to develop the script and storyline, including police officers, polar adventurers, and researchers to ensure an authentic experience regarding life in Antarctica and police investigative procedures. The series was written by Alexis Zegerman and Jonathan Myerson.
COLD TAPES has been downloaded over 400,000 times and several thousand people registered to charge their suspect.
There were listeners from over 50 different countries. The podcast was also licensed to Wondery+, giving early access of the first 83 episodes to its global subscribers, and to IAG to be featured on British Airways and Aer Lingus flights.
Gemma Batterby, Managing Director of Free Turn said: “The podcast industry in the UK is filled with brilliant creative talent, but the commercial models for producers are increasingly tough.
“We decided to create Cold Tapes both to innovate in the true-crime genre creatively and freely, but also to explore the potential for new revenue models. We’re excited for Cold Tapes 2 and are actively exploring other innovative formats to bring to market.”
All episodes of COLD TAPES are available on all major podcast platforms including Spotify and Apple.
