Tom Baker MBE returns to Baker Street in a brand-new original audio drama, Sir Sherlock: The Red Letter Day.
The new production from AUK Studios, which will see the former Doctor Who star take on the role of Sir Sherlock Holmes, is due for release in March.
Set in 1924, the story finds Holmes having finally accepted a knighthood after years of quiet retirement on the Sussex Downs, only to be drawn back into action when a new murder case pulls him and Dr John Watson back to London.
The project marks Tom Baker’s first-time playing Sherlock Holmes since appearing on screen in the BBC’s The Hound of the Baskervilles in 1982, and on stage in The Mask of Moriarty in 1985, making this a rare and notable return to the character.
Tom Baker says: “Thanks to AUK Studios for letting me have another go at inhabiting the super sleuth. Third time lucky. I hope I did his pipe proud this time. Enjoy my return to Baker Street, very aptly named, I think.”
Joining him as Dr John Watson is fellow Doctor Who alumnus John Leeson, best known as the voice of K9, reuniting the pair in a very different partnership more than four decades on.
Leeson says: “It was a delight to work with Tom again and at last this time I was playing the Doctor!”
The wider cast includes Operation Mincemeat star Nicholas Rowe as Norton, an actor with his own long association with Sherlock Holmes through Young Sherlock Holmes in 1985 and Mr Holmes in 2016.
Katy Ashworth, best known for her work on CBeebies, makes her audio drama debut as Sergeant Emily Lestrade, while the late Norman Eshley appears as Lord Lestrade, with the production dedicated to his memory.
Additional roles are played by Conrad Westmaas, Wink Taylor, Barnaby Eaton-Jones and Ian Kubiak.
The script is written by Gary Hopkins, who previously wrote for the Granada Television series The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, starring Jeremy Brett.
Hopkins says: “It’s so nice to be back at 221B Baker Street again. It seemed like unfinished business that Tom Baker hadn’t returned to the part sooner, so I’m delighted that he’s back for these new adventures of Sir Sherlock.”
Sir Sherlock: The Red Letter Day is directed and produced by AUK Studios creative director Barnaby Eaton-Jones, who is also script editor and casting director, and voices the character of Weymss.
The audio drama is available to pre order now, with CDs and official novelisations offered through a Kickstarter.
