The Wheel of Time and Young Sherlock favourite confirms new role in "gritty, visceral and darkly funny" take on historical icon

The Wheel of Time star Dónal Finn is set to play the leading role in a new audio drama about the notorious highwayman Dick Turpin.

Titled Turpin, the new audio series - which is being billed as a "gritty, visceral and darkly funny take on the legend" - is coming courtesy of Big Finish Productions this summer.

Finn, who’s currently starring in Guy Ritchie’s Young Sherlock series on Prime Video, will star as the titular robber who abandons his stable life as a butcher to become a violent outlaw.

The audio drama has been written by award-winning screenwriters Mat Braddy and Darren Rapier, and directed by Ken Bentley alongside Braddy and Rapier.

Alongside Finn, the voice cast also features Jemima Rooper (Geek Girl, Atlantis) as Turpin’s sharp-witted wife Betty, and Greg Wise (Sense and Sensibility, The Buccaneers) as Captain Tom King, an elegant thief.

Harry Myers also stars as the dogged lawman Mason, while Richard Goulding will voice James Smith, Turpin’s law-abiding former friend.

The official synopsis for the audio drama reads: "Impatient butcher Richard Turpin wants his share of the emerging wealth of the new United Kingdom."

It continues: "After poaching for easy profits, he finds himself on the run and falls in with the vicious Gregory Gang. As his comrades are sent to the gallows, Turpin evades the hangman and becomes the country’s most wanted man."

Producer Lizzie Worsdell teased "a bold, unexpected re-telling of Dick Turpin unlike anything you’ve heard before."

Writer and director Darren Rapier added: "Ever since discovering the real-life story of Richard Turpin, of which there are many factual accounts and reports of the time, I’ve been keen on telling this story – rather than the dashing highwayman cliché. When I discovered Mat was keen on doing the same, we started talking about creating something together."

He continued: "The true story has more in common with the Kray twins than Robin Hood, and this is something we were eager to get across. Audio has allowed us to tell this epic tale in a fast and chaotic fashion. We like to describe it as a period action drama."

Further cast and story details will be revealed at a later date.

Read more:

• Farewell, Liza Tarbuck – our Saturdays evenings have lost their light
• Keira Knightley transforms into iconic Harry Potter character in first clip of new audiobook

Volume one, titled Essex Pistols, is due for release in July 2026, while volume two, titled Damned & Delivered, is due for release in August. The complete series is available to pre-order now.

Check out more of our Audio coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.