Another tale for the great detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his accomplice, John Watson, is coming this Christmas time with Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Fleet Street Transparency.

London at night.

Westminster, at the end of the age of empire. And here, two days before Christmas… an extraordinary mystery is about to unfold…

Footprints in the snow, an unfathomable assault in a Turkish bath… Watson is baffled, but Holmes has a growing suspicion that a seemingly fantastical encounter will become a reality.

Written by Jonathan Barnes and directed by Ken Bentley, Nicholas Briggs will play the infamous Sherlock Holmes with Richard Earl reprising his role as Dr John Watson. Joining them are Blake Ritson as Dr Kemp, Anjella Mackintosh as Lydia Rangeley/Sally and Leighton Pugh as Hubert Rangeley/Clark/Mr Blythe/Impressario.

Nicholas Briggs told us all about playing the great detective in this latest release, and how it felt to return to the great detective.

BF - Hi Nick! Back under the deerstalker of Sherlock Holmes. How does it feel returning to the role of the great detective?

Nicholas Briggs (NB) - It’s my customary mixture of excitement and being intimidated by the great legacy of the character. I do love playing the part, not just because it’s a great part, but because it’s a real challenge. It requires intense concentration and lots of preparation, so in a way it makes for a holiday from all my other Big Finish work. I have to focus on him fully. It’s also a very useful reminder to me of just how much work goes into portraying a leading man — always good for me to remember that when working with the Doctors!

BF - When is this tale set in the Holmes timeline? Last we saw he had just come out of retirement in The Sacrifice of Sherlock Holmes.

NB - This is right back in his heyday, at the height of his powers, round about The Hound of the Baskervilles time. So he’s very energetic and bursting with energy. He’s particularly enthusiastic about Christmas too, which required some real acting on my part.

BF - Can a new listener jump on board with The Adventure of the Fleet Street Transparency?

NB - You can jump on board with all our Holmes adventures, really, but this one in particular stands alone as mysterious, slightly disturbing, but ultimately a lot of fun for Christmas. I recommend a Christmas Day listen, actually. There’s something about Holmes’s quintessential Britishness that seems to fit rather nicely with all those warm, nostalgic feelings we get around this time of year.

BF - And finally, what do you admire the most about Sherlock Holmes?

NB - His intelligence and his precision. The way he is able to deconstruct a situation or character the moment he looks at it. That kind of analysis is so pin-sharp and far-reaching that it almost feels like magic. I like the idea of being a magician who’s actually using very clever analysis and science. His quick wit and insight is breathtaking. I wish I had even a quarter of those powers… but at least I can fantasise that I have got those powers when I’m playing the great man. Mind you, he’s fairly flawed too… quite arrogant, short-tempered and self-obsessed, strangely uncomprehending when it comes to the feelings of others too. I don’t admire those qualities, but it’s this mixture of the admirable and unfortunate that makes him fascinating to me and hopefully our listeners too.

Thanks, Nick! This tale can be pre-ordered at £5 a download (only). Or you can get it for free as a Christmas treat. Pre-orders of Sherlock Holmes: The Master of Blackstone Grange will also unlock the download of Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Fleet Street Transparency on its release this December.

The Master of Blackstone Grange and The Adventure of the Fleet Street Transparency will both be available as part of a 3-disc set in March. You can pre-order them now at £23 on CD or £20 on download. And we have the synopsis for The Master of Blackstone Grange below:

The arrival at Baker Street of a client who, unusually, seeks advice from both men brings to their attention the existence of an isolated manor house in the east of England known as Blackstone Grange. The place, for so long the locus of wild rumours of witchcraft and sorcery, has acquired a very modern new master – a charismatic socialite named ‘Honest’ Jim Sheedy, a man of boundless ambition whose influence over British society appears, inexplicably, to be growing.

The detective learns that Colonel Sebastian Moran, released early from prison, travels to meet with Sheedy on the very day of his freedom. But curiosity curdles into obsession when Mycroft warns his brother, in the strictest possible terms, against investigating any further.