Doctor Who legend Tom Baker has reunited with his former co-star John Leeson for a brand new Sherlock Holmes adventure.
Baker, who played the Fourth Doctor in the BBC sci-fi series, has returned to the role of Sir Sherlock Holmes for Sir Sherlock: The Sickle and the Sea, a new original audio adventure from AUK Studios.
The project sees Baker starring opposite Leeson – best known to Doctor Who fans as the voice of the Doctor’s robotic companion K9 – as Doctor Watson, with the pair joined once again by Katy Ashworth as Emily Lestrade.
A behind-the-scenes photo from the production show Baker and Leeson back together for the new mystery, which follows on from Sir Sherlock: The Red Letter Day, released earlier this month.
Written by Kenton Hall, The Sickle and the Sea finds Sir Sherlock Holmes, Doctor Watson and Sergeant Emily Lestrade returning from a clandestine visit to the new Soviet Union on behalf of His Majesty’s Government.
However, the trio soon find themselves caught up in a baffling nautical mystery aboard the Russian cargo ship Ryzen, where a body has been discovered – apparently drowned, yet “dry as a bone”.
The synopsis asks: “Is it revenge? Or revolution? And can Holmes and company bring the killer to justice before all aboard are lost at sea?”
Hall described the new adventure as a “suitably knotty mystery for the newly knighted detective”, adding: “Holmes in the 1920s meant a changing post-war world. From there, it was only a gangway’s stride to the shipboard Russian mystery that is The Sickle and the Sea.”
Alongside Baker, Leeson and Ashworth, the cast also includes Michael Fenton-Stevens, Nicholas Rowe, Kate Harbour, Ben Perkins, Conrad Westmaas, Philip Pope and Wink Taylor.
Fenton-Stevens, whose credits include Ghosts, Only Fools and Horses and Radio Active, said of the project: “Taking part in this wonderful ensemble piece reminded me of the finest days of audio work… To be one of a group of skilled and practised professional actors, gathered in a room, willing each other to be better than they would be individually, was a joy.”
Barnaby Eaton-Jones directs and produces the adventure for AUK Studios, as well as serving as script editor, casting director and composer.
He said: “We’re delighted to be able to set sail with another mysterious and intriguing adventure, this time from the pen of Kenton Hall. We hope you’ll support us in this one too, as Sir Sherlock and Watson are quite literally all at sea.”
Baker previously played Holmes on screen in the BBC’s 1982 adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles, starring opposite Terence Rigby as Doctor Watson. The four-part serial aired shortly after Baker had bowed out as the Fourth Doctor, making this latest Sir Sherlock outing another return to one of his most beloved post-Doctor Who roles.
Sir Sherlock: The Sickle and the Sea is available to pre-order now via Kickstarter, with CDs and official novelisations also available. The campaign is open until Thursday 9 July 2026.
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