You can enjoy Sherlock Holmes: The Speckled Band from Big Finish – completely free to download all week! This dramatised reading of Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story, starring Nicholas Briggs, Richard Earl, and Jane Goddard.

Since the beginning of the lockdown imposed by the Coronavirus pandemic, Big Finish has been releasing weekly free downloads of audio dramas – or #lockdownloads – for a limited time. Every Monday, a new story (or episode from a box set collection) can be downloaded exclusively from the Big Finish website.

Each story will be available for one week only, and comes accompanied by a special discount offer on related titles.  

Actor Nicholas Briggs says:

“This story has a special place in my heart, because my first experience of playing Holmes was in a production of the stage dramatisation of The Speckled Band, also written by Conan Doyle, and directed by Big Finish’s Ken Bentley. I was actually performing this during the evening, while creating the sound design and music for The Sirens of Time (our first ever Doctor Who release) by night. It’s also a crackling Holmes adventure, so I was very pleased when we decided to do this dramatised reading of the original short story.”

Here’s the blurb for The Speckled Band:

Helen Stoner consults Sherlock Holmes about the death of her twin sister, Julia, who died before her wedding, crying that: “it was the Speckled Band!” 

Holmes must investigate their mother’s estate and the unpleasant Dr Roylott, Helen’s stepfather, who allows gypsies to camp on his estate and has both a cheetah and a baboon running amok in the grounds. 

But can Helen be believed? Is Dr Roylott as bad as he seems? And can the specked handkerchiefs worn about the necks of the gypsies really be a coincidence? 

For a limited time, Big Finish listeners can download any story from series 1-2 of Sherlock Holmes for half price at the Weekly Deals page. Plus, there is up to 50% off selected Sherlock Holmes boxsets. 

Alternatively, the bundle price of the complete Sherlock Holmes series will be available at its lowest ever download price of just £50 when all six volumes are bought together. All these download discounts will expire at 23:59 (BST) on 31st May 2020.  

Holmes fans can download The Speckled Band from now until 23:59 (BST) on 31st May 2020 too.

Further free lockdownload stories will be released over the next two weeks.