Young James Bond adaptation casts author Charlie Higson in role he wrote 20 years ago

Charlie Higson is stepping into the world he created more than 20 years ago, joining the cast of the audio drama adaptation of his own Young Bond novel SilverFin.

Big Finish has confirmed that Higson – the co-creator and star of The Fast Show and author of both the Young Bond books and the young adult horror series The Enemy – will voice Michael Merriot, the Eton classics tutor who becomes a mentor figure to the orphaned teenage James Bond.

Higson wrote the character over two decades ago and is now playing him in quite the full-circle move – but the casting came about almost by chance.

The SilverFin team were recording a Doctor Who audio adaptation when they bumped into Higson, and the offer to join the cast was made over lunch.

On the announcement of the casting, writer and director Barnaby Edwards said: "Rob and I were recording a Doctor Who at the Soundhouse shortly after SilverFin had been given the green light, and Charlie Higson happened to be recording something else in one of the other studios that day.

"We were able to grab him at lunchtime and have a brief chat. We asked him to play Merriot, and he agreed. He’s the perfect Merriot and we’re so lucky to have him as Bond’s mentor."

Higson added: “It’s a lot of fun, revisiting the book over 20 years after I first wrote it and reading the scripts thinking, 'Oh, this is good.' And it’s great to be involved in this way, playing a character who develops over the series.

"Bond is turning up at school as an orphan, and Merriot becomes an alternative father figure who takes an interest in his life."

Higson had already welcomed the wider project, saying he was "very excited" that his Young Bond books would get "fresh life as fully dramatised audio adventures", hopefully "introducing him to a new generation".

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Higson's first Young Bond novel, SilverFin, was published in 2005 and follows a 13-year-old James Bond as he arrives at Eton College in the 1930s. It was the first in a sequence of five novels, continuing with Blood Fever, Double or Die, Hurricane Gold and By Royal Command.

The audio adaptation stars Isaac Rouse as James Bond and Charlotte McBurney as Wilder Lawless, with Big Finish first announcing the Young Bond series earlier this year.

Supervising producer Lizzie Worsdell said it felt "incredibly exciting" to bring the stories to life as full-cast audio dramas, calling Higson's books a "brilliant foundation".

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"When reading the script, it became impossible not to hear Charlie’s voice when reading Merriot’s dialogue," she added. "He brings exactly the warmth, intelligence and kindness the character needs, so he always felt like the perfect fit."

SilverFin is being released as a full-cast drama across two box sets, beginning this October, comprising 16 half-hour episodes and running to around eight hours in total. It will be available from Big Finish and the Ian Fleming Shop.

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Authors

Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.