Britain’s Original Outlaw

History isn’t as romantic as the legends often say. Big Finish Productions’ new audio drama series Turpin sheds new light on the life of highway robber Richard Turpin – also known as Dick – revealing the gritty, brutal story of crime and consequences. 

In the first volume, Essex Pistols, which is released today, Richard leaves his butcher’s shop behind to begin a life of crime with the violent Gregory Gang, robbing from wealthy householders. Soon, though, he finds the vicious agents of the law closing in on him and his own family put in danger. 

Turpin stars Dónal Finn (Young Sherlock, The Wheel of Time) as the titular thief, alongside Jemima Rooper (Geek Girl, Atlantis) as his shrewd wife Betty and Greg Wise (Sense and Sensibility, The Buccaneers) as his fellow criminal Captain Tom King. 

Turpin: Essex Pistols is now available to purchase as a digital download to own for just £16.99, exclusively here. 

The five anarchic episodes in this box set are: 

Never Mind the Bullock 

Essex, 1730. Richard Turpin is twenty years old, newly married, and already looking for shortcuts. His story begins not with a highway robbery, but with a stolen horse and a wife left to answer for it. 

Lucky Bleeder 

Turpin runs. Betty doesn’t. As Mason, the relentless Keeper of Epping Forest, closes in on the butcher’s shop, Turpin finds himself deep in the forest with a gang of outlaws and a choice to make: go back for his wife, or stay ahead of the rope. 

Anarchy in the Merry Kingdom 

The Gregory Gang sharpens its tactics. Forget livestock. The real money is in the houses of the wealthy, and Turpin has the nerve to kick the doors in. But Mason is watching every road out of Essex, and the gang is about to learn what happens when the militia catches up. 

Chit Faced 

Two weeks of chaos. The gang is on a relentless spree, Smith is closing in on Betty, and someone inside the crew is being squeezed to talk. The episode ends at Hainault Lodge, Mason’s own house, in the middle of the night, with the gang and the law finally face to face. 

Rat Trap 

Turpin breaks orders and heads back to town. A bad idea. Morris is turning the screws on Wheeler. Betty barely escapes with the baby. And a high-stakes heist at the Shelly household ends in violence that changes everything. The forest is the only place left to run. 

The cast of Turpin: Essex Pistols also includes Harry Myers as dogged lawman Mason and Richard Goulding as Turpin’s former friend James Smith, as well as Kacey Ainsworth, Joe Pitts, Alisha Bailey, Robert Whitelock, Simon Kane, Brian Bovell, Sam Stafford, Tom Alexander, Paul Bown, Harriet Kershaw, Derek Griffiths, Ian Conningham, and Lizzie Worsdell. 

Lead actor Dónal Finn said: “Playing Dick Turpin has been a great joy. This is the first time that I’ve learned about the magnificent and mad life that he lived. He goes through the entire facet of the human experience and the highs and lows of fighting for survival and thriving and winning at any cost. 

“And it’s been an amazing group of actors to work with. Everyone brings a great imagination to each of the scenes, which is helped out massively by the writing, which has been brilliant and very human, as well as very adventurous and very exciting.” 

His co-star Jemima Rooper added: “Playing Betty Turpin has been an absolute delight. Our writers, Mat and Darren, have given life to a person who wouldn’t necessarily be able to tell their own story and who we don’t know much about. She’s a brilliant wife. She’s a brilliant woman. She’s fun, she’s got so much heart, and she’s feisty and brave.” 

Big Finish listeners can purchase Essex Pistols in a multibuy download bundle with the second volume of Turpin, Damned and Delivered (due for release in November), for the discounted price of £30, exclusively from www.bigfinish.com. 

All the above prices (including pre-order and multibuy bundle discounts) are fixed for a limited time only and guaranteed no later than 31 August 2026.