Charlie Higson joins the Young Bond Cast

The full-cast audio drama adaptation of Young Bond: SilverFin, due for release in October 2026, will star Isaac Rouse and Charlotte McBurney as James Bond and Wilder Lawless, and today our agents have uncovered the identity of a third cast member…

Charlie Higson, the author of the acclaimed Young Bond novels, which this brand-new audio series is based on, has joined the roster. Higson is a comedian and actor who is co-creator and star of the hugely successful comedy series The Fast Show. Alongside Young Bond, he is also the author of the incredibly successful horror series The Enemy, as well as five adult crime thrillers.

In SilverFin, Higson will voice Michael Merriot, the classics tutor at Eton College with a kind heart and hidden secrets, who becomes a mentor figure to the young pupil James Bond.

Higson said: “It’s a lot of fun, revisiting the book over twenty 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.”

Producer Robert Valentine said: “Offering Charlie Higson the role of Mr Merriot seemed the most obvious thing in the world to Barnaby and me. Not only because, as the author of the series, we thought it would bless the whole endeavour, but also because Charlie’s a marvellous actor and it would have been foolish not to cast him somewhere. He has such a warm, erudite and kind persona, which James Bond’s fatherly classics tutor absolutely needs.”

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.”

Producer Lizzie Worsdell said: “When reading the script, it became impossible not to hear Charlie’s voice when reading Merriot’s dialogue. He brings exactly the warmth, intelligence and kindness the character needs, so he always felt like the perfect fit.

“Having Charlie with us in the studio was really special too. As the creator of the Young Bond series, he was incredibly supportive of the production, and it gave everyone an extra sense of confidence and excitement. It felt like we had his seal of approval, which meant a great deal to the cast and the whole team.”

SilverFin is comprised of 16 half-hour episodes, making up approximately eight hours of full-cast audio drama. It will be released in October 2026 as two box sets, available from www.bigfinish.com and www.ianflemingshop.com. Each box set can now be pre-ordered for just £24.99 (download to own) or £35.99 (download to own + collector’s edition CD).

Additionally, listeners can pre-order the two volumes together as a bundle, available in a number of premium tiers with strictly limited, exclusive collectable packages:

·      Platinum (limited to just 300 copies worldwide): SilverFin Volumes 1 and 2 as collector’s edition CDs and digital downloads to own, plus an exclusive ‘Young Bond Intelligence Report’ magazine and commemorative collectables (notebook, mug, fridge magnet, and behind-the-scenes postcards), for £119.

·      Gold (limited to just 300 copies worldwide): SilverFin Volumes 1 and 2 as collector’s edition CDs and digital downloads to own, plus commemorative collectables (notebook, mug, fridge magnet, and behind-the-scenes postcards), for £95.

·      Silver: SilverFin Volumes 1 and 2 as collector’s edition CDs and digital downloads to own, for £68.

·      Bronze: SilverFin Volumes 1 and 2 as digital downloads to own, for £48.

Copies of the SilverFin novel by Charlie Higson can also be purchased from the Big Finish website, for £6.99. And, the novel is available in a bundle with both volumes of the SilverFin audio drama, for £54 (with the audio drama as digital downloads to own) or £68 (with the audio drama on CD).

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