Written by Paul Birch, creative director and narrator Barnaby Eaton-Jones

Out Now on Download, £7.99. Spiteful Puppet  (https://spitefulpuppet.com/)

Nothing’s ever forgotten…at Christmas.

As a follow-up of sorts to my review of the first series of Spiteful Puppet’s Robin of Sherwood audio stories, they have now released a festive treat for fans. A mixture of the audio drama and narrated story format, this is a narrated tale which features the voices not only of Nickolas Grace (the Sheriff of Nottingham), Andy Secombe (as the Priest) and Daniel Abineri (as Herne, taking over the role from his late father, John) but also Michael Praed (who returns as Robin of Loxley for the first time since his original TV appearances 33 years ago).

In ‘Sanctuary’ we find the Sheriff and his men stumbling upon Robin while they’re out at Christmas-time hunting boar. Soon they’re hunting him, which ends in both Robin and the Sheriff falling through ice near a small church. The next thing they know, they’re both being attended to by the Priest of that place – but all is not as it seems, and the situation they’ve found themselves in might just be more dangerous than anything either of them have faced before.

Allowing for some excellent exchanges between the two main characters, superbly acted out by Grace and Praed, this is the kind of stuff that really plugs the gaps in the original TV series. “Do you like what you’re doing?” asks the Sheriff of Robin, “Breaking the law?” “I uphold the law!” Robin answers, further emphasising the two very different points of view they have and always will. We even get a bit of back history for the usually faceless knights that accompany the Sheriff and are, more often than not, just disposable ‘red shirts’.

With great sound effects – which really bring the fight scenes to life – music and writing, from Paul Birch this time, if you’re a Robin of Sherwood fan you really can’t afford to miss this very special piece of the franchise’s history.

Christmas itself might be over, but you can keep the festive spirit alive – and spend a bit of that money you got from relatives on this excellence.

Verdict: So must it be, Robin i’ the Hood… 9/10                        

Paul Kane