Holmes Truths

Cumberbatch offers clues to Sherlock: Series 4…

- Stephen Kelly

Has Moriarty really returned? And if he has, then how? Sherlock’s greatest nemesis, after all, was last seen shooting himself in the head on a rooftop. How could he have possibly survived? After two years of questions, all will finally be revealed. And according to Mark Gatiss, he and co-creator Steven Moffat have been planning the answers since Series 2 finale ‘The Reichenbach Fall’ in 2012. So it’s hardly a surprise that all involved tread very, very carefully when talking (or not) about Sherlock Series 4.

Benedict Cumberbatch, for example, goes for the blunt approach. “I can say very little without spoiling it for people who want to see it on the day,” he says, firmly. “I think Sherlock’s got a fair idea of what’s coming — that’s if there is something coming...” Gatiss, meanwhile, prefers to tease. “You’ll just have to wait and see,” he grins. “This series is life-changing in so many ways that I cannot possibly tell you.” The clues are there, though. Series 4 is the big one; the series of consequences, the series of — as Moffat has said — “chickens coming home to roost”.

“I can tell you that,” laughs Gatiss. “A lot of things we’ve been teasing through the years come to their conclusion. Obviously it’s still the adventure show it always was, there’s a lot of humour, but the things we’re dealing with are very dark. I think this is the most we’ve ever put the characters through the emotional wringer this year.”

GRUDGE THATCH