Nappy New Year, Sherlock!

Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman on the hit show’s dark, unpredictable return, baby Watson and a truly terrifying new villain…

- Emma Bullimore

Forget Beatlemania – stand on the set of smash-hit Sherlock and you’ll see what fan hysteria looks like.

TV Times is lucky enough to be poised opposite the most famous front door in fiction, 221b Baker Street (actually filmed on London’s nearby Gower Street), where we and a throng of excitable bystanders are watching Benedict Cumber batch and Martin Freeman filming scenes for series four.

‘It’s a bit weird, if I literally just trip in the street or even just raise an eyebrow, it will immediately become an internet phenomenon,’ laughs Benedict, 40. ‘But it’s a respectful crowd and you can hear a pin drop when we do a take.’

Anticipation is high for the new three-part series after last year’s Victorian-themed special left us with countless questions. Is Moriarty really back from the dead? What will happen when Mary and John’s baby is born? And will Sherlock escape his ‘mind palace’?

Later, we retreat to a nearby hotel for a coffee and a chat with Benedict and Martin, 45. Here, they reveal what’s in store…

We’re delighted Sherlock is back! What can we expect this time?

Benedict: There’s lots to be excited about. I can’t give anything away, but the audience will see things they wouldn’t necessarily expect. Each episode feels very different, too, but you have to watch all three – they’re fine branches in the jungle of Sherlock and you have to keep swinging from one to the next to really understand what’s going on.