It’s been nearly two years since we last saw ‘Sherlock’ in action (okay, only one, if you include ‘The Abominable Bride’, but you know what we mean), but fans can now count the sleeps until Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman jump back into action.
The wait is almost over, with the now-superstar pairing set for more sleuthing in Series 4, which will debut on New Year’s Day with ‘The Six Thatchers’.
Everyone involved, from the show’s stars to its writers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, has been positively Mycroftian in their paranoia about leaking storylines, dropping only a few vague hints during the course of production.
We need wait no more. Although it’s been impressed on all of us not to give away any twists (did we mention paranoia?), we can say a FEW things to shine on a light on what fans can expect come New Year’s Day, namely...
- Sherlock does baby-sitting. In scenes to make grown women weep, Benedict C is seen tending to the new infant of his best (only?) friend John Watson and wife Mary. However, it’s not all out goo-goo, by any means. “He’s not quite in love with babies as I am, let’s put it that way,” Benedict told the Independent during filming. “He’s got a lot going on; he can’t stick around for nappies for too long.”
- As if to prove the point, Sherlock also has a Bond-worthy fight scene, in which, cuffs and collars permitting, he acquits himself rather well
- We learn a bit more about Mary’s backstory, with Amanda Abbington’s scenes proving she’s more than a match for Sherlock and John.
- There’s also a surprise revelation about John Watson.
- And a fresh post-credits sequence to keep you guessing - fortunately, this time around, only for another week until the second of the three episodes.
- The name Moriarty is mentioned - which is fair enough, seeing as the story picks up straight from the end of Series 3’s conclusion ‘His Last Vow’. You’ll remember - when Sherlock was packed off abroad having killed arch-villain Charles Augustus Magnussen, but was then summoned back to London to the cry of a thousand videos, with Moriarty asking, ‘Did you miss me?’
‘Sherlock: The Six Thatchers’ will air on New Year’s Day on BBC One at 8.30pm.