Mark Gatiss: These are 'hopefully the best three Sherlocks we've done'

Mark Gatiss, Sherlock

Co-creator of the modern adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, Mark Gatiss says the new series is the darkest yet and – hopefully – the best

The new Sherlock will be the darkest yet, co-creator Mark Gatiss has said.

Benedict Cumberbatch, 40, and Martin Freeman, 45, return for the next series of the BBC1 adaptation of the classic Arthur Conan Doyle detective stories – a three-part instalment – starting New Year's Day.

Mark, 50, who also plays Mycroft Holmes in the show, told Good Morning Britain: “It’s hopefully the best three we’ve done.

Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock

Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock (Robert Viglasky/BBC/PA)

 

“It’s the darkest season. It’s not a different show – it’s still the combination of laughs and terror as it always is – but it has a darker edge to it and I think the cast have responded brilliantly to it.”

He said actor Toby Jones’s villain is 'skin-crawlingly horrible' in the new series.

When Good Morning Britain host Kate Garraway jokingly asked if Mark had been a 'bit lazy' because of the long gap between Sherlock series, he replied: “The Abominable Bride was on in January. It’s not even a year!

“It always takes a long time, partly because it takes a lot to write and to make and also because Benedict and Martin are furiously busy.”

Mark, who also writes Doctor Who, has previously hinted that he hopes to bring his dark comedy The League Of Gentlemen back to TV screens.

He denied reports that it would return with a Brexit twist, but confirmed: “We are hoping to. We have got a raft of anniversaries coming up that we’re going to hook it on to.

“We’re very excited. It’s been 11 years since we did anything.”

 

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