Mark Gatiss says he and Sherlock co-creator Steven Moffat, were attacked on Twitter by fans after Sherlock appeared to die at the end of series two.
The actor, who is the co-creator of the drama along with Steven Moffat, told TV & Satellite Week that he was anxious about how the audience would respond to the finale of the last series, but he was ultimately gratified that there was such a strong reaction to the episode, which saw Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock appear to leap to his death before secretly turning up alive at his own graveside, where his friend John Watson (Martin Freeman) was grieving.
"My heart was pounding thinking, 'What are they going to do?'" says Mark, who also plays Sherlock's brother Mycroft in the series, which returns to BBC1 on New Year's Day for its third run.
"We succeeded beyond our wildest dreams though, because when Arthur Conan Doyle killed off Holmes in the novels, he was attacked in the street and young men of fashion wore black crepe in their hats and we have had the modern equivalent because we’re always attacked on Twitter!"
For the full interview read TV & Satellite Week, which is on sale now.
