Louise Brealey: There were plans for a Sherlock special

Fans of the hit starring Benedict Cumberbatch have been hoping the show would return after series four’s explosive finale in 2017, but none of the cast or crew have revealed any plans for new episodes – until now.

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When discussing the potential for any future Sherlock, Brealey – who plays lovelorn pathologist Molly Hooper in the drama – told RadioTimes.com: “I know originally there was a hope that we would do a special down the line. I haven't heard that that's on or off.

“To utilise two clichés, I think it's on the very back burner and not necessarily on the cards.”

Brealey added that she and her co-star Una Stubbs, who plays landlady Mrs Hudson in the show, are keen to film more Sherlock. “Una and I are always like, ‘Wouldn't it be lovely to do another one?’ But unfortunately we're not in charge of the decision making in the room.

“Me and Una went to the Sherlock Holmes Museum and we were chatting about… how lovely it would be to see everyone again. Failing that, we could just meet for a curry. Or a Chinese, let's not narrow our options,” she joked.

However, any future Sherlock is likely to be a while off yet, given that according to Brealey, showrunners Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss “have had their heads turned by Dracula”, their new BBC collaboration which began filming in March.

Moffat previously revealed they would be surprised if they never made any more Sherlock. “Nobody has ever closed the door on Sherlock – we just say the same thing all the time and it gets quoted different ways,” he told RadioTimes.com in 2018.

“We haven’t got an immediate plan, but I would remain surprised, given the collective enthusiasm we have for it, if we didn’t do it again."