Sherlock: Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman had to be persuaded to return for fourth series 

Sherlock: Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman had to be persuaded to return for fourth series

Steven Moffat assured fans of the Arthur Conan Doyle detective that the famous actors do love being in Sherlock

Sherlock stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman have become such big stars since Sherlock began that its creators have to “persuade” him to return for further series.

Cumberbatch was nominated for an Oscar at this year’s Academy Awards for his role as Alan Turing in the Imitation Game and has a packed schedule of both film and theatre commitments.

His co-star Freeman has also found global fame as Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson\'s The Hobbit movies.

Series showrunner Steven Moffat told Radio 1\'s Newsbeat at the Bafta TV Awards nominees party last night.: "[Cumberbatch and co-star Martin Freeman] don’t need Sherlock anymore, so we have to persuade them to do it, which is fair enough."

Despite the hesitance, both actors have signed on to a fourth series of the BBC detective drama, which is filmed in Wales, a move that pleasantly surprised Moffat.

“They are very serious about it, they do love it very much," he said. “I didn’t think we actually thought we’d get a fourth series out of them.”

It is not unusual for actors to need coaxing into further series, something that Moffat does not think “unreasonable” and does with his Doctor Who stars too.

“I still sit with Matt Smith every time and Peter Capaldi and say – this is what we’re going to do,” he said. “They would like to know that we’ve got another bunch of stories that they would like to do. That’s a fair question.”

Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman in a picture from the Sherlock 2016 Christmas special

Filming has already wrapped on the next Christmas special, due later this year and set in the Victorian age, while series four is expected to air at some point in 2016.

Fear not, for Moffat does not think the end is yet in sight for Sherlock. “Sherlock can go on a long time because we just show up occasionally and do it. It’s like a reunion party every time,” he said. “I’m an optimist.”

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