Sherlock series three details revealed

Mark Gatiss, BBC Sherlock's co-creator, has revealed some juicy details about the third series of the drama set to hit our screens in 2013.

Gatiss, who plays Mycroft on the show, confirmed that the first episode of the new series will be an adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Adventure of the Empty House.

This news has got us very excited indeed as we have been hooked on the show since the very first episode.

The Sherlock series two finale, which saw Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) apparently fall to his death, was an adaptation of Conan Doyle's The Final Problem, with The Empty House being the next story chronologically in the series.

In an interview with PA, Gatiss said: "There's certain things about 'The Adventure of the Empty House' which feel set in stone because that's how Sherlock comes back, but at the same time we feel free to invent and to introduce new stuff to it."

Gatiss added: "I always found it a little unlikely that Dr Watson's only reaction was to faint for instance - as opposed to possibly a stream of terrible swear words."

But which novels will feature in the second and third episodes of the third series? Gatiss told PA that it depends on the "overall feel" of Sherlock's third series. Oh, he is mysterious!

Gatiss said: "Steven [Moffat] and I have our all-time favourites, but it's really a question of what will fit into the structure."

The third series of Sherlock will start filming in early 2013 and will hit our screens in the same year.