Sherlock fans in agony at series three not filming until 2013, be assured: co-creator and star Mark Gatiss says the answer to how Holmes faked his own death will be "worth the wait".
And if you've posted your theory online, you've probably hit upon at least part of the answer. Perhaps. "There's some very clever theories, some of them elaborate, and I enjoy them all," Gatiss told The Guardian. "But if I were to tell you if someone had worked it out then it wouldn't be a secret."
He teased further: "[The answer] may be, sort of, in some of the theories. There's a lot of very clever people out there."
Gatiss – who joins the cast of BBC3's Being Human this Sunday - admitted that some Sherlock theories were well beyond anything he and Steven Moffat had dreamt up, but said the speculation delighted him – and the first episode of series three would not disappoint: "I've never known something become such a public talking point… It'll be worth the wait."
And what of that other modern-day Holmes reboot, NBC's Elementary, starring Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu? Gatiss stayed tight-lipped, in a way that may or may not indicate that legal action is on the cards. "All I can say… is no comment."