Sherlock icon Martin Freeman responds to question on whether fans can expect more

Almost immediately after Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat's Sherlock left our screens in 2017, fans have been desperate for Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman to reprise their roles as the eponymous detective and his right-hand man, Doctor John Watson.

But while the show's co-creators have always been keen to revisit the characters in another season or a movie, Gatiss said last year that progress hadn't been made "because Benedict and Martin didn’t want to do any more".

And sadly, that stance doesn't appear to have changed.

During an interview with RadioTimes.com to promote his latest work – another crime adaptation in Agatha Christie's Seven Dials for Netflix – Freeman referenced Sherlock Holmes while answering a different question, providing the perfect opportunity to ask if there was any update on the BBC mystery series.

"I love watching things where you are genuinely surprised – someone does something to somebody else and you go, 'Wow, I didn’t see that coming,'" he said of Seven Dials' ending, which kept him "guessing right up to the end".

"It's a funny thing, I suppose, as an audience, because we want comfort. If you're going to have an Agatha Christie or a Sherlock Holmes or whatever, there are certain things you want. But you also want to be pulled up occasionally and go, 'Wow, that was even better because it surprised me as well.'

"So hopefully that will do that to people. It did to me reading it, and because I've obviously seen all three episodes, it is surprising."

"You did mention Sherlock Holmes – any update on that?" we then asked, to which Freeman laughed: "Not right now – sorry, why do I do these things?" before adding: "No, not right now. Sorry."

But you will be able to watch Freeman in Seven Dials from 15th January.

He plays Superintendent Battle alongside Mia McKenna-Bruce (How to Have Sex) as Lady Eileen 'Bundle' Brent, an amateur sleuth who investigates the death of a young man after a practical joke at her country home appears to have gone drastically wrong.

The murder mystery is his most high-profile work since season 2 of Liverpool-set BBC crime drama The Responder.

Read more:

• Sherlock star Martin Freeman reveals his favourite TV detective – and it's not Mr Holmes
• Seven Dials writer Chris Chibnall reveals whether Netflix's Agatha Christie series could get a sequel or prequel

"In 2024 I'd made a few things, and they were mainly lighter in tone than The Responder," he said. "That isn’t massively light, although there is humour in it, so this was all a bit less grim.

"But again, there's real violence. There are murders and it does make you think,'‘Oh God, that's a bit nasty.' It's just nicely woven into the fabric of Agatha Christie – tempered with the '20s, lovely country houses, nice frocks and witty language.

"You kind of forget that the material is actually quite dark. But generally, yes, I enjoyed the change. I like doing things that are a change."

Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials will launch on Netflix on 15th January 2026. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media.

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