TV preview: Sherlock

HOLMES COMFORTS: Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman lead a star cast when Sherlock returns to our screens on New Years Day.

The actor, best-known for his roles in The Secret Agent and Marvellous will star in the second episode of the brand new three-part series. The trailer for the show, which was released earlier this month, was deliberately vague and everyone involved has been deliberately tight-lipped about what to expect from the Final Problem.

Promising laughter, tears, shocks, surprises and extraordinary cases, it was announced last month that series four will begin with Sherlock Holmes, back once more on British soil just as Doctor Watson and his wife, Mary, prepare for their biggest ever challenge – becoming parents

Co-creators, writers and executive producers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss said: “Sherlock series four – here we go again! Whatever else we do, wherever we all go, all roads lead back to Baker Street – and it always feels like coming home. Ghosts of the past are rising in the lives of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson bringing adventure, romance and terror in their wake. This is the story we’ve been telling from the beginning. A story about to reach its climax...”

Sherlock, New Year’s Day, BBC1, 8pm