Cumberbatch set for Sherlock return

A fetching handlebar moustache, a heavy herringbone tweed suit, pinstripe pants, a pocket-watch chain, a morning suit, a bright-blue tie pin and a red handkerchief.

Fans have been anxiously awaiting any news of the upcoming Victorian-themed special, and the popular series is due to return with three new episodes for Season 4.

“That makes them the only two who’ve done both [period and contemporary] – apart from [Basil] Rathbone and [Nigel] Bruce, who we venerate, of course”.

Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Watson (Martin Freeman) are looking decidedly 1800s in the new photo from the upcoming Sherlock Christmas Special, which is set to take place in the Victorian era, said The Hollywood Reporter.

But how will they get there?

Speculation has begun as to how the showrunners can justify the modern-day characters adventuring in the 1800s, with many suggesting that the pair will be involved in some kind of time-travelling plot.

The hit BBC show, created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, is inspired by the original stories created by Arthur Conan Doyle.

So far, little information about the one-off episode has been given, aside from Moffat hinting that the Victorian setting was a result of it being a “separate entity on its own”. If you’re wondering what is with the style here (the chain!), it is a nod to the fact that for this special, we are going back in time. So we had this to do it – as we could hardly hide – it’s Victorian. Thinking caps at the ready …