Mark Gatiss: Sherlock to ‘Hide in Plain Sight’ in Season 3 Return

Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman in ‘Sherlock’ (Photo: BBC)

Questions loom for Sherlock fans who saw the detective make his harrowing faceplant on the pavement in the Season 2 finale, only to look on furtively from the shadows at his own “burial.” Well, co-creator Mark Gatiss tells Radio Times that we shouldn’t expect Mr. Holmes to pop up on the scene in some elaborate costume. (In the original story, Sherlock appears to Dr. Watson as an “elderly bookseller.”)

“We made a decision right from the get-go that he would not do disguise in the traditional sense,” Gatiss says. “He actually has a line in ‘The Great Game’ which is ‘The art of disguise is knowing how to hide in plain sight’ and that was because, right from the start, I thought modern day Sherlock Holmes would not put putty noses on, he would basically be standing behind you now and you wouldn’t know he was there. Ben [Cumberbatch] has put on various costumes, but it’s more about being invisible.”

Meanwhile, Steven Moffat tells the Radio Times that he hopes that he can keep his two burgeoning movie stars, soon-to-be Star Trek villain Cumberbatch and Hobbit star Martin Freeman, in the fold for a while. “Yes, it’s a problem by accident and design. We do have two of the biggest film stars in the world playing the leads in our show. But they seem to like doing it and we hope we can hang on to them for a bit.”