Elementary

But its pedigree is good, being written by Steven Moffat, the new Doctor Who supremo, and North-East-born Doctor Who fan Mark Gatiss, of League of Gentleman fame.

“We’ve been friends for years and were both writing individual episodes of Doctor Who,” recalls Moffat.

“On our many train journeys from London to Cardiff, we talked about our love for Sherlock Holmes, how brilliantly modern Arthur Conan Doyle’s writing was and how someone should do a contemporary version.

“So we decided to do it before someone else did.”

Except someone else was already doing a Holmes project – Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels director Guy Ritchie.

His Sherlock Holmes film reached cinemas at the end of last year. “We were aware the Guy Ritchie film was coming out,” says Gatiss.

“It’s weird how these things happen.

There hasn’t been a Sherlock Holmes of any kind for ages and all of a sudden two come at once. We both enjoyed the Guy Ritchie film, but it’s a totally different beast, really.”

Both Moffat and Gatiss appreciate some fans might have reservations about their contemporary update. “Arthur Conan Doyle was a writer of genius and it’s worth trumpeting that point,” says Gatiss.

“It’s not said often enough. His short stories, particularly, are thrilling, funny, lurid, silly, strange, wonderful pieces of exciting adventure which lend themselves incredibly well to a modern setting.”

Moffat didn’t want their adaptation to be like a Victorian period piece. “Sherlock Holmes is not like that – it’s so fast-paced, it must have given the Victorians whiplash. And that’s probably why Sherlock Holmes has captured audiences for so long,” he says.

The duo’s favourite version of Holmes is the Billy Wilder film The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, with Robert Stephens and Colin Blakely. “It’s absolutely wonderful,”

says Gatiss. “It plays fast and loose with some of the most revered concepts but, in the end, it’s an incredibly nuanced, moving piece of cinema.

“Also, the famous Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce films. They seem, to us, to be the closest to the real spirit of the Doyle stories. We wanted to capture that spirit and, most importantly, it’s made by people who love Sherlock Holmes.”

BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH plays Holmes in the three 90-minute films, with Martin Freeman as his friend, Dr John Watson. “A modern take on Sherlock requires a modern look and Benedict brings that to the role. He’s in this sharp suit and a stylish overcoat, which gives him a great silhouette. He was our first and only choice,” says Gatiss.

The three new films are a mix of material from the original stories and new material, explains Gatiss. The first story, A Study In Pink, is partly homage to Conan Doyle’s first story to feature the fictional detective, A Study In Scarlet, written in 1887.

Not everything has changed. Holmes still plays the violin, and he and Watson meet in a similar way as they do in the original story, setting the scene for their friendship.

“Dr Watson is invalided home from war in Afghanistan and is looking for affordable accommodation in London when an old mutual friend from Barts Hospital introduces them both,” says Gatiss.

“London is such a character in the original stories and London is a very exciting city at the moment. There’s a real vibrancy, the architecture and design looks great and we were keen to capture some of that.”

■ Sherlock begins on BBC1 at 9pm tomorrow.