Moriarty himself, Andrew Scott, appears to have ruled out a return to Sherlock in future.

Asked about the possibility of coming back, Scott told Digital Spy: “That’s an impossible question to answer… It’s very hard to come back from shooting yourself in the mouth, we all know that.”

He added: “The reaction to Moriarty has been incredible. I couldn’t be more happy and more proud to be in the show. It’s very difficult to find a popular and clever show.”

Back in March, Steven Moffat stated that the show needs new villains: “Moriarty’s a one-shot deal in the original [books]. I don’t want [Sherlock] to turn into a show that’s about one villain and one hero…We need to find new villains, we need to find new ideas, otherwise the show doesn’t keep growing.”

Scott was also asked if he’d be interested in appearing in Moffat’s other show, Doctor Who: “It might be a bit weird for the Doctor Who fans to have Moriarty coming up. It’s a great show, but I think that might be a bit too weird for people to accept.”