There have been some reports this weekend that Sherlock might return with a third series later in 2012.

This was based off an interview in the Guardian with Steven Moffat who was quoting as saying the show would be back “before the year is out.”

However, Moffat’s wife, aka executive producer Sue Vertue, took to Twitter last night to clear things up: “Sorry to be a killjoy but Steven Moffat didn’t actually mean Series 3 of Sherlock would [transmission] before end of year. I think that is sadly unlikely.”

This is hardly surprising though. Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are more in demand than ever and have busy schedules ahead of them with both The Hobbit and Star Trek 2 shooting this year. 2013 always seemed the earliest the show could return.

One thing that Moffat did confirm though was that some scenes showing how Sherlock faked his death have already been filmed: “We’ve worked out how Sherlock survives, and actually shot part of what really happened.”

“It all makes sense,” he added.