Benedict Cumberbatch reveals his conditions for returning to BBC’s Sherlock

Benedict Cumberbatch has opened up on a potential Sherlock return (Picture: BBC/ Colin Hutton)

Benedict Cumberbatch has revealed exactly what needs to happen for him to return to Sherlock.

The 48-year-old actor played Sherlock Holmes opposite Martin Freeman’s Doctor John Watson in the BBC crime drama based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional detective.

The show ran for four three-part series between 2010 and 2017 – plus a Victorian-era special in 2016 – and fans have been clamouring for a comeback ever since.

Both of its stars are kept busy in Hollywood and beyond, and while Benedict joked it would take ‘a lot of money’ to spark a return, it’s simpler than that.

‘It would take it to be better than it ever was,’ he told Variety. ‘You leave them or yourselves wanting more.’

He admitted ‘there’s always that itch to scratch’, but any potential return would need to ‘be the superlative version of what we’ve already achieved’.

Benedict hasn’t closed the door (Picture: BBC/Hartswood Films 2016)

Benedict revealed he and Robert Downey Jr – who played Holmes in Guy Ritchie’s 2009 Sherlock Holmes film and its 2011 sequel – joked about their experiences during their time on Marvel sets.

‘We had a gas about being the two Sherlocks on set,’ he said, although they made sure to take out any ‘meta’ jokes, as he explained: ‘We just said, “No, no, no. Better to leave that for the fan fiction.” ‘

Steven Moffat, the co-creator behind Sherlock on the BBC, recently insisted the show can’t return if Benedict and Martin don’t clear their schedules.

Steven Moffat would jump at the chance to work on more (Picture: Getty)

‘I’m sorry. I think people would be up in arms if we tried to recast either of them or do [it] without either of them. I think people want those guys – that’s our show,’ he told Metro.

‘I don’t mean that that’s the only version of Sherlock Holmes that can be.
‘There are lots of other versions of Sherlock Holmes (and so there should be, I’ll watch all of them) but our version of Sherlock Holmes is Benedict and Martin.

‘So if they don’t want to do it or can’t do it, then there is no more Sherlock. 
That’s it.’

Benedict has previously teased that nothing is impossible (Picture: BBC/Hartswood Films)

However, the showrunner admitted he would ‘do it tomorrow’ if the stars aligned and everyone was available.

And he’s even previously said that if he was given the greenlight, he would ‘start writing Sherlock tomorrow’.

Meanwhile, Benedict previously told Metro that he would love to reprise the role if the opportunity arose.

‘We never say never,’ he teased.

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