The creators of BBC’s Sherlock have urged people not to watch an online leak of the final episode of the current series or share details of it.
The third and final episode is due to air on BBC1 on Sunday night, but it was illegally uploaded to the internet 24 hours before. That prompted a statement from the show’s official Twitter account. It said:
We are aware that #Sherlock episode 3 has been uploaded illegally online. If you come across it, please do not share it. #KeepMeSpoilerFree
— Sherlock (@Sherlock221B) January 14, 2017
Sherlock producer Sue Vertue said the leak had come from Russia. She tweeted:
Russian version of #Sherlock TFP has been illegally uploaded.Please don't share it. You've done so well keeping it spoiler free.Nearly there
— sue vertue (@suevertue) January 14, 2017
The modern-day revival of Sherlock Holmes, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, has become one of the BBC’s most successful television shows over its four seasons. More than 11 million people watched the opening episode on New Year’s Day and the Sunday night finale is expected to draw in similar audience numbers.
The show’s creators, Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss – who also plays Sherlock’s brother Mycroft – have said this series is not intended to be the last and that more adventures for Sherlock are “possible”. However, they admitted that juggling the schedules of Cumberbatch and Freeman was proving difficult.
Some have criticised Sherlock for becoming too similar to James Bond in its fourth series. Speaking at a screening of the final episode, Moffat said: “For all those complaints being a bit too James Bondy and actiony ... not till tonight.”
