Sherlock co-creator Mark Gatiss – who of course also stars in the show as Sherlock’s brother, Mycroft Holmes – has told the PA that when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous sleuth turns up alive and well in series three, his evidently not so faithful sidekick Dr Watson will probably utter “a stream of terrible swear words.”

As fans of the BBC drama will know, at the end of series two, Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) fell to what was presumed to be his death, however, Gatiss says that bringing the detective back was what Conan Doyle originally planned for him in his tale entitled The Adventure of the Empty House.

And of Watson’s (Martin Freeman) angry reaction to Sherlock’s survival, Gatiss said, “I always found it a little unlikely Dr Watson’s reaction was to faint – as opposed to possibly a stream of terrible swear words…”

And of bringing Sherlock back, Gatiss said, “There’s certain things about ‘The Adventure of the Empty House’ which feel set in stone because that’s how Sherlock comes back.

“But at the same time we feel free to invent and to introduce new stuff to it.”

As to which of Conan Doyle’s other stories would make the cut in series three, Gatiss said, “Steven [Moffat] and I have our all-time favourites, but it’s really a question of what will fit into the structure.”

The third series of Sherlock is expected to go into production early on in 2013.