Stephen Moffat and Mark Gatiss’ Sherlock, BBC One’s spin on Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic detective starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, returned for its fourth season in 2017. Now there’s a glimmer of hope that another season may be on the way sooner than fans expected.

The hint comes from an unexpected source. Chris Georgiou runs a business Speedy’s Cafe that has been featured in exterior shots of Sherlock and Watson’s Baker Street apartment on the show. Georgiou’s business has also provided the cast and crew with food and drink between takes and he’s become close to those involved with the production.

According to Time Out, Georgiou may have let slip that Sherlock’s production is getting set to begin again.

“I probably shouldn’t be saying this,” Georgiou told Time Out, “but I’ve heard they’ll be coming back for a fifth season.”

It is unclear exactly what that means. Georgiou doesn’t reveal how or from whom he heard that information, and so it’s impossible to parse whether this is vaguely wishful thinking on the part of the producers or hard plans being made.

What we do know is that Moffat, who just exited his position as Doctor Who showrunner, and Gatiss are keeping busy. The duo will continue to renovate classic genre literature by creating a new Dracula drama and Moffat is adapting The Time Traveller’s Wife for HBO. Between their busy schedules and the equally busy schedules of the show’s stars, fans may not want to get their hopes up too high.

In February, Freeman gave an update on the status of Sherlock, stating that he hasn’t heard anything about a return and admitting that he’s enjoying the time away from his role as Watson and the fervor around the series.

“I mean, I think after season 4, we all wanted to take a bit of time just away from the madness,” he said. “People really want more Sherlock. I think that's great. I really love that. But speaking for myself, I'd quite like to take a break from that for a while. Just that sort of...clamor. Which is lovely, cause people like your show, but it can feel quite pressured actually. Know what I mean? You've got obviously to surprise them, but if you surprise them too much they'll hate you for it. It's a tricky one. It's a hard one, because there is so much expectation on that show, more than anything I've ever done. I'm happy to give it a rest for a while certainly.”

Do you want to see Sherlock return for another season? Let us know in the comments!