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The third series of Sherlock will air in January in the US, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Although the date of the UK premiere date has yet to be confirmed, New Year’s Day is considered the hot tip for the return of the highly-acclaimed drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch – as the BBC has ‘first window’ rights on the series.

Series 2 opener A Scandal in Belgravia pulled in over 10 and a half million viewers on the first day of 2012, the highest viewing figures of any Sherlock episode so far.

The Empty Hearse will air on January 19th on PBS Masterpiece at 10pm, as part of a British export double bill with Downton Abbey, it is reported.

Executive producer Sue Vertue said: "We are hugely excited about this next series... and have worked closely with our partners, Masterpiece and PBS, to bring these episodes to US audiences in January. We promise our fans that season three is worth waiting for."

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Last month, star Cumberbatch revealed that his consulting detective will be involved in a wedding.

He also said that realising that he wouldn’t ‘be seeing’ the show’s eponymous character for while following the end of filming for the next run of three 90-minute episodes had left him feeling down.

“I felt very sentimental on the last day of shooting, thinking, 'Oh, I've got to say goodbye to him again,” the actor said in an interview with The Guardian.

“He's f****** hard work, always has been, but I love him, and I got sad that I wasn't going to see him again for a while."

The LAMDA-trained thesp, who has previously told fans that the first upcoming episode is “an absolute stonker”, hinted that Holmes’ relationship with Martin Freeman’s John Watson will become stronger – and that a visit to a church could be on the cards.

"Well, there's a reunion that doesn't necessarily go to plan,” he said.

“And there's a bonding experience that throws Sherlock and Watson back together in a very firm way.

“And there's a new union as well, in the shape of a marriage, which Sherlock takes part in, so we see that."