We’re one day closer to the first episode of Sherlock (Sunday at 9pm on BBC One, if you’re lagging behind!), so we’re treating you to more material gathered from our set visit back in March.

Today, we have a group interview with the series’ stars, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman (Holmes and Watson, respectively). The chaps gave us a sizeable chunk of their time between takes on the A Study In Pink shoot, and kindly chatted about their approach to the characters, their appreciation of the Conan Doyle stories, and how Sherlock fits in with a more modern style of policing.

Were you fans of the book before you landed the roles in Sherlock? Did you go back to the books to prepare, or did you avoid that?

Benedict Cumberbatch: No, very much I’ve been reading the books. It’s the origination, it’s the primary source. You should always go back to the books. I don’t think what we’re doing requires that, in particular, because it’s a modern interpretation. But, you have to bring what is unique about his character to a modern context, and to do that you have to understand his original self.