With his “Byronic looks” and tweed coat, Benedict Cumberbatch is “the first sexy Sherlock Holmes”. Or at least, that’s what Sherlock co-creator Mark Gatiss thinks.

The scriptwriter confirmed that Sherlock might not be back on our screens for a while, but was full of praise for the hit BBC drama's leads.

"Everyone wants to carry on doing Sherlock ," he told Metro last night. "It's a simple matter of schedules - particularly Benedict and Martin. They've become superstars, which is brilliant, but we all want to carry on as long as we can.

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"There was suddenly a kind of outraged response that it might not be back until 2016 but that's precisely how long it always is. It's always two years! But we'd like to return soon, of course."

Cumberbatch's international fanbase has grown dramatically (he's called 'Curly-Fu' by devoted Chinese fans) as a result of his starring role in Sherlock .

Shape Created with Sketch. Sherlock series three in pictures Show all 17 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Sherlock series three in pictures 1/17 Sherlock series three Martin Freeman as Dr John Watson and Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes BBC 2/17 Sherlock series three Sherlock gives his unforgettable best man speech 3/17 Sherlock series three Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch in Sherlock BBC 4/17 Sherlock series three Una Stubbs as Mrs Hudson BBC 5/17 Sherlock series three Martin Freeman as Dr John Watson BBC 6/17 Sherlock series three Newspaper proprietor Charles Augustus Magnussen makes Lady Smallwood an offer she can't refuse BBC 7/17 Sherlock series three Lars Mikkelsen as the newspaper proprietor Charles Augustus Magnussen BBC 8/17 Sherlock series three Lindsay Duncan as Lady Smallwood in Sherlock BBC 9/17 Sherlock series three John and Mary get married while Sherlock looks on BBC 10/17 Sherlock series three Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes BBC 11/17 Sherlock series three Mark Gatiss as Mycroft Holmes BBC 12/17 Sherlock series three Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes BBC 13/17 Sherlock series three Louise Brealey as Molly BBC 14/17 Sherlock series three Rupert Graves as DI Lestrade BBC 15/17 Sherlock series three Martin Freeman as Dr John Watson BBC 16/17 Sherlock series three Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes BBC 17/17 Sherlock series three Amanda Abbington as Mary Morstan BBV 1/17 Sherlock series three Martin Freeman as Dr John Watson and Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes BBC 2/17 Sherlock series three Sherlock gives his unforgettable best man speech 3/17 Sherlock series three Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch in Sherlock BBC 4/17 Sherlock series three Una Stubbs as Mrs Hudson BBC 5/17 Sherlock series three Martin Freeman as Dr John Watson BBC 6/17 Sherlock series three Newspaper proprietor Charles Augustus Magnussen makes Lady Smallwood an offer she can't refuse BBC 7/17 Sherlock series three Lars Mikkelsen as the newspaper proprietor Charles Augustus Magnussen BBC 8/17 Sherlock series three Lindsay Duncan as Lady Smallwood in Sherlock BBC 9/17 Sherlock series three John and Mary get married while Sherlock looks on BBC 10/17 Sherlock series three Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes BBC 11/17 Sherlock series three Mark Gatiss as Mycroft Holmes BBC 12/17 Sherlock series three Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes BBC 13/17 Sherlock series three Louise Brealey as Molly BBC 14/17 Sherlock series three Rupert Graves as DI Lestrade BBC 15/17 Sherlock series three Martin Freeman as Dr John Watson BBC 16/17 Sherlock series three Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes BBC 17/17 Sherlock series three Amanda Abbington as Mary Morstan BBV

The 37-year-old was voted 'world's sexiest movie star' by Empire magazine in January, beating Ryan Gosling, Tom Hiddleston and Henry 'Superman' Cavill to the top spot.

Gatiss tried to explain Cumberbatch's appeal: "I think there is something about Sherlock Holmes, which has possibly always been the case - there's a kind of unapproachability about him. He's not interested in sex, apparently. So you immediately get that Mr Darcy thing going on.

"He can't be tamed. It's attractive. Those are the people we are attracted to, the ones that aren't interested. I think it's that and the combination of the Byronic looks that Benedict has - and the coat! - that's made him into, possibly, the first sexy Sherlock Holmes."

Earlier this week, Gatiss and fellow creator Steven Moffat teased some vague details for the next three-episode series of Sherlock .

The plan is still to bring back villain Moriarty, played by Andrew Scott, with the show's women reportedly also destined for bigger roles.

The third series of Sherlock was named the most-watched BBC drama in a decade when it pulled in an average of 11.8 million viewers in January.