At long last, the wait is over, principle photography on Sherlock Season 3 has begun! Mark Gatiss confirmed the title of the first episode to go before cameras as The Empty Hearse in a Tweet earlier today.

Exclusive! Ep 1 will be called 'The Empty Hearse'. The game is on! #Sherlock twitpic.com/ccbzh8



— Mark Gatiss (@Markgatiss) March 18, 2013

Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are set to return for three episodes in Season 3, with the principle cast apparently signed on for a fourth season too . The Empty Hearse title nods to the Sherlock Holmes story The Adventure Of The Empty House , a short story by Arthur Conan Doyle, published in 1903 when under pressure to resurrect the famous sleuth following his death in the

Reichenbach Falls incident.

The last episode of Sherlock was broadcast in February 2012 on a huge cliff-hanger which, if The Empty Hearse is the first episode to be aired, would be a fitting story for it to be resolved in.

Tom is IGN's UK Social Media Editor who would dearly love to see a Sherlock-Who crossover story. You can stay abreast of his current pet peeves by following him on IGN and Twitter