Sherlock fans are a passionate bunch - but Martin Freeman thinks that those dissatisfied with the last series will stick with the show.

Freeman - who stars as John Watson - told press including Digital Spy that he was aware of some "resistance" to the hit drama's third run.

"There were people who thought it wasn't as good, but give it a couple of months and they watch it again and it sinks in," he insisted.

Hartswood Films

"I don't think we've lost too many people, even the people who said, 'Is series three as good? Has the dynamic with Mary Morstan changed things?' - actually people still really liked it.

"The people who are the angriest, the people who hate us most, are the ones who watch it over and over. Mark Chapman, ladies and gentlemen. He wasn't a Kinks fan, he was a Beatles fan. He was too much of a Beatles fan."

Amanda Abbington, who plays John's wife Mary, added that she was aware the character could be "divisive".

BBC

"You either love her or you hate her - and I think when I was given the job, there were two camps.

"There was, 'Oh great, she'll bring something to it and we really like her' - or there was 'Oh my God, it's Martin Freeman's girlfriend, it's nepotism, it's going to be awful' - so it really split fans.

"But I always maintained, and I think [writers] Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss always maintained, that she wasn't the third wheel. It was never intended that she was there to break them up.

"There's still this very hardcore group [of fans] that will not be moved on it, which is fine, because you can't please everybody. I'm sure [some] people hate my acting, which is fair enough. You're not going to move them."

Sherlock will return with 'The Abominable Bride' - a one-off period special - on January 1 on BBC One.

Watch the Sherlock team hint at "proper gothic horror" in 'The Abominable Bride':

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