140 Fun Facts About Sherlock (BBC Series)
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Take the 140-question quizWho plays Sherlock Holmes in the BBC series Sherlock?
Producers noticed him in the 2007 film Atonement.
Who plays Dr John Watson?
He had been Tim in The Office.
Which two writers created Sherlock?
Both were Doctor Who writers who plotted it on trains to Cardiff.
How many episodes of Sherlock were produced in total?
Four series of three, plus one special.
On which channel did Sherlock originally air in the UK?
PBS's Masterpiece carried it in the United States.
In which city was Sherlock primarily filmed?
Filming there was cheaper than London.
Which real London road stood in for the exterior of 221B in Baker St?
Real Baker Street had too much traffic and Holmes signage.
Which American station co-produced Sherlock for its Masterpiece strand?
That is why it aired on PBS in the US.
From which war has John Watson returned when he meets Sherlock?
Gatiss called it 'the same unwinnable war' as Conan Doyle's Watson.
Who plays Sherlock's nemesis, Jim Moriarty?
He later won a BAFTA for the role.
What is Molly Hooper's job?
Louise Brealey plays her in all four series.
Who plays Mrs Hudson, the landlady?
She had known Cumberbatch since he was four.
Which co-creator of the show plays Mycroft Holmes?
He also wrote The Great Game and The Hounds of Baskerville.
Who plays DI Greg Lestrade?
His first name is only revealed in The Hounds of Baskerville.
Which Conan Doyle story's version of Lestrade did the writers choose to follow?
A man frustrated by Holmes but who admires him.
Which 2007 film made Moffat and Vertue want to cast Cumberbatch as Sherlock?
He was the only actor they saw for the part.
How does Sherlock describe himself instead of a psychopath?
Author Maria Konnikova disputed the label.
What replaces Holmes's pipe in the modern series?
A 'three-patch problem' in A Study in Pink.
Which future Doctor Who star auditioned unsuccessfully for Watson, judged too 'barmy'?
Moffat cast him as the Eleventh Doctor soon after.
Who plays Mary Morstan?
She was Martin Freeman's real-life partner at the time.
Who plays Mr and Mrs Holmes, the brothers' mother and father, from series three?
Wanda Ventham and Timothy Carlton.
Who plays Irene Adler in A Scandal in Belgravia?
The BBC received over 100 complaints about her nude scene.
Who plays Henry Knight in The Hounds of Baskerville?
His character saw his father killed on Dartmoor.
Sherlock was first announced in 2008 as what kind of production?
The BBC never broadcast that pilot.
Roughly how much did the original unaired pilot reportedly cost?
It was included on the series one DVD.
Which director came up with putting text messages on screen instead of showing phones?
He directed A Study in Pink and The Great Game.
What is the name of the sandwich shop beneath the flat used as Sherlock's home?
It reported a sharp rise in customers.
Which brand made the £1,000 coat Cumberbatch wore in the series?
They put it back into production because of demand.
Who composed the music for Sherlock?
Arnold had scored five James Bond films.
Which film franchise had David Arnold scored before Sherlock?
Five Bond films between 1997 and 2008.
Which production company made Sherlock with the BBC?
Its Cardiff unit was opened for the show.
Producer Sue Vertue is married to which member of the creative team?
She urged them to develop the idea before someone else did.
How long is a typical Sherlock episode?
The BBC asked for three 90-minute films rather than six hours.
The Empty Hearse, the highest-rated UK drama episode of 2014, opened which run?
It drew 12.72 million viewers.
Where is the one-off 2016 special set?
It turns out to happen inside Sherlock's mind palace.
How many Emmys did Sherlock win at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2014?
Cumberbatch, Freeman and Moffat all won.
Which Sherlock episode won the Emmy for Outstanding Television Movie in 2016?
It aired on 1 January 2016.
In which category did Freeman win a BAFTA for Sherlock in 2011?
Andrew Scott beat him to the same award a year later.
Sherlock's third series became the UK's most-watched drama series since which year?
It averaged 11.82 million viewers.
What did the Royal Mail hide on its 2020 Sherlock stamps?
Six stamps featured Cumberbatch, Freeman, Abbington and Scott.
What was the subtitle of the official mobile app launched in 2014?
Cumberbatch and Freeman appear in cameo roles.
Which miniseries did fans wrongly believe was a cover for a secret fourth episode of series four?
The rumour caused controversy in the fandom.
Which Conan Doyle novel is the first episode loosely based on?
It was the first Holmes novel.
What word does the woman in pink scratch into the floor before dying?
Sherlock deduces she was writing her dead daughter's name.
What is the murderer's occupation in A Study in Pink?
Phil Davis plays him.
What game does the killer make his victims play in A Study in Pink?
He promises to swallow the other pill.
What is the cabbie's 'gun' actually?
Sherlock notices and tries to leave.
Who is the mysterious 'arch-enemy' who offers John money to spy on Sherlock?
He works for the British government.
What is the name of the Chinese smuggling gang in The Blind Banker?
They use Suzhou numerals as a cipher.
What book does Sherlock use to crack the cipher in The Blind Banker?
It is a book cipher; the treasure is a jade hairpin.
What is the stolen 'treasure' in The Blind Banker?
Van Coon's secretary had been wearing it.
Whose old trainers turn up in flat 221C at the start of The Great Game?
Botulinum toxin was put in his eczema medication.
How does Sherlock prove the 'lost' Old Master painting is a forgery in The Great Game?
He must prove it before a child hostage finishes counting down.
In what guise had the villain already appeared before revealing himself in The Great Game?
He calls himself 'a specialist, just like you'.
Where does the series-one finale cliffhanger take place?
John is strapped into an explosive vest.
Which Conan Doyle story provided the electronic beeps sent as warnings in The Great Game?
They echo the BBC radio time signal.
What is Irene Adler's profession in A Scandal in Belgravia?
In Conan Doyle she was an opera singer.
What is the password to Irene Adler's phone?
So the screen reads I AM SHER-LOCKED.
How does Irene greet Sherlock at their first meeting, leaving him unable to deduce anything?
The scene drew complaints for airing before the watershed.
What does the stolen code Irene asks Sherlock to crack turn out to be?
It gives away a government plan to fly a plane of corpses.
Where do Sherlock and John first meet Mycroft's client in A Scandal in Belgravia?
Sherlock arrives wrapped only in a bedsheet.
What is Irene's final text to Sherlock, suggesting her death?
A flashback shows he rescued her disguised as the executioner.
What is John Watson's middle name, revealed in A Scandal in Belgravia?
A nod to Dorothy Sayers' theory.
What is Baskerville in The Hounds of Baskerville?
Sherlock uses Mycroft's pass to get in.
What does H.O.U.N.D. turn out to stand for in The Hounds of Baskerville?
The words 'Liberty' and 'In' meant Liberty, Indiana.
What memory technique does Sherlock use in The Hounds of Baskerville?
Magnussen later keeps his blackmail archive in his own.
How does the killer, Dr Frankland, die in The Hounds of Baskerville?
Henry attacks him after learning the truth.
What is written all over the walls of the villain's holding cell at the end of Hounds of Baskerville?
Mycroft oversees his release.
Which three places does the villain break into simultaneously in The Reichenbach Fall?
He writes 'Get Sherlock' on the Crown Jewels case.
What fake identity does the villain create to discredit Sherlock in series two?
'Reichen Bach' in German.
From the roof of which hospital does Sherlock apparently jump to his death?
Molly works in its lab.
How does the villain die on the roof in The Reichenbach Fall?
'As long as I am alive, you can save your friends.'
Which artist painted the waterfall picture Sherlock recovers at the start of series two's finale?
J.M.W. Turner painted the real falls in 1804.
What is the tabloid headline Mycroft reads after Sherlock's fall?
It appears in The Sun.
What is the seven-minute 2013 Christmas mini-episode called?
Anderson tracks Sherlock from Tibet to New Delhi to Germany.
Which mentalist appears in The Empty Hearse hypnotising John in a fake explanation of the fall?
The theory turns out to be Anderson's.
What is Sherlock disguised as when he reveals himself to John in The Empty Hearse?
John attacks him three times in three locations.
How many possible rooftop scenarios does Sherlock say he and Mycroft anticipated?
He tells Anderson, 'the last person' he would tell.
What does Sherlock use under his arm to stop his pulse in his explanation of the fall?
He also used an inflatable mattress and his Homeless Network.
Where is John trapped when Sherlock and Mary rescue him in The Empty Hearse?
Mary receives a skip-code text.
What is the target of the bomb hidden in a Tube carriage in The Empty Hearse?
A late-night anti-terrorism hearing on 5 November.
Around what event is The Sign of Three built?
Sherlock's best man speech tells the story.
What is the wedding photographer's alias as a killer in The Sign of Three?
His real name is Jonathan Small.
What does Sherlock deduce about Mary at the end of The Sign of Three?
Increased appetite, changed taste and morning sickness.
Which Conan Doyle story is His Last Vow based on?
Milverton became Magnussen.
Who plays the blackmailer Charles Augustus Magnussen?
His brother Mads played Hannibal.
Who shoots Sherlock at Magnussen's headquarters in His Last Vow?
She intentionally aimed for a non-lethal spot.
Why is Sherlock dating Mary's bridesmaid Janine in His Last Vow?
It gets him into Magnussen's office.
What initials are on the memory stick Mary gives John?
John burns it without reading it.
Where does Magnussen actually keep his blackmail archive?
There are no physical documents to seize.
How does Sherlock deal with Magnussen at the end of His Last Vow?
Mycroft arranges exile instead of a trial.
What message is broadcast on every screen at the end of His Last Vow?
Sherlock's exile plane is recalled minutes after take-off.
What year is the Victorian storyline of the 2016 special set in?
The bride is Emelia Ricoletti.
Which Conan Doyle story mentions 'Ricoletti of the club foot', the source of the special's title?
It is a case Holmes mentions in The Musgrave Ritual.
Who is behind the Bride killings in the 2016 special?
Its members include Dr Hooper and Janine.
Where does the Victorian story of the special turn out to be taking place?
He wanted to work out how Moriarty could survive.
What is the Watsons' daughter named in The Six Thatchers?
Rosie for short.
What is hidden inside the last smashed bust in The Six Thatchers?
Ajay hid it there years earlier.
What word does 'Ammo' turn out to mean in The Six Thatchers?
It points to Lady Smallwood's code name, Love.
Where does Sherlock meet Vivian Norbury for the confrontation in which Mary is shot?
She takes a bullet meant for Sherlock.
What does Mary ask Sherlock to do in her posthumous DVD message?
It leads him to 'go to hell'.
Who plays the serial killer Culverton Smith in The Lying Detective?
He calls himself a 'cereal killer' in an advert.
What product does Culverton Smith use Sherlock's accusation to promote?
Hence 'Cereal Killer'.
Where was the recording device that captured Culverton Smith's confession?
Smith soon finds he enjoys confessing to Lestrade.
Who does John's therapist reveal herself to be at the end of The Lying Detective?
She was also 'Faith' and the woman on the bus.
Who plays Eurus Holmes?
She auditioned for several roles before being told they were all one character.
What is Sherrinford in The Final Problem?
Mycroft had Eurus moved there behind their parents' backs.
What was Redbeard really, as Sherlock realises in The Final Problem?
Eurus threw him down a well.
What Christmas present had Mycroft once given Eurus?
Moriarty recorded video messages for her.
Who is the little girl on the plane in The Final Problem?
The game was a cry for help.
How do Sherlock and Eurus communicate at the end of The Final Problem?
She refuses to speak to anyone.
Which genius does Mycroft compare Eurus to?
An 'era-defining genius'.
What does Mary call Sherlock and John in her final video?
The series ends with the flat restored.
Which BBC mockumentary made the Watson actor famous as Tim Canterbury?
He said the role 'cast a very long shadow'.
Which hobbit did the Watson actor play in Peter Jackson's trilogy?
Cumberbatch voiced Smaug in the same films.
Which two Hobbit characters did Cumberbatch portray?
He and Freeman both worked on the films between series.
For which role did Cumberbatch get his first Oscar nomination?
His second was for The Power of the Dog.
Which Phoebe Waller-Bridge series later cast the Moriarty actor as 'the Priest'?
He won a Critics' Choice award for it.
Which Patricia Highsmith character did the Moriarty actor play in a 2024 Netflix series?
It earned him Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.
Which sitcom made the Mrs Hudson actress famous as Rita, Alf Garnett's daughter?
She played Rita three times across different shows.
Which children's series had the Mrs Hudson actress play Aunt Sally opposite Jon Pertwee?
It ran from 1979 to 1981.
On which HBO series did the Irene Adler actress play Sookie's fairy godmother?
She was Claudine Crane.
Which period drama had the Mary Morstan actress play Josie Mardle?
She met Freeman on the film Men Only in 2000.
Which E. M. Forster adaptations first made the Lestrade actor prominent?
He later played the Regent in The Madness of King George.
For the score of which episode did Arnold and Price win a Creative Arts Emmy?
The series three finale.
Which veteran producer is the mother of the show's producer Sue?
Beryl was also an executive producer on Sherlock.
Which Doctor Who director handled The Reichenbach Fall?
He had directed many of Moffat's Doctor Who episodes.
How many UK viewers did The Reichenbach Fall attract?
Series two averaged over eight million.
What did Gatiss say in July 2025 about a new series?
A fifth series had been plotted back in 2014.
By what percentage did sales of Conan Doyle's books reportedly rise during series one?
BBC Books issued tie-in editions with the actors on the covers.
Which two tie-in websites did the BBC publish for the show?
They were written by Joseph Lidster.
Which board game got a Sherlock-themed edition in 2012?
Winning Moves sold it.
Andrew Scott's 2012 BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor came at the expense of which Sherlock co-star?
Freeman had won the same award the year before, when the show also took Best Drama Series.
Besides airing on BBC One, where was the 2016 special The Abominable Bride shown on 1 January 2016?
US cinemas followed on 5 and 6 January, with a guided tour of 221B Baker Street as exclusive bonus material.
Which actor plays the murderous cabbie Jefferson Hope in A Study in Pink?
Other series-one guests included Gemma Chan as Soo Lin Yao and Haydn Gwynne as Miss Wenceslas.
Which IT Crowd actress plays journalist Kitty Riley in The Reichenbach Fall?
Riley is the reporter Moriarty uses to spread the 'Richard Brook' story that discredits Sherlock.
Which episode of series one was filmed first?
The three episodes were shot in reverse order of broadcast; Paul McGuigan directed the first and third and Euros Lyn the second.
Which former Doctor Who lead provides the planetarium voice-over heard in the series-one finale?
Moffat and Gatiss were both Doctor Who writers and first plotted Sherlock on train journeys to Cardiff, where that show is made.
The live experience Sherlock: The Game Is Now opened in 2018 inside which London shopping centre?
Written by Moffat and Gatiss and designed by the makers of the escape room Time Run, it starts in 221B and lasts 60 minutes.
A manga adaptation of Sherlock's first series was serialised from 2012 in which Kadokawa magazine?
Illustrated by Jay, the manga reached English readers through Titan Comics from June 2016.
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