Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV Series)
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50 free Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV Series) trivia questions with answers — trivia quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
Between 1984 and 1994 Granada Television filmed 41 of Arthur Conan Doyle's detective stories with Jeremy Brett in the lead, and many viewers still regard his restless, razor-sharp Holmes as the definitive one. The series is prized for staying close to the original tales and for its careful period detail. This quiz covers the episodes people remember best, from the very first case to the showdown with Moriarty, along with the feature-length films, the famous guest stars who called at 221B, and the changes Granada made to Conan Doyle's plots. There are also questions on Brett himself, the actors around him and the making of the series. It is written for anyone who loves the Brett era, whether you are rewatching the episodes in order or looking for the best ones to start with. Every answer comes with a short explanation.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes, which painting does Moriarty steal to sell fakes to collectors?
Mona Lisa
The Mona Lisa theft appears nowhere in Conan Doyle's story; Granada added it. Holmes recovers the original just before Moriarty sells a fake to a millionaire called Mr Morgan.
Q 02Which future film Dr Watson played a servant in Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes in 1991?
Jude Law
Jude Law was still a teenager when he played Joe Barnes, a servant who impersonates Lady Beatrice in Shoscombe Old Place. He returned to the stories as Watson opposite Robert Downey Jr. in 2009.
Q 03In Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes episode The Blue Carbuncle, a stolen gem turns up inside which Christmas bird?
A goose
A goose taken home for Christmas dinner turns out to have the stolen gem in its crop. The trail leads to James Ryder, head attendant at the hotel it was taken from.
Q 04In Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes episode The Red-Headed League, what is Jabez Wilson paid to copy out each day?
An encyclopedia
An encyclopedia keeps Wilson out of his shop for four hours a day while thieves dig from his cellar towards a bank vault. Granada's version makes Moriarty the mastermind.
Q 05In Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes, a burglar steals and smashes identical busts of which historical leader?
Napoleon
Napoleon busts are smashed because the thief is hunting a stolen gem hidden inside one of them. The comedian Eric Sykes guest-starred as the journalist Horace Harker.
Q 06Which habit did Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes give up on screen, a change Conan Doyle's daughter approved?
Cocaine
Cocaine is abandoned in The Devil's Foot because Granada found many children were watching. In the books the change is only mentioned, in a story the series never filmed.
Q 07At which Swiss waterfall does Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes seem to die fighting Professor Moriarty?
Reichenbach Falls
Reichenbach Falls, near Meiringen, hosts the struggle that ends The Final Problem. The episode was also David Burke's farewell as Dr Watson before a new actor took over.
Q 08Which Inspector Morse star played convict Jonathan Small in Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes film The Sign of Four?
John Thaw
John Thaw played the one-legged Jonathan Small in the 1987 film, the same year Inspector Morse began. The role of Mary Morstan went to Jenny Seagrove.
Q 09In which 1964 musical film did Jeremy Brett, later TV's Sherlock Holmes, play lovestruck Freddy Eynsford-Hill?
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady paired Brett with Audrey Hepburn, but his songs were dubbed by Bill Shirley, even though Brett was a good singer.
Q 10In Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes episode The Speckled Band, which animal has Dr Roylott trained to kill?
A snake
A snake, a venomous swamp adder, is sent through a ventilator and down a bell cord to reach the victim's bed. Angered by Holmes's blows, it turns back and kills Roylott instead.
Q 11Which singer, played by Gayle Hunnicutt, outwits the detective in Jeremy Brett's first Sherlock Holmes episode?
Irene Adler
Irene Adler sees through Holmes's disguise in A Scandal in Bohemia, then trails him home dressed as a man. By morning she has left England, leaving a letter for Holmes.
Q 12In The Man with the Twisted Lip, where does Watson find Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes hunting a missing husband?
An opium den
An opium den near the London docks is where Watson, there on an errand, finds Holmes in disguise. Holmes is searching for Neville St Clair, who was last seen at a second-floor window.
Q 13Which henchman of Moriarty tries to assassinate Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes in The Empty House?
Q 21In Silver Blaze, Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes hunts which missing animal after its trainer is found dead?
A racehorse
A racehorse called Silver Blaze vanishes on the eve of an important race, and its trainer is found bludgeoned to death. Peter Barkworth played the owner, and Malcolm Storry was Inspector Gregory.
Q 22In Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes, which mysterious drawings terrify Hilton Cubitt's American wife, Elsie?
Dancing stick figures
Dancing stick figures turn out to be a substitution cipher, which Holmes cracks by frequency analysis. Granada moved the Cubitts' manor from Norfolk to Derbyshire.
Q 23Which English county is the setting of The Devil's Foot, where Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes stays at Poldhu?
Cornwall
Colonel Sebastian Moran
Colonel Sebastian Moran, ranked by Holmes as London's second most dangerous man, is arrested by Lestrade. In Granada's version he also shoots at Holmes in Switzerland.
Q 14In Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes episode The Musgrave Ritual, which servant vanishes after studying a family document?
The butler
The butler, Brunton, was caught poring over the ritual and disappeared days later. Granada swapped the story's real oak tree for an oak-shaped weathervane on the house.
Q 15In Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes, stolen plans for which new invention turn up on a body on the Underground tracks?
A submarine
A submarine's blueprints are found on a dead civil servant, and Mycroft brings the case to his brother. Granada swapped the story's Lestrade for Inspector Bradstreet.
Q 16In Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes film The Sign of Four, what does Mary Morstan receive in the post every year?
A pearl
A pearl arrives each year from an unknown sender after her father's disappearance. The gifts lead Holmes to a pact made by four convicts during the Indian Mutiny of 1857.
Q 17On which English moor is Jeremy Brett's feature-length Sherlock Holmes film The Hound of the Baskervilles set?
Dartmoor
Dartmoor, in Devon, is where a demonic hound is said to haunt the Baskerville family. Granada's 1988 film cast Kristoffer Tabori as the heir, Sir Henry.
Q 18In The Red Circle, which regular asks Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes to help a friend with a reclusive lodger?
Mrs Hudson
Mrs Hudson, played throughout the series by Rosalie Williams, brings the case on behalf of her friend Mrs Warren. The lodger insists that nobody enters the room.
Q 19Which Colditz actor took over as Dr Watson from David Burke in Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes?
Edward Hardwicke
Edward Hardwicke, son of the actor Sir Cedric Hardwicke, was suggested for the part by Burke himself. He played Watson from The Empty House until the last episode in 1994.
Q 20In which English city did Granada build a full-scale Baker Street to film Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes?
Manchester
Manchester's Quay Street studios housed the outdoor replica, which later became part of the Granada Studios Tour, a visitor attraction that closed in 1999.
Cornwall is where a woman is found dead with a look of horror on her face and her two brothers are driven insane. Denis Quilley guest-starred as Dr Leon Sterndale.
Q 24In The Second Stain, who asks Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes to recover a stolen letter that could lead to war?
The Prime Minister
The Prime Minister, Lord Bellinger, was played by Harry Andrews. The letter had vanished from the dispatch box of his minister Trelawney Hope, whose wife was played by Patricia Hodge.
Q 25In The Master Blackmailer, Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes woos Milverton's housemaid disguised as which tradesman?
A plumber
A plumber is Holmes's cover for courting the maid and learning the layout of the house. Granada expanded the romance to hint at the detective's buried tenderness.
Q 26In The Greek Interpreter, Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes meets Mycroft at which London retreat where talk is banned?
The Diogenes Club
The Diogenes Club forbids talking anywhere except its Stranger's Room, which looks onto Pall Mall. Members may not even acknowledge one another.
Q 27Which actor, Blofeld in Diamonds Are Forever, played Mycroft in four episodes of Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes?
Charles Gray
Charles Gray had already played Mycroft in the 1976 film The Seven-Per-Cent Solution. He was also the narrating Criminologist in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Q 28Which future Parent Trap star played governess Violet Hunter in Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes?
Natasha Richardson
Natasha Richardson, daughter of Vanessa Redgrave, was 22 when The Copper Beeches aired. Her character is offered a generous salary on condition that she cut her hair short.
Q 29Which All Creatures Great and Small star played the blackmailer Milverton in Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes?
Robert Hardy
Robert Hardy, television's Siegfried Farnon and later Cornelius Fudge in the Harry Potter films, starred in The Master Blackmailer. His face is kept hidden until Watson meets him at an art gallery.
Q 30Which future Downton Abbey star played Victor Savage in Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes episode The Dying Detective?
Hugh Bonneville
Hugh Bonneville was credited as Richard Bonneville, the stage name he used early in his career. His character dies, and Holmes suspects a cousin with expert knowledge of rare diseases.