The new nemesis for the third series of Sherlock has been revealed as Charles Augustus Magnussen and played by Lars Mikkelsen.

The announcement came via a tweet from the show's co-executive producer Sue Vertue.

The Danish actor is probably best-known to TV viewers for his role as Troels Hartmann in the Nordic noir drama The Killing. He also had a starring role in Borgen.

The announcement was made yesterday as principal photography began on Series 3's third and final episode, entitled His Last Vow, which has been written by Vertue's husband Steven Moffat and is being directed by Nick Hurran. The title is a riff on the Conan Doyle short story His Last Bow, but it is believed that the character of Magnussen is based on the blackmailer Charles Augustus Milverton, who targets wealthy nobles in the Conan Doyle story The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton.

Episode one is called The Empty Hearse, written by Mark Gatiss and directed by Jeremy Lovering, and the second episode is entitled The Sign of Three, penned by Steve Thompson and helmed by Colm McCarthy. The first two episodes were filmed before the summer, with a production break then being taken to allow for other filming commitments.

It is unknown as yet when the new series - which stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr John Watson and is made by Hartswood Films for BBC One - will air.

Sherlock producer Sue Vertue has issued a plea for fans to keep quiet about filming on the new series.

In a statement to website Sherlockology, she wrote:
The first episode of the third series is called The Empty Hearse. It has been written by Mark Gatiss and the director is Jeremy Lovering, with Amanda Abbington joining the cast in a role described by the BBC as one "that significantly impacts upon the lives of John and Sherlock." Abbington, whose character name has not yet been announced, is the partner of Martin Freeman, who plays Watson.

The second episode in the three-part series will be called The Sign Of Three, the BBC has confirmed.

Colm McCarthy has also been signed up to direct the show.

(With thanks to Tony Clark)

UPDATE - 15th APRIL: Colm McCarthy will be directing The Sign Of Three, it was confirmed today. The episode, which had its readthrough this morning, has been written by Steve Thompson.

Principal photography has now finished on the first episode of the new series. Once episode two has wrapped, the team will break for the summer before starting the third and final episode of the run.

With filming on the third series of Sherlock due to start this coming Monday, it has been revealed by the title star Benedict Cumberbatch that the show has been guaranteed a fourth series at least - and there may be more after that.

Speaking at the South Bank Show Awards on Tuesday, he said that he and co-star Martin Freeman had signed for two series, adding: However, he said that although he was keen for the drama to keep running it really depended on the availability of himself, Freeman, and co-creator (and Doctor Who showrunner) Steven Moffat.

Talking about the first readthrough for Series 3's first episode, which took place on Monday, he said of Holmes's "return from the dead": He also told radiotimes.com that the new series could air this Christmas.

In the meantime, to whet the appetite of viewers a panoramic picture of the set for inside 221B Baker Street has been released by production designer Arwel Wyn Jones:



The BBC Two drama Parade's End, which starred Cumberbatch, picked up the TV Drama gong at the awards. It was presented by Richard E Grant.

The third series of Sherlock will start filming on Monday 18th March, it has been announced.

The date was confirmed to website Sherlockology by the show's producer Sue Vertue.

Principal photography is having to be done in two waves, though, because of the availability of stars Benedict Cumberbatch (Holmes) and Martin Freeman (Watson) for filming. Two of the three episodes will be shot at first, with cast and crew then taking an early break for the summer before returning a few weeks later for the final episode of the series.

Vertue, who is married to the show's co-creator Steven Moffat, said: The start date coincides with the beginning of filming on the 50th-anniversary episode of Doctor Who - and Moffat is also the showrunner of the sci-fi series.

Last Thursday, Freeman told Graham Norton, on the latter's Comic Relief's Big Chat on BBC Three, that even after reading Mark Gatiss's "brilliant" script, he and the rest of the cast still weren't entirely sure how Holmes had managed to survive his rooftop fall at the end of Series 2. Gatiss is the fellow co-creator of the show.

A video showing a scene from the BBC One series Sherlock in five languages has been made to promote the show at a global market.

ACC Liverpool is currently playing host to some 700 TV buyers from around the world at the BBC Worldwide Showcase.

The video shows a clip from the first episode of Series 1 - A Study In Pink, first broadcast on 25th July 2010 - and starts in English then flows seamlessly into Italian then Russian, Spanish, and French before finishing back in English again.

It also highlights the fact that the show has won more than 26 international awards, been sold to more than 180 territories, been the highest-rating drama on France 4 for more than a year, and been the highest-rating programme for TNT in Germany since 2007.

Filming on Series 3 of Sherlock is due to start next month.

The BBC One series Sherlock has topped the Radio Times critics' poll of the 40 best TV shows this year.

The listings publication has been gradually revealing the results since Christmas Day, with the final ten announced today. The BBC took six of the top ten places, including Twenty Twelve, starring Hugh Bonneville, Olivia Colman, and Jessica Hynes, at number three and The Thick Of It, starring Peter Capaldi, at number four. Doctor Who came in at 15, Being Human, starring Lenora Crichlow and Russell Tovey, at 36, and Episodes, starring Tamsin Greig, at 39.

A delighted Steven Moffat, who co-created Sherlock with Mark Gatiss, told Radio Times:


The full list is as follows:

• 1: Sherlock (BBC One)
• 2: Homeland (C4)
• 3: Twenty Twelve (BBC Two)
• 4: The Thick Of It (BBC Two)
• 5: Fresh Meat (C4)
• 6: Borgen (BBC Four)
• 7: The Great British Bake Off (BBC Two)
• 8: Downton Abbey (ITV1)
• 9: The Bridge (BBC Four)
• 10: Girls (Sky Atlantic)
• 11: Line of Duty (BBC Two)
• 12: 56 Up (ITV1)
• 13: The Hollow Crown (BBC Two)
• 14: The Cricklewood Greats (BBC Four)
• 15: Doctor Who (BBC One)
• 16: Alan Partridge: Welcome To The Places Of My Life (Sky Atlantic)
• 17: Grandma's House (BBC Two)
• 18: The Secret History Of Our Streets (BBC Two)
• 19: Murder (BBC Two)
• 20: Veep (Sky Atlantic)
• 21: Peep Show (C4)
• 22: Call The Midwife (BBC One)
• 23: Parade's End (BBC Two)
• 24: Stella (Sky1)
• 25: Tales Of Television Centre (BBC Four)
• 26: Exposure: The Other Side Of Jimmy Savile (ITV1)
• 27: Moone Boy (Sky1)
• 28: Roger and Val Have Just Got In (BBC Two)
• 29: 24 Hours In A&E (C4)
• 30: Getting On (BBC Four)
• 31: Toast Of London (C4)
• 32: MasterChef: The Professionals (BBC Two)
• 33: She-Wolves: England's Early Queens (BBC Four)
• 34: Accused (BBC One)
• 35: A Mother's Son (ITV1)
• 36: Being Human (BBC Three)
• 37: Mad Men (BBC Four)
• 38: The Killing (BBC Four)
• 39: Episodes (BBC Two)
• 40: A Touch Of Cloth (Sky1)

The votes were cast by the magazine's print and online critics: Alison Graham, David Butcher, Tim Glanfield, Paul Jones, Jack Seale, Patrick Mulkern, Mark Braxton, Gill Crawford, James Gill, Claire Webb, David Crawford, Tom Cole, Susanna Lazarus, Ellie Walker-Arnott, David Brown, and Emma Sturgess.