[attach id=439935 size="medium"]Promotional photo of Benedict Cumberbatch (left) and Martin Freeman as the iconic Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson in the BBC television series adaptation of the Arthur Conan Doyle mysteries..[/attach]

Meet the greatest armchair detective of all – Sherlock Holmes is back.

The sleuth, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, is shown looking rather more relaxed than usual in a new picture with his faithful ally Dr Watson (Martin Freeman) perched on the arm of his chair.

They will be reunited in a special instalment, widely reported to involve a trip back in time to Victorian London, and three more episodes of a new series.

The hit BBC show, created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, is inspired by the original stories created by Arthur Conan Doyle.

It regularly pulls in huge audiences and has been a worldwide hit, propelling its two leading men to Hollywood and in Cumberbatch's case an Oscar nomination.

The third series bowed out last year with Holmes appearing to shoot villain Charles Augustus Magnussen, and teased viewers that Andrew Scott's criminal mastermind Moriarty may have cheated death and be set for a return.

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