Benedict Cumberbatch has become a heartthrob to Chinese fans of the BBC TV series Sherlock. Provided to China Daily

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The creators of the award winning show have confirmed Benedict Cumberbach and Martin Freeman as Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson will be back for a special next year, followed by a fourth series of three episodes.

Filming is set to start in January.

The popularity of the show's stars and creators has made it difficult for them to commit to filming more episodes until now.

The last series kicked off with Sherlock returning from the dead, however the BBC said series four would be "the most shocking and surprising series of Sherlock yet".

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