Could Sherlock be coming to an end after series 4?

Sherlock may wrap up for good at the end of its current run.

Fans have waited two years for the fourth season of the popular crime drama, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. However, creator Steven Moffat has now admitted he is considering ending the series on a high rather than continuing and risking a dip in quality.

Speaking at a BAFTA screening of episode two of the new series ‘The Dying Detective’ on Sunday morning, Moffat described the third and final episode of this series as a “grande old finale”. His phrasing immediately attracted questions from the audience as to whether this finale might not only be for series four, but the show as a whole.

Moffat told screening viewers: “We are incredibly aware that this is extraordinary in terms of scale. We don’t want to let go of it because it is a wonderful thing but we don’t want to keep it going past the time that it should stop. It’s a big loud note at the end.”

He clarified that he did not mean there will absolutely be no more Sherlock, but confessed to being unsure of the show’s future.

Moffat said: “I didn’t mean in the sense I will never do Sherlock Holmes again. Honestly, we don’t know, that is the honest truth. We still haven’t sat down and worked out what we do.”

If the series does come to an end after next week, it will not be for lack of viewers. It was announced last week that the New Year’s Day episode of Sherlock drew in the most viewers of any TV drama over the entire festive period, beating out shows such as Call The Midwife and the Christmas soap heavyweights.