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³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ One's much praised, multi-award winning drama Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, begins filming on location in Cardiff and London for a second series of three 90-minute films.

The contemporary version of the Arthur Conan Doyle classic, Sherlock – co-created by Steven Moffat (Doctor Who, Coupling) and Mark Gatiss (The League Of Gentlemen, Doctor Who, The First Men In The Moon) – caused a sensation last summer, delivering an audience of over 8 million viewers, who tuned in to watch Sherlock and John Watson navigate a maze of cryptic clues and lethal killers in three thrilling action-packed adventures.

Benedict Cumberbatch (War Horse, Frankenstein) stars as Sherlock and is joined by Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, The Office) as Dr John Watson, Rupert Graves (Case Sensitive, Garrow's Law) as Inspector Lestrade and Una Stubbs (Worzel Gummidge, EastEnders) as Mrs Hudson.

Steven Moffat says: "The three stories will be called A Scandal In Belgravia, The Hounds Of Baskerville and The Reichenbach Fall."

Mark Gatiss reveals that when it came to sharing the writing responsibilities, Steven chose to do the twisted love story (Scandal) while he chose the Gothic horror (Baskerville) and Stephen Thompson (Silk, Doctor Who) is writing the thrilling finale (Reichenbach).

"The hotly anticipated return of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ One's hit series Sherlock begins filming this week with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman in fine form," says Ben Stephenson, Controller of Drama Commissioning.

Commissioned by Ben Stephenson, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Drama Commissioning, Sherlock is directed by Paul McGuigan (Monroe) whose style and inventiveness contributed to the success of the first series, and Toby Haynes (Doctor Who, Being Human).

Sue Vertue (Sherlock, Coupling) will produce A Scandal In Belgravia and The Hounds Of Baskerville and will executive produce The Reichenbach Fall which will be produced by Elaine Cameron (Jekyll). The Executive Producers are Beryl Vertue, Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat. The Executive Producer for ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Wales is Bethan Jones. It is a Hartswood Films Production for ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Wales, co-produced with MASTERPIECE. The Executive Producer for MASTERPIECE is Rebecca Eaton.

Awards to date

The prestigious American Peabody Award for Entertainment and a BAFTA Craft Award for Editor Charlie Phillips recently added to Sherlock's already impressive roster of prizes which include the RTS Programme Award for Best Drama Series, the RTS Craft Awards for Effects, Picture Enhancement (Kevin Horsewood at Pepper), Drama Editing again for Charlie Phillips and Original Title Music for David Arnold and Michael Price.

The show is also the proud winner of the Broadcast Award for Best Drama Series or Serial, the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actor, the Crime Thriller TV Dagger Award and Best Actor Award, and last, but by no means least, the US Satellite Award for Best Miniseries.

Sherlock has also received three nominations for the upcoming BAFTA Awards to be held on 22 May for Leading Actor, Supporting Actor and Drama Series along with being shortlisted for the YouTube Audience Award.

GJ