Actress Amanda Abbington joined the cast as Mary in ‘The Empty Hearse’ and appeared in every episode of the recent third series.

Speaking at the Television Critics Association press tour earlier this week, Moffat commented: “Mary’s absolutely here. We don’t just off her. How would that be at the start of [Series 4]. ‘Where’s Mary?’ ‘Dead!'”

Discussing the appeal of adding her character to the show, the writer explained: “If you have a female perspective on the two men, it’s very, very funny and very illuminating. They all see through Sherlock so fast… but John is still bamboozled.”

He added: “I think there is a danger with bringing in a girlfriend or boyfriend, and people might think they might get in the way. Doyle does not write the original Mary Morstan that way. I just think if you get it right — which we did — then why wouldn’t you like her? We weren’t that nervous.”

> Find out everything we know so far about Series 4 in our news summary.

How long would you like Mary to stay in the show for? Let us know below…

> Buy Series 3 on DVD on Amazon.

> Buy the Series 1-2 boxset on Amazon.

Watch the Series 3 trailer…