McGuigan directed the Series 1 episodes ‘A Study In Pink’ and ‘The Great Game’, and most recently has directed the opening episode of ITV1’s new medical drama series Monroe, which begins next month.

Writing on Twitter, he revealed: “I’m only doing 2 episodes of Sherlock – the same as the last time. It’s impossible to do all 3 even though I would love to!”

Earlier this month, the show’s co-creator and writer Mark Gatiss tweeted: “For those kindly asking, we start shooting the new series of Sherlock in May and will be back on TV in the Autumn.”

Sherlock was recommissioned last August, with Gatiss and Steven Moffat teasing: “There’ll be baffling new puzzles, old friends and new enemies – whether on two or four legs. And we might well be seeing the cold master of logic and reason unexpectedly falling. But in love? Or over a precipice? Who can tell?”