Amanda Abbington Joins the Cast of Sherlock (Maybe?)

Series 3 of the BBC’s runaway hit Sherlock has begun filming, much to the delight of its rabid fanbase. But there’s apparently one last minute addition to the cast who had yet to be announced, at least according to some folks who were in Portland Square in Bristol, England and shot some video there. If they’re to be believed, Amanda Abbington, longtime partner of Sherlock star Martin Freeman, has joined the series.

Freeman and Abbington share two children and not a few credits together. Like Freeman, Abbington is an actor of screen and stage, as well as a comedian. Though she’s played small roles in his movies before, perhaps the most obvious role for her in a series without many recurring female characters would be as John Watson’s wife Mary Morstan, which would have a nice ironic twist to it. Although in the books Morstan was sacrificed (by killing her character) to the narrative expediency of bringing Holmes and Watson back to their Baker Street lodgings after Holmes’ return from apparent death (and after Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gave in to fan pressure to once again write new books about Sherlock Holmes after killing him off so that he wouldn’t have to do it ever again), in the show she has yet to be introduced in any capacity.

Likely, however, Freeman’s Watson and Benedict Cumberbatch‘s Holmes will be reuniting at 221 B, so one hopes that she wouldn’t be introduced simply to be killed off. It’s just as likely that she is some other one-episode character. Or, that Abbington is not involved at all and Bristol Culture was mistaken. Here’s their video of the shoot:

(via Digital Spy.)