Martin Freeman has had it with fans wanting Sherlock and Watson to be lovers

The actor looks back on the mixed reaction to series four, and addresses 'Johnlock' head on: "Me and Ben, we have literally never, never played a moment like lovers. We ain’t f***ing lovers"

Bad news, anyone still shipping Johnlock: Martin Freeman has said categorically that his John Watson and Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock Holmes are meant to be partners in crime-solving only.

“There was a chunk of people who just knew it was going to end with us getting together,” the actor told The Telegraph, referring to some fans’ desire for Watson and Holmes to become a couple at the end of Sherlock series four. “Me and Ben, we have literally never, never played a moment like lovers. We ain’t f***ing lovers.”

So, Sherlock and Watson will forever be the closest of detecting friends – and just friends. But will they reunite on our screens in future? Have there been discussions about a fifth series of Sherlock?

“Not massively,” answered Freeman. “I think after series four [it] felt like a pause. I think we felt we’d done it for a bit now. And part of it, speaking for myself, is [due to] the reception of it.”

Freeman admitted that he struggled with the expectations that he was put under during the show. “Being in that show, it is a mini-Beatles thing,” he explained. “People’s expectations, some of it’s not fun any more. It’s not a thing to be enjoyed, it’s a thing of: ‘You better f***ing do this, otherwise you’re a c***.’ That’s not fun any more.”

Freeman also addressed some of the negative reviews that followed series four: “To be absolutely honest, it [was] kind of impossible. Sherlock became the animal that it became immediately.

“Whereas even with The Office [where Freeman played Tim] it was a slow burn. But Sherlock was frankly notably high quality from the outset. And when you start [that high] it’s pretty hard to maintain that.”

Yet although Sherlock’s future remains uncertain, perhaps we could see Freeman and Cumberbatch on screen together in the Marvel Universe. While Freeman didn’t hint that his character Everett Ross would meet Doctor Strange in Infinity War, there’s always a chance the two could share a scene in later Avenger films.