Fan fiction authors should look away now, as you’ll all have collective heart attacks before penning the most homoerotic erotic Sherlock story ever written. But it’s true: Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman – aka Sherlock and Watson – had a gay scene cut from season three of the BBC crime drama.

Sherlock stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin FreemanSherlock stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman

You’ll remember the context well if you’re a fan of the show. That strange middle episode, the one with the wedding, contained a lengthy section focusing on Watson’s bachelor party, at which Sherlock was the only guest. Plenty of beers later and the pair are investigating a crime that would eventually tie in to the rest of the series, but rumors were soon flying round that the pair were actually drunk and shot a scene in a gay bar.

Confirming the rumour, Freeman said, "I regret there was one bit of that drunk stuff that was missing, and that was the gay club scene. When we were absolutely mullered (drunk) in the gay club! There were lots of topless men going past, and (we) are just like, 'Why are we here?'" Cumberbatch added, "I (as Sherlock) had no idea why they didn't have their clothes on, and eventually it dawned on me, and my grounding shook."

With their close relationship, topics of conversations in Sherlock discussions have often veered towards the carnal, specifically the suggestion that the imperious detective and his trusty sidekick are gay lovers, and engage regularly in sexual activities. That’s fan fiction for you. Talk of ‘bromance’ has been building since Freeman and Cumberbatch first donned the personas of Arthur Conan Doyle’s crime-fighting pair, and ‘The Sign of Three’ episode certain exacerbated that theorem. These latest insights into the episodes might induce a similar, rhyming word.