<p class="title">Actor-writer Mark Gatiss has said that another season of popular series "Sherlock" is at least five years away.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The BBC's modern interpretation of Arthur Conon Doyle's work features Benedict Cumberbatch as the famed detective Sherlock Holmes while actor Martin Freeman plays his sidekick and friend Dr Watson.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Gatiss, who co-created and co-wrote the series with Steven Moffat, told On the Line podcast that they have not ruled out future seasons of the show but it will not happen anytime soon.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We're certainly not ruling it out. We're shooting 'Dracula' next year, that's a two or three year process to get that from script to screen. Even if we then started planning 'Sherlock' season five that would be another two years, so it's a way off," Gatiss said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Availability of Cumberbatch and Freeman, who are currently busy with their Hollywood careers, also appears to be a major hurdle for the prospective fifth season.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It was very, very, very difficult to schedule the fourth series in terms of Benedict's and Martin's availability, and everyone's availability, so it's not easy. It's not a lack of will, it's just about practicality," Gatiss said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I think it would be nice to leave them and then come back and see what's happened to them," he added.</p>
<p class="title">Actor-writer Mark Gatiss has said that another season of popular series "Sherlock" is at least five years away.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The BBC's modern interpretation of Arthur Conon Doyle's work features Benedict Cumberbatch as the famed detective Sherlock Holmes while actor Martin Freeman plays his sidekick and friend Dr Watson.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Gatiss, who co-created and co-wrote the series with Steven Moffat, told On the Line podcast that they have not ruled out future seasons of the show but it will not happen anytime soon.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We're certainly not ruling it out. We're shooting 'Dracula' next year, that's a two or three year process to get that from script to screen. Even if we then started planning 'Sherlock' season five that would be another two years, so it's a way off," Gatiss said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Availability of Cumberbatch and Freeman, who are currently busy with their Hollywood careers, also appears to be a major hurdle for the prospective fifth season.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It was very, very, very difficult to schedule the fourth series in terms of Benedict's and Martin's availability, and everyone's availability, so it's not easy. It's not a lack of will, it's just about practicality," Gatiss said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I think it would be nice to leave them and then come back and see what's happened to them," he added.</p>