Steven Moffat Reveals New Who, Sherlock Details

What does the future hold for two of television's biggest franchises?
The Moff has been handing out a few new snippets of information on the shows he's at the helm of amongst his winning a 'Special Writer's Award' at the recent TV BAFTAs. You can find out all the latest on both Doctor Who and Sherlock's future via Digital Spy's new interview with the head honcho...

• ON SHERLOCK SERIES THREE'S PROGRESS: "Well, we've had meetings about it. It's certainly happening and we know when we're filming it- we shoot in January. Obviously I've got quite a lot of work between now and January!"
• ON THE STORIES TO BE ADAPTED: "[We've decided]- and that's not to say that it won't change at all as we go along, because it always does. But broadly speaking, yes, and we have our arc and we know what we're going to cover. The writing depends to some degree on spontianiety so you give yourself a big enough framework to improvise with."
• ON THE EMPTY HOUSE BEING EPISODE 1: "Well, there will be the return, let's put it that way!"
• ON BIDDING FAREWELL TO THE PONDS IN DOCTOR WHO: "Oh, it's incredibly sad. The thing you can forget about this is, while the audience are losing people that they see for a few months per year, Karen and Arthur are walking out of something that they've been involved with every day for years. It's not just a professional change, it's a personal upheaval. I'm not trying to say it's like being dumped, but a huge part of your life changes. I think of Karen and Arthur, and from Matt's point of view- people that you saw every single day and have become absolutely part of your de facto family are gone, never ever to be a part of that life again. It's a huge bloody change- it's someone moving out of your house, that's what it is!"
• ON THE REASONING FOR THE 2012/2013 SCHEDULING: "I think that decision [to split Series Seven over Autumn 2012/Spring 2013 and Series Eight to then start in the Autumn of 2013 for the fiftieth anniversary] was actually made by the BBC. But I've been well up for anything that we can do to shake up the transmission pattern, simply because that makes Doctor Who an event piece."
• ON THE NEW COMPANION'S IDENTITY: "[We'll find out at] Christmas! But don't expect to learn everything! We've got a good story and there are some big, legitimate surprises in it. I'm excited by it. I think we're going to do some fun stuff!"

So what really juicy details can we fathom here? Well, if Sherlock Series Three is going to shoot in January 2013, then the Moff is going to be very busy, as Doctor Who Series Seven shoots until December, and presumably shooting on Series Eight will commence later in Spring 2013 so that the first few episodes can transmit as part of the fiftieth anniversary celebrations (which will be MASSIVE!). Exciting times, ahead! Doctor Who returns this Autumn, while Sherlock returns in Summer 2013.