Warning: This post contains a TV spoiler for those unfamiliar with the Sherlock Holmes stories.

Martin Freeman has an early Christmas present for Sherlock fans: The BBC One drama may be returning in December 2015 for a holiday special.

The actor told The Telegraph that although their busy schedules will prevent he and co-star Benedict Cumberbatch from beginning work on a fourth season for a while, they do plan to reunite briefly early next year.

“If that’s going to be a special -- I’m speaking off-message here; if this was New Labour I’d get fired -- I think that might be for next Christmas," Freeman revealed. "A Christmas special. That’s what I understand."

He also said that his wife Amanda Abbington, who joined the cast in Season 3 as Watson's wife, will return "for the foreseeable future," before dropping a spoiler for those who aren't familiar with Arthur Conan Doyle's stories.

“While we play fast and loose with the original stories, we generally follow the trajectory of what Conan Doyle did," Freeman said. "So he [Watson] gets married, and then Mary dies -- so at some point presumably she’ll die."