Sherlock executive producer Sue Vertue has dismissed suggestions apparently made by husband Steven Moffat that the programme will return in 2012.
The showrunner was supposed to have said on Friday (January 20) that a third series of the BBC drama - which concluded last Sunday (January 15) - would air later this year.
Moffat also apparently claimed that scenes showing how Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) survived his rooftop plummet in series two finale 'The Reichenbach Fall' had already been filmed.
In response to the comments, Vertue has taken to Twitter and clarified that a 2012 Sherlock return is "sadly unlikely".
"Sorry to be a killjoy but @steven_moffat didn't actually mean S3 of #sherlock would tx before end of year," she wrote. "I think that is sadly unlikely."
Moffat has, however, said that fans will not have to wait "that long" for the next series of Sherlock.
He confirmed this week that a third run of the show had been secretly commissioned along with its second last year.
