Steven Moffat: “We can always bring Sherlock back… not tomorrow, but it’s possible”

Present at Séries Mania for a major masterclass with his wife and producer, Sue Vertue, the British screenwriter tells Première. Encounter.

Brilliant creator behind Sherlock, former showrunner of Doctor Who or more recently Douglas Is Canceled, screenwriter Steven Moffat was at Séries Mania this week alongside his producer and wife Sue Vertue. On the sidelines of their great masterclass in front of the Lille public – to be seen again below in video – they spoke to Première. Encounter.

PREMIERE: How did you prepare for your masterclass this week in Lille?
Steven Moffat: It lasted 90 minutes so it was quite long… You call it a masterclass, I call it an interview! I had absolutely nothing prepared. I got on a train and went on stage…
Sue Vertue: And at the same time it was nice, we saw old extracts from Doctor Who that we hadn’t seen for years!

Don’t you really like looking back at your past creations?
Steven Moffat: Yes! It’s not really a problem for me (laughs). I don’t know at all why I don’t watch old episodes of Doctor Who anymore… Let’s just say it’s a bit older than the new episodes.

This kind of masterclass is also an opportunity for you and Sue to talk about how you have worked together over the years…
Steven Moffat: I’m constantly amazed that this is actually a topic: If I couldn’t work with Sue, why the hell would I marry her?
Sue Vertue: People ask us if we can separate work from private life. But no, actually. We go to dinner, we talk about the children, the house and then new ideas we have for a particular project, casting or other.

Do you know that Russell T. Davies, with whom you relaunched Doctor Who in 2005, will also be in Lille this week for a Series Mania masterclass?
Steven Moffat: Yes I know, but we haven’t talked about it at all. It’s a shame because I thought we were going to be able to spend some time together in Lille, but in fact, we won’t be there at the same time at all. He arrives when we leave.

How do you remember the moment you brought Doctor Who back on air back in the day?
Steven Moffat: It was a great time. It was really Russell who brought the show back. I only wrote a few episodes here and there. But I always wanted it back. I loved this series so much when I was a kid… It always baffled me that no one decided to revive Doctor Who before. So I was initially delighted as a spectator! And then I had the chance to be showrunner. It was truly one of the great honors of my life. You know, I even kept the tiny TARDIS from the Flatline episode (season 8). It’s on my desk. I also brought back a little Dalek… I’m a really big fan! (laughs)

Did you hope at the time that it could work to this extent? That this revival of Doctor Who would still be around 20 years later?
Steven Moffat: Yes and no. I remember Russell saying after one of the very first screenings: “This story could last 10 years!” And in fact, it’s already double. And that’s incredible. That said, I always felt in my heart that if you did things right with Doctor Who, people would follow. The concept is so brilliant that it boggles the mind of any author who could tackle it. Besides, I sometimes played too smart with the Doctor myself. I have some regrets about that. So just keep the show as it is and the audience will be there.

Were you afraid for the series when Disney decided to withdraw last year?
Steven Moffat: You know, Doctor Who didn’t wait for Disney. The series was there long before. He’s a bit like the absolute predator of television (laughs). It can survive in any environment.

Are you speaking with Russell about Doctor Who season 16 which has just been ordered?
Steven Moffat: We always exchange emails. We often talk. But we don’t really share ideas about Doctor Who anymore. A little more when Ncuti Gatwa arrived… but not for a while I must say.

What do fans talk to you about most today: Sherlock or Doctor Who?
Steven Moffat: I couldn’t say… In any case, I’m always so happy when people talk to me about it. I know how lucky I was to work on these two series. It was truly a golden period. I have no problem talking about it over and over again. I know that some creators prefer to turn the page on their old creations. But I find it wonderful. I managed to do not one, but two series that people love! It’s great, isn’t it?
Sue Vertue: We say to ourselves that we basically did a good job!

And people still ask you when Sherlock will return for season 5?
Sue Vertue: Of course! And you’re also going to ask us the question, right?

Absolutely, you saw me coming!
Steven Moffat: So what I can say is I will never say it will never happen. Clearly, it is complex to set up. But there are about sixty Sherlock Holmes stories to adapt, so we could technically do a bunch more seasons. Especially since we kept the decorations. They are stored in a storage location. So it would be possible to return there quite easily. Not tomorrow, but it would be possible…

In the meantime, you have just filmed Number 10 (which will be broadcast in 2027 across the Channel), a series which takes place at 10 Downing Street. What made you want to delve into the residence of the English Prime Ministers?
Steven Moffat: It’s the most exciting and ridiculous house in the world, isn’t it? The fact that we run our country from this small, not entirely suitable house…

Why is it not suitable?
Steven Moffat: Because it’s not an office! It was never intended as an office. In the middle of this street, there is this house that looks like it was made of LEGO bricks… Right next to it, there is the Foreign Affairs office which is a very spectacular building. It’s our vision of the world in a way: a small house for us, humble Englishmen, and a vast building for the rest of the world…

Do you see it as a geopolitical metaphor?
Steven Moffat: Yes. 10 Downing Street is us. It’s a little pompous, a little weird and above all not at all thought out for its use. And yet it works! In any case I did a lot of research for Number 10. More than for any other series before. Afterwards, it is not intended to be 100% realistic. It’s a fiction. Plus, a form of comedy.

Rafe Spall Playing UK Prime Minister In Steven Moffat’s ‘Number 10’ For Channel 4 https://t.co/iCEoQ3GotO

— Deadline (@DEADLINE) December 10, 2025

Did you recreate 10 Downing Street in the studio?
Steven Moffat: Yes, we made a fairly precise line I must say. We were able to visit the premises and produce something very close in the studio…

Doesn’t that raise security issues?
Steven Moffat: Possibly… But it’s better not to talk about it too much (laughs). There are essential points on which the reconstruction is not exact. We were specifically asked not to exactly replicate different parts of the house on screen. And I won’t say which ones of course! So, if you were planning to attack 10 Downing Street using the series as a base plan… you’re screwed!

And on the bottom? What will the series be about?
Steven Moffat: We don’t care about politics. What interests me are people. Everyone I met who worked there loved their time! We tell human things, sometimes a little silly, funny, improbable. The atmosphere inside this house is crazy; it’s electric. People know that they are experiencing the climax of their lives there. This time they will tell again and again. The only chapters that we will read in their biographies. So that’s what we wanted to tell. And in the form of an office comedy in short, where a common hangover can cause a war… I’ve been wanting to do an office comedy again for years!
Sue Vertue: Yes, people will quickly understand that we do not reveal secrets about what happens behind the door of 10 Downing Street. No more than Sherlock could solve crimes in reality…

And would you be interested in making a truly political series one day?
Steven Moffat: On politicians, men and women, yes. But a series that would talk about politics strictly speaking, no. There is ultimately quite little politics in political life. Politics is the campaign to be elected. The rest of the time, it’s about continuing to keep water running in people’s taps, keeping their lights on, and avoiding getting into a war at the same time. That’s the job. There is nothing in the great books of the left or the right that will solve the Covid crisis…

Number 10 will be broadcast in England on Chanel 4. The series does not yet have a broadcaster in France.