Martin Freeman says comments about Sherlock fans were "taken out of context"

In an interview with The Telegraph in March, the former The Office star said that filming the show was "not fun anymore", appearing to cite mounting pressure from fans as the problem.

"It’s a thing of: ‘You better f***ing do this, otherwise, you’re a c***.’" he said, "that’s not fun anymore." He also added that he was frustrated with fans willing Sherlock Holmes and John Watson into a romantic entanglement.

His co-star Benedict Cumberbatch later told RadioTimes.com that it was "pretty weak" to blame the difficulties of storytelling on viewers, be they fans of Sherlock or viewers of the Marvel film franchise.

But now Freeman has clarified his statement, saying that he is "a fan of the show".

“My point with Sherlock was that those expectations can be heavy,” he told The Daily Beast. “There’s a certain aspect that some fans are going to run with the ball and make their own thing out of your show – which is completely fair enough, as long as we all acknowledge that that is what is happening.

“I think when you get into a slightly tail-wagging-the-dog scenario, that gets boring, for me. So when people insist that Sherlock is supposed to be this show, when we decide what show it is, it’s like, 'No, this is actually the show we’re making, and that we’ve always made. I know you want to see this happen, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to have to happen.' So that’s what gets, frankly, wearing.”

Freeman added that he remains "well aware of [Sherlock's] importance in my life, both professionally and personally".

"I love the show. I’m a fan of the show. Unfortunately, that’s the joy of being quoted out of context, and joy of newspapers needing a headline.”

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