Wait - I missing the subtext here. Dressing in a apron and scrubbing a colleague's floor is disgusting, but S- E -X isn't? Sorry, I must try harder to interpret the posts here. Lemme go make some notes.....

This is amazing. I've made a major breakthrough in the subtext of "the state of (Sally's) knees" and Sherlock's obsession with floors. Why does Sally call Sherlock "freak"? Maybe she knows something we don't know. Why is Sherlock always eager to get his snout up-close-and-personal with floors? Looking for clues? Please. Why did Sherlock notice the state of the killer's hyper-clean floors in The Great Game? Sherlock seeks to degrade Sally by making a sarcastic comment about the stage of her knees. Why? The evidence is piling up and it's all pointing in one direction. Maybe this will turn into fanfic, I don't know.

I have a lot of work to do, but trust me this is a big story. Laters,

Probably in a minority here but I didnt think that line was needed.  I didnt like it.  Could have been something a little more eloquent.

Oh it was hilarious and  the put down Sally needed!

Relax, you're doing fine!

I don't really think Sherlock does relationships.
But if he did, I hope he'd have better taste than Sally.

Yes refreshing isnt it that the women look like real women.  Was she based on a character in the books or made up for BBC Sherlock?  As I say she was interesting character.  I like Anderson too he was funny in s3.  But in s1 he was hysterical!  Ilove the scene were he volunteers to do the drugs bust in ASIP.

Conan Doyle had few (hardly any) female characters in his Sherlock Holmes series. Mrs. Hudson was the land lady, but not a major presence. Mary Morstan was a damsel in distress who wound up marrying Dr. Watson. Irene Adler was the only female character of any significance. So to answer your question Sally Donovan, Molly Hooper, and Janine are all new characters. Now I'm doing this by memory and not doing a thorough check. But bear in mind that I have been reading and re-reading Conan Doyle for 50 years or so.

In literary chat forums, I read and discuss many Victorian authors. The problem I have with Conan Doyle's stories (marvelous as they are) is that many of the women are two-dimensional characters who swoon and need their stays loosened by Dr. Watson. Doyle also had  propensity to write about hot blooded women of exotic extraction, or frankly ridiculous American characters who took up half the novel running around the Wild West. Now bear in mind, this is a frank, off the cuff assessment.

Doyle knew what his audience liked and he wrote of a world of gentlemen's clubs, hackney cabs, liveried servants, haughty heiresses, shifty untrustworthy ladies maids, and pure virginal corsetted gentlewoman who needed a protector. And Dr. Watson to administer brandy and loosen their stays. He also wrote non-Sherlock related stories, as I'm sure you know.

The creators of this series ("Sherlock") have said in interviews that they wished to "fetishize" modern London as Conan Doyle fetishized Victorian England. Make of the comment what you will, but haven't they created something splendid? 

BTW the original stories are available on the internet for free, but I'm sure you know that too. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to respond to your question.

No thank you Arabella for your considered and quite frankly great answer!  You're very knowledgeable and I know now if I need to ask a question you're the person to go to.  Cheers mate x

It's good to have you here!