A great interview with the Moff in Huffington Post specifically about Sherlock Series 2 and also Doctor Who.
'...and this year, thematically, he (Sherlock) realises there are people about whom he cares deeply...Our Sherlock even entertains the idea that he is above emotion. He's actually a terribly emotional man and he's a desperate show-off. Most ordinary people would tell Sherlock to piss off,within 30 seconds. It takes someone with the patience of a saint to look after him. We laid it out in the first episode when Lestrade says that Sherlock Holmes is a great man and one day, he might be a good one. And that's the journey he is going on.'
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Don't make people into heroes John. Heroes don't exist and if they did I wouldn't be one of them.