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Sherlock creator: ‘Andrew Scott’s audition was so good, we rewrote a scene for him’

Steven Moffat was impressed by the Dubliner

Sherlock creator Steven Moffat has admitted that he was so impressed by Andrew Scott’s audition for Moriarty he rewrote the end of his first episode.

The actor plays Sherlock’s arch-nemesis in the series and is one of the stand-out characters of the BBC hit.

“Andrew absolutely went for it. And we thought, not only are we going to cast him, but by some means we’re going to include that scene in the episode,” Steven said about his audition.

A screening of "The Stag' at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival

Impressed: Steven was so wowed by Andrew’s audition, he rewrote a scene for him | VIPIRELAND.COM

The producer revealed that fans were going to be introduced to Moriarty differently to how they decided to show him in the end.

“We didn’t really have a scene for Moriarty in the original version of The Great Game,” Steven told Radio Times about the third episode of the first series.

“It was going to be a big reveal that that young fella you’d met earlier, that camp young fella [Molly Hooper’s boyfriend Jim], turns out to be Moriarty, but you don’t see him in his own form.

“He was just going take his sunglasses off [as an indication].”

Kenneth Egan & Guests at The Late Late Show

Moriarty: The producer rewrote the pool scene in The Great Game to show off Andrew’s talents | VIPIRELAND.COM

Andrew gave a very strong performance in the scene that made it to TV and delivered powerful lines, but those lines were never meant to make it to the screen – not until the Dubliner got his hands on them.

“So we concocted a ludicrous scene where Moriarty’s being bonkers, and saying things, you know ‘I will burn the heart out of you,’ on the basis that this is going to be the kind of nonsense that he’s going to have to say in the future

“And a bunch of actors came in, did fine. Presumably stared at the script and said ‘Dear God.’

“But Andrew absolutely went for it. And we thought, not only are we going to cast him, but by some means we’re going to include that scene in the episode.

“And we rewrote the end of the episode so that Moriarty, for no particular reason, turns up in the swimming pool, is going to kill them, changes his mind and goes away again,” he added.

Sherlock returns to the BBC1 for season four on New Year’s Day at 8.30pm.

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