It seems that Benedict Cumberbatch has already read a lot of "Sherlock" fan fiction.
In a recent interview with Out magazine, Cumberbatch, who plays Sherlock Holmes in the hit British crime drama series, revealed that that he is aware of the erotic gay fiction featuring his character and Martin Freeman's John Watson that fans write and post online.
"[Writers] either want to make John into a sort of cute little toy, or me into a cute toy, or we're fucking in space on a bed, chained together," the 38-year-old British actor said of the usual plot lines of the raunchy tales made by fans.
"It's always , like, one of them is tired, one comes back from work, the other is horny, a lump appears in his trousers, and then they're at it," added the Primetime Emmy-winning actor. "It's usually me getting it - I'm biting Watson's dog tags."
And when the interviewer suggested that a gay romance between Sherlock and John eliminates the threat from the writer's fellow female fans, the actor is said to have "enthusiastically" agreed, saying: "I think it's about burgeoning sexuality in adolescence, because you don't necessarily know how to operate that."
"And I think it's a way of neutralizing the threat, so this person is sort of removed from them as somebody who could break their heart," he explained.
Several "Sherlock" fans have been urging BBC to make Sherlock and John gay lovers in the show. Ever since the program premiered in July 2010, there has been a running joke that the two are more than just good friends, Daily Star reported.
In fact, Mrs. Hudson (Una Stubbs), the landlady of the house 221B Baker Street, often makes cheeky comments about the pair's sexuality.
The three-episode Season 4 of the show is due early 2016, and as a result, a number of Sherlock and John shippers have been bombarding the network with their own steamy plot lines, complete with some uncensored drawings of the two lead characters as a gay couple.
"Oh my God. I get sent things that would make your hair turn white," the show's co-creator Mark Gatiss told Australian magazine DNA, according to The Mirror. "It's not just Sherlock and Watson holding hands on a park bench, I can tell you that."
"Some of them are incredibly graphic," the 47-year-old actor-writer added."But my goodness I've not tried half the things they're doing."
A full-length "Sherlock" Christmas special is also in the works. It will go into production in January 2015 and will air December that year.