Sherlock creator Steven Moffat cancels talk in Russia following season 4 leak investigation
He was supposed to speak on the channel which the final episode of series 4 leaked from
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sherlock writer Steven Moffat and producer Sue Vertue have pulled out of an appearance on Channel One - the state broadcaster that carries Sherlock in Russia - while a leak of the series 4 finale episode originating in the country is investigated.
A Russian language version of ‘The Final Problem’, featuring a three-second continuity announcement linking it to Channel One, emerged online the day before the BBC One premiere.
"Due to the continuing investigations regarding the leaked Sherlock episode in Russia, BBC Worldwide postponed the planned master class for Channel One’s TV academy with Steven Moffat and Sue Vertue," a BBC spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter.
"We apologize for the inconvenience caused for those due to attend and we will reschedule this once investigations are concluded.”
Elena Afanasyeva, head of creative planning at Channel One, added on Facebook: "Steven and Sue would like to stress that they hate to let people down and they understand the importance of contacts of this kind for our industry.”
Channel One said it is investigating the situation, and preliminary findings point towards a cyber attack.
Earlier in the week, a BBC source reportedly said the leak was “more than an accident” and a spokesman stated: “BBC Worldwide takes breaches of our stringent content security protocols very seriously and we have initiated a full investigation into how this leak occurred.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments