Andrew Scott has said he has nothing but love for the overexuberant fans of TV show Sherlock.

The 38-year-old actor, who plays the detective’s arch-villain Jim Moriarty, is glad that viewers have an “all-consuming passion” for the BBC crime series.

Sherlock stars Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch
Sherlock stars Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch (Robert Viglasky/BBC)

“There’s this assumption about fans that they’re nuts. But they’re people that are really passionate, and I like that,” he explained to Red magazine.

“Everyone has that when they’re young and as we get older that passion – that real, all-consuming passion – gets knocked out of you and you become cynical.”

Andrew, along with his co-stars Martin Freeman (Doctor John Watson) and Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock Holmes) will return for the forthcoming Sherlock special, which will air on BBC One.

Meanwhile, the star of stage and screen has joined the cast of Sam Mendes’ James Bond film, Spectre. He was cast after working with the director on Broadway.

Sam Mendes with Spectre baddies - Dave Bautista, Christoph Waltz and Andrew Scott
Sam Mendes with Spectre baddies – Dave Bautista, Christoph Waltz and Andrew Scott (Ian West/PA)

“I was at home when I got the call and rang my parents right away. They were delighted,” he recalled.

“I’ve done a lot of experimental theatre, so I say I’m doing a play at the Royal Court and they’re like, ‘Oh…’. But everybody has at least heard about Bond.”

But he added he has to remain tight-lipped over his role, saying: “I seem to be in the habit of doing projects that I can’t talk about because there’s a lot of secrecy attached to them.

“Plot is everything in Bond. You don’t want to give the fun away.”

Andrew teased: “I play the head of an organisation called the Centre for National Security. It’s about ethics and how the new world of surveillance compares with the old world of surveillance, and the tension between them.

“And that is officially all I can say. Although I can tell you that I get to have lovely suits and a nice desk.”