The curious affair of the female Dr Watson

When CBS announced that it had cast Lucy Liu as trusty sidekick to Johnny Lee Miller's Sherlock Holmes in the Sherlock reboot Elementary, plenty of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle fans were suspicious.

“I had read a psychological assessment of Sherlock by a doctor discussing his 'aversion' to women',” says the TV show's creator, Rob Doherty. “It was sort of a joke to myself at first.”

While Miller's Holmes is definitely confused by the ladies (on their first meeting he asks Liu's Joan Watson to clean his apartment), he also uses them for sex, claiming that he loathes it but needs it, like exercise.

But Doherty insists that there will be no romantic tension between the two. “People will be waiting a long time if they want it to be something more.”

'Elementary' is on Sky Living HD on Tuesdays from 23 October at 9pm