Benedict Cumberbatch was in Bristol yesterday evening as scenes for the third series of Sherlock were filmed in Portland Square. A bonfire with a Guy on top had been built, with the square lit by a huge spotlight as high as the trees, and dozens of cast and crew milling around in as many layers as they could muster on a bitterly cold night.

As word got out that the hit BBC drama was filming in Bristol, fans arrived in St Paul’s with their camera phones. Some of these fans were promptly cast as extras (click here for an account of one who had driven from Cardiff).

Cumberbatch was dressed in a long dark grey coat, blue scarf and black leather gloves, and was at least a head taller than most other people. His stunt double was slightly smaller but with the same unruly mop of hair.

The first scene started filming from about 8pm and involved Cumberbatch and a mystery woman – thought to be Amanda Abbington, Martin Freeman’s real-life partner and Watson’s possible new love interest Mary Morstan – running through the crowds to the bonfire, shouting “Move! Move!”:

Fireworks were due to be released later in the evening, while a motorbike and Cumberbatch’s double gave a clue as to what else might be being filmed.

Sherlock is written by Steven Moffat, also the writer of Doctor Who, which filmed part of its Christmas special episode in Portland Square last year.