In a new interview about his hit series Sherlock, Martin Freeman praises how intermittent the show is and reveals he’s not a fan of #Setlock.

Speaking to The Independent in a wide-ranging interview, Freeman, who plays Sherlock’s side-kick Watson, says that their every-other-year schedule is what makes Sherlock an appealing project. “That’s what for me makes it do-able. I don’t know about Ben [Cumberbatch] but certainly for me it would soon lose a lot of its appeal if we were schlepping that around for eight months of the year, every year. A bit of the sheen would have gone off it.”

Pivoting off that nice work schedule, Freeman goes on to reveal that filming on Sherlock series 4, plus a special episode, is taking up five weeks of time.

But unfortunately, he may be looking forward to the production coming to a close for another two years.

The actor explains that the fans, who stand near the sets and share their findings using the hashtag #Setlock, are a distraction to the cast and crew on set. “When we’re [filming at] our stand-in for Baker Street, it is hard to do your job. And I don’t love it,” he said. “I don’t love it.”

Freeman says part of the problem is the repeated cheering which takes them out of their work. “I wasn’t in The Beatles. But I’ve never seen anything like it. There’s such a heightened sense of excitement, so every time we come out there’s applauding – and it’s like, ‘No, can you n–’ Or, if we do anything – ‘Cut!’ – applause… It’s like, ‘No, this isn’t a gig…'”

Even though he struggles to balance staying in the mind of Watson while “hundreds of people [are] taking pictures of you and holding up placards,” he is grateful for the support. “I obviously very much appreciate, as do we all, the fact that people love it. But also, yeah, it doesn’t make you doing your job any easier.”

Sherlock series 4 doesn’t have an air date, but the special episode they’re filming is expected to premiere around Christmas and will precede the new series.