Dracula writers Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat sneak Sherlock easter egg into first episode

Three-part series launched on New Year's Day on BBC1

Dracula writers Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat clearly could not resist sneaking a Sherlock Holmes easter egg into their BBC adaptation of the classic horror.

The three-part series, which stars Claes Bang as the legendary vampire, launched on New Year’s Day to rave reviews from both critics and audiences.

Halfway through the first episode, the character Sister Agatha (Dolly Wells) floors Jonathan Harker (John Heffernan) by revealing that the quiet nun sat beside her during his interrogation was actually his fiancée, Mina (Morfydd Clark).

“I apologise for the deception,” she tells him. “It was necessary she [Mina] heard the story from your own lips.”

She adds: “Having established your identity, it was not difficult to trace you back to England and find your worried fiancé. I have a detective acquaintance in London.”

Given that both Dracula and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes books were set and published in the Victorian era (Moffat and Gatiss set their BBC Sherlock series in the present day), it was easy enough for fans to deduce that the writers were making a playful link between the two.

The BBC’s new adaptation of Dracula has gone down very well with viewers, who have described it as “bloody stunning” and “horrifying”, with some going so far as to call it the “best adaptation” of the book to date.

It was awarded four stars by The Independent’s critic Ed Cumming, who said it “adds fresh wit and energy to the vampire legend”.

Dracula continues on Thursday 2 January at 9pm on BBC1.