10 things you didn't know about Sherlock Holmes

9: The Baker Street Irregulars

Dr Watson wasn't Sherlock's only assistant. He also had Wiggins, a street urchin who led his friends on missions for the great detective.

Wiggins and his cohorts were known as the Baker Street Irregulars, and Holmes paid them to investigate leads, gather evidence and spy on suspects. While Watson was rather surprised by Sherlock's association with the gang, the detective took immense pride in their devotion to duty – and always thought them more trustworthy than police officers.

10: Holmes's great relative

Holmes was a distant relative of the famous (and very real) French painter, Emile Vernet.

According to Holmes, his grandmother was the sister of Vernet, a major French artist who specialised in painting battle scenes from the Napoleonic and Crimean Wars. This is the one tidbit of information about the Holmes family that was revealed by Conan Doyle, and who knows – it might just help you out in a pub quiz one day...