Mycroft Holmes

Mycroft Holmes (played by Mark Gatiss) is Sherlock’s older brother and the cleverer of the two siblings (which Sherlock dislikes acknowledging). He has an unspecified, “minor” position in the British government, although it is often implied that he is actually very powerful, as demonstrated when John first meets Sherlock – Mycroft is able to command the use of London’s CCTV to track John and set up a meeting. He cares deeply about his brother, although Sherlock resents the attention and the spying his brother does on him. His weight is often a reoccurring joke throughout the show, as Sherlock frequently mocks him for being fat (an allusion to the Mycroft in Conan Doyle’s book, who was corpulent). Mycroft’s name was most likely made up by Conan Doyle from the Old English elements ‘mýðe’, meaning ‘mouth of a stream’ and ‘croft’ meaning ‘small field.’