LUKE Rix-Standing ("Elementary: Holmes lives on as Conan Doyle hits 160", The Herald, June 8) presumes the story of readers of The Final Problem donning black armbands to be untrue. I’m not so sure. “Dr Findlay” and “Dr Cameron” used to get letters from viewers describing their symptoms for advice.

The phenomenon was adroitly acknowledged some years ago in a feature in an English newspaper when someone asked: Who is the greater detective, Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot? Answer: Sherlock Holmes – Hercule Poirot is a fictional character.

Robin Dow, Rothesay.