Young Sherlock Holmes star Nicholas Rowe back for cameo in Mr Holmes

For people of a certain vintage Young Sherlock Holmes holds a special place in their heart.

The adventure film, which hits cinemas in 1985, told the story of the early years of the great detective, as he solves a puzzling problem while attending secondary school. It was a fun ride, with great allusions to the stories of Arthur Conan Doyle, an enjoyable score and spry direction by Brian Levinson. And it was also the first time a photo-real CG character was used in a film, in a then mind-bending sequence where a stained-glass window comes alive for some sinister doings.

It has a real place in cinema history for that sequence, which was actually animated by Pixar's John Lasseter, but the film itself was a commercial failure, putting paid to any chance of sequels with the talented cast, including Nicholas Rowe as Holmes.

30 years on, Rowe has a second chance at the role - though not in the way he might have expected.

That's because he appears in new movie Mr. Holmes in a delightful cameo. The story is about the later years of the fictional character, as played by Ian McKellen, who decides to catch a movie based on the tales of his younger self. And who should play the role of Sherlock Holmes on screen? Well it's Nicholas Rowe himself.

It's a clever touch in a film which deals with the nature of memory and fiction and an interesting way to see how Rowe might have played the character on the big screen once again.

For his part, 48 year-old Scot Rowe has been busy in movies and TV in the intervening years, including appearing in Enigma, Da Vinci's Demons and Poldark.

Mr Holmes is in cinemas from the 19th of June 2015.