Incidentally, the 48-year-old actor is now about to play Mandelson himself in Channel 4's new drama "Coalition", reported Digital Spy.
"I based Mycroft on Peter Mandelson. It was explicit even before I was going to play him," Gatiss told Radio Times.
"Steven Moffat and I talked about how Mandelsonian Mycroft was... Conan Doyle says Mycroft is the British government. He's the power behind the throne.
"Both Mandelson and Mycroft are the sort of people who, I think, would sit out a world war," he added. "There's a longer game to be played..."
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Gatiss recently described the story of the drama as having a "classical dimension".
"It's the same story throughout history - it's the struggle for the crown. You can change the clothes - and people don't get killed as often - but it's the same thing," he said.
"Coalition" also stars Mark Dexter as David Cameron, Ian Grieve as Gordon Brown and Bertie Carvel as Clegg.