“If she’s not paid the same as the men, I’m not doing it.”

In a new interview with Radio Times, the ‘Sherlock’ star says that equal pay is a “central tenet of feminism.”

“It’s about implementation,” he says. “Equal pay and a place at the table are the central tenets of feminism. Look at your quotas. Ask what women are being paid, and say: ‘If she’s not paid the same as the men, I’m not doing it.’”

He says: “I’m proud that [friend and business partner] Adam and I are the only men in our production company; our next project is a female story with a female lens about motherhood, in a time of environmental disaster.

“If it’s centred around my name, to get investors, then we can use that attention for a raft of female projects. Half the audience is female. And, in terms of diversity, Black Panther is now the third most successful film of all time.

“The audience is there! It’s about facilitating platforms for talent. If you do that, the combination is combustible – world-beating. That’s what we want to do.”

“If it’s good enough for Chris Pine [in ‘Wonder Woman’], it’s good enough for Benedict Cumberbatch!” he says.

“Yeah! Definitely… with sexy screaming saxophone music in the background? Ha-ha-ha, yes! So long as it was fun. I’d have to be in good shape, though. Prepare.”

Read the full interview with Benedict Cumberbatch in the new issue of Radio Times, out now. www.radiotimes.com