Most actors have fans, but Benedict Cumberbatch isn’t most actors…


Since July 2010, when he first appeared on screen as the title character in BBC’s Sherlock, his fanbase has gone from a relatively small group of British television and film aficionados to one of the largest and most dedicated groups of followers in show business.

And as much as Benny C is grateful for the adoration that’s showered upon him by his (mostly female) fanbase – he still has one problem, the name many of them give themselves… Cumberbitches.

“It’s not even politeness,” he told Caitlin Moran in an interview for The Times. “I won’t allow you to be my bitches. I think it sets feminism back so many notches. You are… Cumberpeople.”

However, it doesn’t look very likely that Mr C is going to get his way any time soon. Despite raising concerns around the term in the past, @cumberbitches remains one of his largest social media fan groups (almost 50,000 Twitter followers), and the term is still used fast and loose around the world wide web as a byword for loving Benny C.


Cumberbatch is currently filming Sherlock series 3, and can be seen on the big screen as John Harrison in Star Trek Into Darkness, out now in UK cinemas.