Researchers find Cumberbatch related to Holmes’ creator
NEW YORK — Genealogy detectives have discovered that Benedict Cumberbatch, the British actor who portrays Sherlock Holmes in the PBS television series, is distantly related to the author who created the iconic character more than a century ago.
Cumberbatch, 40, and the late Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who died in 1930, were 16th cousins, twice removed, according to the website Ancestry.com.
Cumberbatch and “Sherlock” return for three new episodes beginning Sunday night. With the British actor rocketing to movie stardom, it’s likely to be his last time in the character.
Ancestry.com wasn’t asked to dig into the backgrounds of Cumberbatch and Doyle, but its researchers love both the series and historical puzzles, said spokesman Dallin Hatch. They haven’t told the actor of the connection.