Benedict Cumberbatch Related To Sherlock Holmes Creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

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 web site 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.