So why did it take Sherlock 2 years to split from tycoon?
LIKE many Hollywood stars, Benedict Cumberbatch takes pains to be right-on, including once criticising the British government in a foul-mouthed rant on stage at The Barbican.
He also made a striking appearance at the Met Gala in 2019 wearing an outfit made of vegan silk, which is spun from bamboo, so as not to harm the feelings of silkworms.
I was, therefore, relieved to hear that the Sherlock actor, 45, has finally stopped doing business with a partner from a family plagued by controversy.
The Old Harrovian was surely disgusted when he found out the shockingly anti-Semitic comments spouted by the father of his associate Mokhzani Mahathir.
The businessman is the multi-millionaire son of the former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who has called Jewish people ‘hooknosed’ and once even questioned the number killed in the Holocaust.
Mokhzani was, for years, a director of SunnyMarch Holdings — which Cumberbatch set up in 2014 — and invested almost £1million in return for shares via his company Kencana Capital. The Oscar nominee, married to opera director Sophie Hunter, claimed more than two years ago that the relationship was to end after learning of the outbursts.
I can reveal that two years later Mokhzani has resigned as a director. He left just two months ago.
The firm has found great success, co-producing dramas The Pursuit Of Love with Lily James, and Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, starring Lin-Manuel Miranda, with the BBC.
Cumberbatch has also starred in many programmes produced by the company, including BBC’s The Child In Time, and Sky’s Patrick Melrose.