Who were you afraid of Benedict... Moriarty?
Master of deception Cumberbatch goes to amazing lengths – and even borrows Sherlock’s tricks – to keep wedding secret (but the evil Professor STILL got past him!)
THE cunning game of cat and mouse between one of the greatest detectives and his nemesis Professor Moriarty is the stuff of literary legend.
And it almost seemed as if Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch was trying to outwit his on-screen adversary in real life yesterday, as he took ingenious steps to keep his wedding secret.
Yet Irish actor Andrew Scott, who plays the master criminal in the latest BBC adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s books, nonetheless managed to find his way to the Isle of Wight church where the ceremony took place.
Cumberbatch went to extraordinary lengths to keep his wedding secret, especially from the press and his fans.
Roads around the village of Mottistone were cordoned off, staff at the hotel where the wedding party celebrated were sworn to secrecy, and, in a particularly deft touch, a white van drew up outside the church just as Cumberbatch and his new bride Sophie Hunter emerged, blocking the view.
The sneaky deployment of the vehicle was a sly echo of the moment in the 2012 TV series when the detective used a truck in the plot to fake his death.
Scott has previously joked about his screen relationship with 38year-old Cumberbatch, reacting to the recent news that he is to become a dad, by joking: ‘I don’t think Benedict will ask me to be a godfather. I’m his arch nemesis.’
But he was one of 40 family and friends invited to yesterday’s ceremony at the 12th-century St Peter and St Paul Church. Other guests included his War Horse co-star Tom Hiddleston.
The party arrived just before 3pm to be greeted by around a dozen wellwishers. They enjoyed fine weather but rain began to fall when the 36-year-old bride arrived wearing a traditional white dress just after 3.20pm.
After the hour-long ceremony, the couple climbed into a car to drive the short distance to Mottistone Manor for their reception.
Cumberbatch’s choice of the Isle of Wight came as a surprise to locals who had no idea why he had chosen the island. But bride Sophie, a theatre and opera director, is thought to be distantly related to the first Lord Mottistone.
Cumberbatch’s hopes to keep the ceremony entirely secret were foiled when marquees began to appear in the grounds of the manor and road closure signs were erected close to the church.
The star is believed to have spent Friday night at the George Hotel
Roads closed and staff sworn to secrecy
in Yarmouth on the island. That evening, he joined 140 guests for a party there. Staff were sworn to secrecy but one employee said: ‘Benedict had a big party here on Friday night. There were about 140 people and it was a buffet meal. We have all been told to keep quiet about it and not tell anyone.’
Several of the partygoers spent the night in the hotel. And yesterday morning, locals joined in the pre-wedding excitement by posting a series of tweets. A local councillor wrote: ‘Isle of Wight’s gone mad with Benedict Cumberbatch marriage fever this morning. Fans of both genders flocking to Mottistone for a glimpse.’
Another wrote: ‘So if everyone is camped out at Mottistone church to gatecrash the celeb wedding, does that mean Sainsbury’s will be nice and quiet?’
There had been speculation that Martin Freeman, who plays Dr Watson, may have been best man but his wife, Amanda Abbington, said the rumours were ‘bowel-shatteringly, mind-numbingly wrong’.
Cumberbatch has been nominated for the Best Actor Award at next weekend’s Oscars, for his performance as Alan Turing in The Imitation Game.