Thursday 29 November 2012

neil-gaiman:
This just arrived in my inbox. They are recording the Neverwhere Radio series right this moment.
Best cast. Best adapter-director. Best everything. AND I AM NOT EVEN IN THE SAME COUNTRY AS THEM.
(I’ll try to reblog the first person who identifies everyone in the photo correctly. I’ll give you a clue to start you off with: Benedict Cumberbatch is on the left and he is playing the Angel Islington.)
Oh thanks for confirming the role and sharing the photo! :)
neil-gaiman:

This just arrived in my inbox. They are recording the Neverwhere Radio series right this moment.
Best cast. Best adapter-director. Best everything. AND I AM NOT EVEN IN THE SAME COUNTRY AS THEM.
(I’ll try to reblog the first person who identifies everyone in the photo correctly. I’ll give you a clue to start you off with: Benedict Cumberbatch is on the left and he is playing the Angel Islington.)

Oh thanks for confirming the role and sharing the photo! :)
Anthony Stuart Head & Benedict in the same production? Be still my fangirl heart!!!

Wednesday 28 November 2012


source: maax 1h
benedict cumberbatch!

Merlin cast (funny moments)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6haMCd6bZTY&feature=related
source: goddess601

Colin's First Merlin Set Visit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2FZuvPeVpw&feature=relmfu
source: feilongfangirl

One night in Camelot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FHw0lGEE3M&NR=1&feature=endscreen
source: feilongfan

Page 3 Profile: Colin Morgan, actor

He can't be leaving Merlin, surely?
Even worse, I'm afraid. The BBC1 fantasy drama is ending after a Christmas double-bill, meaning this current season will be its last. Merlin has never drawn critical raves, but it has proven consistently popular, bagging upwards of six million viewers every Saturday despite airing at the same time as talent show juggernaut The X-Factor. Understandably, BBC1 bosses weren't overjoyed. "I admire the creators' decision to end Merlin on a high," said BBC1 controller Danny Cohen, "but also know that we will miss it in the BBC1 schedule."
What did Morgan make of it all?
"It's come to its highest point – it's grown and grown each year," the 26-year-old said. "It has become darker, it has become stronger, characters have grown up, the audience has grown up with it and... we want to end on its strongest point. I think we've achieved that." It's unclear just how much he knew about the shock end to the series. Only last month, when questioned about whether Merlin would carry on for several more years, he said: "There are always new avenues you can go down. The legends have lasted for centuries, and they can always be revamped and retold."
What's the real story behind its cancellation?
It's a hard one to fathom. The show, which has been sold to 183 countries, is certainly a money-spinner, and it regularly sits atop the iPlayer rankings. Morgan has drummed up a considerable fanbase, and there were no suggestions that the show's Arthurian adventures and incomprehensible spells were becoming stale. But a few hours after the announcement, the production company behind the show declared that Merlin's executive producers Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy would be leaving to start their own business.
Leaving Morgan in the lurch?
He may not need his P45 after all. Murphy said there were "definitely" talks about a movie spin-off, though it's unknown whether Morgan would reprise his role as the wizard. In any case he shouldn't struggle to find work. Prior to Merlin he was a breakout star of the stage, attracting stellar notes for his performance in Vernon God Little at the Young Vic in 2007.
source: independent.co.uk

Ok, have to post this, Everyone loves Colin :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOfFFfDtIso&feature=related
source: ChaosRhea

Monday 26 November 2012

Laura Linney is in talks to join Benedict Cumberbatch in DreamWorks “Untitled Julian Assange WikiLeaks Project
cumberbatchcollection:
Laura Linney is in talks to join Benedict Cumberbatch in DreamWorks “Untitled Julian Assange WikiLeaks Project,” a person familiar with the situation told TheWrap.
James McAvoy is also talks for the project, which is based on two books: “Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange at the World’s Most Dangerous Website” by Daniel Domscheit-Berg, and “WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange’s War on Secrecy” by David Leigh and Luke Harding.
Domscheit-Berg was an executive at WikiLeaks which was founded by Assange.
DreamWorks had no comment.
David Leigh and Luke Harding, reporters for the British newspaper The Guardian, helped Julian Assange with his revelations.
 Cumberbatch is due to play Assange with McAvoy in talks for the role of Domcheit-Berg.
Bill Condon is directing from a script by Josh Singer. The film is looking to shoot in Berlin, Belgium and Iceland at the beginning of 2013. HOW!
Linney has been nominated for an Oscar three times for the films “The Savages,” “Kinsey,” and “You Can Count on Me.” Linney is repped by ICM.
http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/laura-linney-negotiations-dreamworks-wikileaks-feature-exclusive-66131

Liberty Awards 2012



source; londonphile

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 15: Spencer Hart’s 10 Year Anniversary Party and Founder Nick Hart’s 50th Birthday at The Brompton Club on November 17, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Spencer Hart/MMPLTD) 2012 Spencer Hart/MMPLTD


source: londonphile
touchedmuch:

File Under Hand Porn

Benedict does have  the most beautiful hands but this portrait is really wonderful.
 Photography:  Colin Hutton
Photography: Colin Hutton

Benedict at the Neverwhere read through today!

cumberbuddy:

Benedict at the Neverwhere read through today!
Source;
https://twitter.com/smarticus62/status/271977796732080128/photo/1

Is that the hat? Lying right there on the table, IS THAT THE NEW HAT?
Source;
https://twitter.com/smarticus62/status/271977796732080128/photo/1
The cast for Radio 4’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere
neil-gaiman:
James McAvoy
Benedict Cumberbatch
Romola Garai
Sophie Okonedo
Andrew Scott
Anthony Head
Bernard Cribbins
Maureen Lipman
And
Sir Christopher Lee
Rumpole And The Gentle Art Of Blackmail
Credit to @WhoLockia for finding it :)
Benedict Cumberbatch and Timothy West star as the younger and elder Rumpole in this new Rumpole story. Adapted for radio by Richard Stoneman.
In 1964, Rumpole returns to Oxford where he studied law, to defend a young gardener, Peter Vernon, accused of blackmailing the Master of St Joseph’s College, Sir Michael Tuffnell.
The cast also includes Jasmine Hyde as Hilda Rumpole, Louis Tafler-Hyde as Nicholas Rumpole, Stephen Critchlow as Humphrey Grice/Judge Everglades and Faye Castelow as Sue Galton.
Director/Marilyn Imrie for Catherine Bailey productions
BBC Radio 4 Publicity 
Ep 1/2
Wednesday 19 December
2.15-3.00pm
BBC RADIO 4

‘Sherlock’ season 3 might not air until 2014 — EXCLUSIVE

FROM EW.COM
Expecting the return of Sherlock next summer?
Try late 2013. Perhaps even 2014, depending where you live.
Start of production on the third cycle of the fan-adored detective drama has been moved from January to March. Sources say the shift was necessary to accommodate the busy schedules of the show’s breakout stars, Benedict Cumberbatch (who’s filming Star Trek 2) and Martin Freeman (starring in The Hobbit).
The BBC has not announced a premiere date for season three, but given that January waspreviously announced as the start of production, fans hoped to see Holmes and Watson return in the summer. Sources say the BBC will air Sherlock series three in late 2013. PBS has to wait until after the BBC’s window. A PBS spokesperson says Sherlock will air either late 2013 — or early 2014.
The first cycle of Sherlock debuted in the UK in July, 2010. The eagerly anticipated second season premiered last January, with PBS debuting the three 90-minute episodes in May. With its second season cliffhanger and increasing critical acclaim and worldwide buzz, anticipation for the next cycle of Sherlock is stronger than ever. From the BBC’s perspective, however, nothing about its schedule has really changed. Though production is starting slightly later than originally hoped, the company has only previously said the show will run sometime next year and recently hinted that a fall debut is likely. But for fans, particularly U.S. fans wanting moreSherlock as soon as possible, well, Holmes would advise patience.
The news comes on the heels of two other announcements about favorite British imports, withDownton Abbey receiving a fourth-season order and the creators of Merlin announcing the show will end after the upcoming fifth season.
Inside EW.com

Merlin stars to work magic on 24-hour musicals

Merlin actor Colin Morgan is to reunite with co-star Anthony Head in a musicals fundraiser on the London stage.
But Morgan, 26, says he is hoping to leave the singing and dancing to Head, who played King Arthur’s father Uther Pendragon in the BBC series.
The pair are to join a string of experienced musical stars and Hollywood actor Jeff Goldblum for the Old Vic in the 24-Hour Musicals Celebrity Gala on December 9. The event, compered by Matt Lucas, will see four new musicals created, rehearsed and performed within a day to raise money for the theatre’s upkeep.
Morgan, who appeared at the Old Vic in only his second professional job in Pedro Almodovar’s All About My Mother, said: “I’m keeping my fingers crossed I won’t have to sing. I know for a fact [Head] is a really good singer. Perhaps I can pass on all my songs.”

promo stills from Merlin 5x13



source: brolinskeep
From IFTN: “‘BBC series ‘Merlin’, which stars Northern Irish actor Colin Morgan in the lead role, will return to US screens on Friday January 4. The series will return to the Syfy channel, which has aired it since 2011. The fourth series averaged 1.7 million viewers for Syfy in 2012. In the UK, the fifth series currently airs on BBC One on Saturday nights. Irish actor Eoin Macken also stars as Sir Gwaine in the fantasy drama.”

Alexander and Colin during the recording of the audio commentary for 5.02.

fyalexandervlahos:

Alexander and Colin during the recording of the audio commentary for 5.02. 
source: fyeahcolinmorgan

Colin Morgan On The End Of Merlin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CTfVwbWQq4
source: BJsrealm

'Merlin' cast react to show's end

The cast of Merlin have commented on the news that the show's current series will be its last.
The fantasy drama will bow out with a special two-part finale this Christmas.
Colin Morgan (Merlin) commented: “From the beginning this was always going to be a five year journey that we embarked on and I think the show has run its natural course. The show has grown and grown each year and now we’ve arrived at its strongest point and we’ve achieved what we set out to do… I know this is the end, and I know this is goodbye, but thank you for being there on the journey with us because it has been a lot of fun!”
Bradley James (King Arthur) said: “The Merlin years have provided me with fond memories, great experiences and beloved friends and all the while we were supported by a devoted fan base who made the show a unique, surreal and special experience. My words won't do justice to the honour of being King Arthur so I shall just say that it has been an exceptional one and that knowing the show has been a part of so many people's lives, has been humbling."
Katie McGrath (Morgana) said: "I have always said the success of the show has stemmed from our audience being able to relate to the characters on different levels - being based on the universally loved Arthurian legend is only a tiny part of its success - it's a story about acceptance and growing up. The breathtaking finale of this series leaves you with no doubt that characters have been on their journeys and had their stories told - it's completely the right time to draw our telling of the story to a close."
Angel Coulby (Guinevere) added: "It has been a very special and memorable five years making Merlin. I feel extremely proud to have been part of such a brilliant show and such a great team. I think we've told the story we set out to tell, which ends with the fantastic two part finale by the way!  I believe the key to any successful show is making sure you leave people wanting more!"
Richard Wilson (Gaius) said, “Firstly I would like to say that I'm extremely sad that Merlin has come to an end. Speaking as Gaius, I feel I have mentored the young wizard as far as I can - he is much smarter and greater than me now and I am simply exhausted!"
source: cultbox.co.uk

Not surprised by this, as we knew there was a five-year plan. Still a little sad though that I won't get to see Colin Morgan on my tv every week :(

What's next for 'Merlin'?


Though not unexpected, it is sad that hear that Series 5 will be the final hurrah for Merlin.
To be fair, the production had always suggested that this would be a five year show, but in many ways there is still a lot of untapped potential for the characters given their relative youth. As each year has progressed, the show has increased its both production values and ambition. Series 5 has been a world away from where Merlin started and has become essential Saturday night viewing, holding its own against The X Factor.
This year, with the institution of the Round Table, the death of Elyan in ‘The Dark Tower’ and the reintroduction of Mordred at the start of the series, it was clear that the stakes were increasing. Also, the recent news that actor Eoin Macken (Gwaine) was doing a US TV pilot seemed to indicate that at least his character would not be coming back.
In most versions of Arthurian legend it is Mordred who kills Arthur in battle, often perishing also. For the BBC’s take on the story, which has cast Mordred as a young Druid who possesses magic, he is a mirror for Merlin. We suspect that his desire to live in world free to use his abilities may be the key to Arthur’s undoing. Merlin, on the other hand, has continually put his dreams aside for what he believes is the greater good.
While Arthur’s fate has been foretold, Merlin’s will doubtless be the more surprising. In Malloy’s Le Morte d'Arthur he is the victim of a sorceress named Nimue, whom he adores. She learns everything she can from him but then tires of his affections and leaves him entombed forever.
Of course, Numueh was Merlin’s big bad in the first series, but in other versions of the tale that character is known as Vivien, Viviane or Niniane and sometimes she is the Lady of the Lake, or Morgana’s mother. Her trap is variously a rock, an ice cave or an invisible tower. Either way it doesn’t look good for Merlin! It’s worth remembering that this sow has a penchant for giving us a fresh take on legend, so perhaps they will provide something completely different.

And after the series ends, what is next for Merlin?
There has been talk of a potential Merlin animated series, but executive producer Julian Murphy told CultBox that this could only really be considered once the TV series had ended. We imagine one avenue to explore is the tales of Merlin after the fall of Arthur, or perhaps such a show could occupy series gaps and fill in detail.
On the positive side, this could allow the chance for the central character to breathe, free from the show’s constraints, and have some solo adventures which would be unlimited by budget. Alternatively, such an animation might feel hampered by knowing the specifics of the characters’ ultimate fates, or worse still, it might be restricted by being aimed at an even younger audience than the show currently enjoys.
There has also been the suggestion of a movie trilogy, an idea first mooted at this year’s Comic Con in San Diego by the show’s co-creator and executive producer Johnny Capps. He indicated there were a couple ways this might pan out, either as a reboot which could restage certain key elements of the show’s five year run, or perhaps as a continuation of the tale. Either would be interesting, though we wonder what might sustain a Merlin movie trilogy without the key points of Arthurian Legend to underpin it?

What next for the cast?
Away from the story itself, Merlin has been a superb launching ground for its young cast who will doubtless take their fan base with them onto new projects;
Colin Morgan (Merlin) has two movie credits to his name already, Parked and Island, while Bradley James (Arthur) starred in this summer’s Fast Girls. Tom Hopper (Pervical) also has two upcoming film credits, Grace and Danger and Knights of Badassdom, as well as the role of Billy Bones in a US Treasure Island prequel series Black Sails.
Adetomiwa Edun (Elyan) is currently appearing in BBC Two’s The Hour and Angel Coulby (Gwen) can soon be seen in Stephen Poliakoff’s Dancing on the Edge, the tale of a black jazz band in the 1930’s.
Alexander Valhos has been cast in Privates, a mini-series following National Service conscripts in 1960, as well as taking the lead role in Big Finish audio series The Confessions of Dorian Gray.
Katie McGrath (Morgana) will be starring in Labyrinth, a mini-series based on the best-selling Kate Mosse book. John Hurt (the Voice of the Dragon) is also involved in the project, which will be shown in the UK on Channel 4.
Whatever happens, we can expect plenty of action to be packed into Merlin’s remaining five episodes. Merlin still has to deal with the threat of ‘Killer Queen’ Gwen, and we can expect the return of at least one more familiar face before the story can move on to its epic two-part finale.

Monday 19 November 2012


source: colmorgan

Colin Morgan


source: colmorgan

Colin Morgan on set of Merlin


source: colmorgan

Colin Morgan



source: claudypritz
bowtiesandbrolinkilledme:

MerlinOfficial-Because you lot are so COLIN MORGAN mad we thought we better give you what you keep asking for ;) new #Merlin pics!
MerlinOfficial-Because you lot are so COLIN MORGAN mad we thought we better give you what you keep asking for ;) new #Merlin pics!
cumberbatchcollection:
Producer Camilla Deakin said: “The original didn’t need remaking; our film (The Snowman and the Snowdog, set 30 years on from the original) is a companion piece to the original.” But in a sign of how publishing and reading habits have changed, Puffin is releasing an e-audiobook in late December for three- to five-year-olds, narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch, with images from the TV film. But there will be no book. Briggs said he was busy on a different project.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2012/nov/18/snowman-raymond-briggs-christmas-c4
cumberbatchcollection:
Producer Camilla Deakin said: “The original didn’t need remaking; our film (The Snowman and the Snowdog, set 30 years on from the original) is a companion piece to the original.” But in a sign of how publishing and reading habits have changed, Puffin is releasing an e-audiobook in late December for three- to five-year-olds, narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch, with images from the TV film. But there will be no book. Briggs said he was busy on a different project.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2012/nov/18/snowman-raymond-briggs-christmas-c4

Benedict Cumberbatch at the Wimbeldon Music Festival, where he recited from Ovid, 18th of November 2012.



tracionn:

Benedict Cumberbatch at the Wimbeldon Music Festival, reciting from Ovid, 18th of November

Violinist licking her lips is my kinda gurl :)
High Res: http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdpfcthNl51qdzs49o1_1280.jpg
source: tracionn

Benedict Cumberbatch attends Spencer Hart’s 10 Year Anniversary Party at The Brompton Club on November 17, 2012 in London, England.


source: deareje

Benedict Cumberbatch attends Spencer Hart’s 10 Year Anniversary Party at The Brompton Club on November 17, 2012 in London, England.



source; deareje

Benedict Cumberbatch wants to keep his Watson male

Unlike Jonny Lee Miller, Benedict Cumberbatch wants his Watson to remain a man

Holmes and Watson 'just good friends': Benedict Cumberbatch, left, as Sherlock Holmes, and Martin  Freeman as Watson
Benedict Cumberbatch, left, as Sherlock Holmes, and Martin Freeman as Watson  Photo: BBC
There is an all-male Twelfth Night in the West End, and an all-female Julius Caesar opening later this month, but Benedict Cumberbatch has no intention of following Jonny Lee Miller’s example and working with a female Dr Watson as his pal did in the series Elementary.
“After working with with Martin [Freeman], I could never imagine Watson being a woman,” the Sherlock star assures me at a party to celebrate Spencer Hart’s 10th anniversary at the Brompton Club . “Martin is established as Watson.
“I have seen the pilot and one other episode of Elementary – I think it’s great. It works with Lucy playing Watson and she's a good actress, but I don’t think you could do that here with Sherlock.
Elementary, the US adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective series, sees Miller take the lead role while Dr Watson, who is conventionally a man, is portrayed by the former Charlie’s Angels actress, Lucy Liu.
“It’s not that I think it doesn’t work in the States, it’s just Martin has been established as Watson and you can’t change that.”
Cumberbatch is due to start filming the third series of Steven Moffat's Sherlock next January. "I'm really looking forward to it," he says, adding he hopes the next series will be "bigger and better" than before.
source: telegraph.co.uk

Friday 9 November 2012

London's 1000 most influential people 2012: Creatives, Film

Benedict CumberbatchActor
The star with the unlikely face and name has an even higher profile than this time last year: 2012 has seen the second series of Sherlock and Parade’s End. Coming up are two roles in The Hobbit (one motion-capture, one voice) and the baddie in Star Trek 2.
source: standard.co.uk


source:
Photos by Gareth Iwan Jones
What does Cumberbatch mean? The game’s afoot…
Benedict Cumberbatch gave us a very personal case, which we think we’ve solved.
Jack Seale12:45 PM, 09 November 2012



It’s one of the most famous names in showbiz, and not just because of its owner’s massive success as an actor: Benedict Cumberbatch is one of those appellations that seems to enjoy tripping off the tongue. Benedict Cumberbatch. Benedict. Cumberbatch. BENEDICTCUMBERBATCH. Ahem.
It’s been corrupted every which way, from his fans the “Cumberbitches” to the old joke about him starring in a TV drama about a man working on an allotment, during which the director shouts: “Cue Cumberbatch!” One famous article in the normally august Washington Post even repeatedly referred to him as Bandersnatch Cummerbund, for a laugh. Other nicknames for the actor are, sadly, unprintable.
All this being the case, you’d think Cumberbatch himself would be intimately familiar with the origins of his surname. So when RadioTimes.com met him recently (yes, that happened – get over it), we checked – and found he doesn’t have any idea.
“I don’t know,” Cumberbatch said. “I genuinely don’t. Nobody does. There are theories: an 11-year-old girl I was acting with in Creation, a film I did with Paul Bettany, came up to me and said, ‘I know what your name means!’ I said, great, tell me! I’ve been trying to find out all my life. She said, ‘It means small valley dweller.’ I said, I’m going to pretend you didn’t tell me that.”
Someone who dwells in a small valley, or a small person who dwells in a valley?
“I think a very big person in a small valley! But I immediately got images of dank stone cottages. Kind of romantic, but a bit depressing.”
There is indeed a Welsh village called Cwmbach: “small valley”. So that could be the answer. Any other possibilities?
“The other genealogy of it could be that it came over with the Norman conquest, but that’s like saying everyone’s related to the Queen Mum. [I think it’s] probably [from] Germany.”
Well, this just wasn’t good enough. We wanted to know and we suspected you would too, so we thought: who do we know who’ll know? Easy: Susie Dent, resident of Countdown’s dictionary corner and, indeed, the puzzles page in Radio Times magazine.
After a bit of digging, Susie came back to us and said she reckons that 11-year-old girl was almost right, but not quite spot-on: “In a book of place names that existed before the Norman Conquest, ‘comberbach’ is listed as a stream in the Weaver valley of north Cheshire. The two parts of ‘Cumberbatch’ are ‘cumbra’, originally a byword for a Cumbrian and later an Anglo-Saxon personal name popular in North West England, and ‘bach’, meaning a ‘beck’, or stream in a valley.
“Together they make ‘Cumbra’s beck’. So ‘Cumberbatch’ is a surname based on a very specific place - Benedict’s ancestors will have lived in that very valley in north Cheshire that is still there today.”
Put the kettle on, Mrs Hudson - we’ve cracked the case! Or have we? Do you know better? Is your hero of German stock? 



Related to this story

What does Cumberbatch mean? The game’s afoot…

Benedict Cumberbatch gave us a very personal case, which we think we’ve solved.

Jack Seale12:45 PM, 09 November 2012
It’s one of the most famous names in showbiz, and not just because of its owner’s massive success as an actor: Benedict Cumberbatch is one of those appellations that seems to enjoy tripping off the tongue. Benedict Cumberbatch. Benedict. Cumberbatch. BENEDICTCUMBERBATCH. Ahem.
It’s been corrupted every which way, from his fans the “Cumberbitches” to the old joke about him starring in a TV drama about a man working on an allotment, during which the director shouts: “Cue Cumberbatch!” One famous article in the normally august Washington Post even repeatedly referred to him as Bandersnatch Cummerbund, for a laugh. Other nicknames for the actor are, sadly, unprintable.
All this being the case, you’d think Cumberbatch himself would be intimately familiar with the origins of his surname. So when RadioTimes.com met him recently (yes, that happened – get over it), we checked – and found he doesn’t have any idea.
“I don’t know,” Cumberbatch said. “I genuinely don’t. Nobody does. There are theories: an 11-year-old girl I was acting with in Creation, a film I did with Paul Bettany, came up to me and said, ‘I know what your name means!’ I said, great, tell me! I’ve been trying to find out all my life. She said, ‘It means small valley dweller.’ I said, I’m going to pretend you didn’t tell me that.”
Someone who dwells in a small valley, or a small person who dwells in a valley?
“I think a very big person in a small valley! But I immediately got images of dank stone cottages. Kind of romantic, but a bit depressing.”
There is indeed a Welsh village called Cwmbach: “small valley”. So that could be the answer. Any other possibilities?
“The other genealogy of it could be that it came over with the Norman conquest, but that’s like saying everyone’s related to the Queen Mum. [I think it’s] probably [from] Germany.”
Well, this just wasn’t good enough. We wanted to know and we suspected you would too, so we thought: who do we know who’ll know? Easy: Susie Dent, resident of Countdown’s dictionary corner and, indeed, the puzzles page in Radio Times magazine.
After a bit of digging, Susie came back to us and said she reckons that 11-year-old girl was almost right, but not quite spot-on: “In a book of place names that existed before the Norman Conquest, ‘comberbach’ is listed as a stream in the Weaver valley of north Cheshire. The two parts of ‘Cumberbatch’ are ‘cumbra’, originally a byword for a Cumbrian and later an Anglo-Saxon personal name popular in North West England, and ‘bach’, meaning a ‘beck’, or stream in a valley.
“Together they make ‘Cumbra’s beck’. So ‘Cumberbatch’ is a surname based on a very specific place - Benedict’s ancestors will have lived in that very valley in north Cheshire that is still there today.”
Put the kettle on, Mrs Hudson - we’ve cracked the case! Or have we? Do you know better? Is your hero of German stock? 

Thursday 8 November 2012

Friendly Fires and Benedict Cumberbatch

http://audioboo.fm/boos/1045237-friendly-fires-and-benedict-cumberbatch#t=0m0s

Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict Cumberbatch
Picture Credit: REX