Actor Benedict Cumberbatch, known for his portrayal of the superhero Doctor Strange in Avengers: Infinity War and for the popular BBC series Sherlock, saved a cyclist from a group of muggers in Central London.
Cumberbatch was in an Uber heading to a club with his wife Sophie Hunter when he saw the attack taking place. Witnesses recounted him jumping from the cab and running toward the attackers yelling “Leave him alone.”
The cyclist was a young man in his 20s making a delivery for the online food delivery company Deliveroo.
According to the Uber driver Manuel Dias, “My passenger jumped out, ran over and pulled the men away. They turned towards him and things looked like they were getting worse, so I joined in.”
The incident took place on Marylebone High Street, close by to the home of the fictional Sherlock Holmes, 221B Baker Street.
“Then it all got a bit surreal,” commented Dias, “Here was Sherlock Holmes fighting off four attackers just round the corner from Baker Street…I had hold of one lad and Benedict another. He seemed to know exactly what he was doing. He was very brave. He did most of it, to be honest. They tried to hit him, but he defended himself and pushed them away. He wasn’t injured. Then I think they also recognised it was Benedict and ran away.”
On Saturday Deliveroo sent out a tweet thanking Cumberbatch, “Thank you Benedict Cumberbatch for your brave actions. Deliveroo riders are heroes – their safety is our priority and any violence against them is totally unacceptable. So on behalf of everyone at deliveroo: thank you.”
