London, Dec 31, 2016: Genealogy detectives have discovered that British actor Benedict Cumberbatch, who portrays Sherlock Holmes in TV series "Sherlock", is distantly related to the author who created the iconic character more than a century ago.

According to the website Ancestry.com, Cumberbatch, 40, and the late Arthur Conan Doyle, who died in 1930, were 16th cousins, reports hollywoodreporter.com.

The Emmy-winning TV series "Sherlock" will be back on the Indian small screen with season four next year. It will air from January 7, 2017, on AXN.

Ancestry.com wasn't asked to dig into the backgrounds of Cumberbatch and Doyle, but its researchers love both — the series and historical puzzles, said spokesman Dallin Hatch.

They haven't told the actor of the connection. (IANS)