Benedict Cumberbatch snubs fans who paid £3k to meet him: The actor chooses family holiday over three-day Sherlock convention

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Sherlock fans were indignant when they discovered they would have to pay up to £3,000 just for the chance of meeting its star, Benedict Cumberbatch, at the annual Sherlocked convention.

But now, they are outraged after discovering that Cumberbatch will not even attend the three-day event, which starts on September 23, at London’s ExCeL centre. 

His non-appearance was only confirmed this Thursday when the final line-up of guests was announced.

Sherlock fans were indignant when they discovered they would have to pay up to £3,000 just for the chance of meeting its star, Benedict Cumberbatch, at the annual Sherlocked convention

Worse still, his adoring fans — or Cumberbitches, as they are known — will be refused a refund.

Social media quickly exploded with hostile reactions. ‘Why on earth did I buy a Gold ticket??’ asked one disgruntled fan. Another, called Chlo, said: ‘I am going to try and get my refund off Sherlocked if I die doing it. I see no reason why they should get to keep my money.’

Organisers at Showmasters, the company behind the event, failed to explain his absence, but the actor’s spokeswoman tells me Cumberbatch is ‘on holiday’ with his family, thought to include his wife, theatre director Sophie Hunter, and their son, Christopher. It will be his last chance to rest before promoting his new Marvel film, Doctor Strange.

The actor’s spokeswoman tells me Cumberbatch is ‘on holiday’ with his family, thought to include his wife, theatre director Sophie Hunter, and their son, Christopher

Another absentee will be Martin Freeman, aka Dr Watson, who will be filming in Australia.

In a bid to soften the blow, organisers have secured Cumberbatch’s parents, actors Timothy Carlton and Wanda Ventham, who made a cameo in series three playing the sleuth’s on-screen parents. Other stars attending include Andrew Scott, who plays Moriarty, and Una Stubbs.

The event offers five types of ticket with the ‘VIP pass’ costing £2,999 plus a £1 transaction fee. It includes three-day access, two photos with lead guests and a poster.

Cumberbatch shocked a theatre audience last year when he delivered a four-letter filled rant after playing Hamlet, begging them to donate to Syrian refugees.

Feeling blue: Bake Off Mel's soggy everything 

The Great British Bake Off presenter Mel Giedroyc knows all about soggy bottoms — but she wasn’t bargaining on soggy trainers, too.

The 48-year-old looked glum as she trudged through the rain near her West London home yesterday, three days after she and co-host Sue Perkins quit the BBC’s cake-making show after it was bought by Channel 4.

Dressed in a downbeat ensemble of cropped blue trousers and scruffy blue Abercrombie & Fitch sweatshirt, Mel (left) had to use her blue anorak as a hood instead of an umbrella.

Mel Giedroyc, 48, looked glum as she trudged through the rain near her West London home yesterday, three days after she and co-host Sue Perkins quit the BBC’s cake-making show after it was bought by Channel 4

Meanwhile, Perkins is cooking up another venture for life after Bake Off.

The comedienne, 46, and her girlfriend, TV presenter Anna Richardson, 45, are preparing to launch a mental health website called Mindbox, which Richardson says will be the ‘go-to place’ for people suffering from depression and anxiety.

Richardson, who hosts diet show Supersize vs Superskinny, recently qualified as a hypnotherapist, and credits it with curing both her overeating disorder and Perkins’s sugar cravings.

Superstitious secrets of Victoria star 

Is this the secret behind actress Jenna Coleman’s success?

The Lancashire-born beauty, who is ruling the airwaves as Queen Victoria in ITV’s hit drama, reveals she uses an old wives’ tale to bring herself good fortune.

‘If I ever see a penny on the floor, I have to pick it up for good luck. I think it’s worked so far,’ the 30-year-old tells me.

‘And then also sometimes what I do, if I have a spare penny, is I’ll drop it randomly on the floor, so that someone else can have good luck.

‘So you never know, if you find a penny on the pavement somewhere, it could be mine.’

Beatles girls come together 

Former Beatles Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were centre stage on Thursday for the London premiere of their film, Eight Days A Week.

And Sir Paul’s daughter Stella was on hand to lend her support as she posed for a selfie with the widows of the band’s late members George Harrison and John Lennon.

The 45-year-old designer shared this picture of herself squeezing between author Olivia Harrison , 68, and artist Yoko Ono, 83, who sported her trademark top hat and sunglasses. ‘When I was a little girl I was always wearing a hat,’ says Ono.

‘And glasses . . . I’m fascinated by the fact that you can have two or three faces.’

Sir Paul’s daughter Stella was on hand to lend her support as she posed for a selfie with the widows of the band’s late members George Harrison and John Lennon

Silver-haired screen icon Vanessa Redgrave continues to shine as she promotes her latest film sporting a piratical eyepatch.

However, the accessory was not a fashion statement — but was reportedly protecting a painful stye.

Nevertheless, the Oscar-winning actress and human rights activist, 79, looked radiant in a full-length silver coat and gold earrings as she promoted The Secret Scripture at the Toronto Film Festival this week .

Redgrave, mother of actresses Joely Richardson and the late Natasha Richardson, almost died of a heart attack while alone in her Chiswick flat last year, but was saved when her son, Carlo, called an ambulance with seconds to spare.

Silver-haired screen icon Vanessa Redgrave continues to shine as she promotes her latest film sporting a piratical eyepatch