Chinese fans are head over heels in love with Sherlock

Benedict Cumberbatch has become a "male god" to Chinese fans of the BBC television series Sherlock, and is nicknamed Curly Fu in China, a name that combines the actor's screen image and the pronunciation of Sherlock Holmes in Chinese. Cumberbatch's Holmes is not exactly a people person. His moods swing high and low. How does such a character become a heartthrob?

The actor commented on his character in a recent interview: "He's got a God complex. I think he thinks he's not human, so therefore anyone that is is just a letdown to him."

It could be the unreachable perfection that charms the ordinary. Sherlock writer Steven Moffat explains that Arthur Conan Doyle's original stories had a huge female following, and that's because "the Victorian ladies liked the way Sherlock looked", Moffat said.