‘Sherlock’ Star Benedict Cumberbatch and Former ‘Doctor Who’ David Tennant ‘Weren’t Sexy Enough’ For Roles

Benedict Cumberbatch and David Tennant weren’t sexy enough for “Sherlock” and “Casanova” roles, BBC had thought. Showrunner Steven Moffat revealed that the TV network wasn’t thrilled with the men he chose to play the titular characters of his TV programs.

Both Cumberbatch and Tennant have strong following on social media these days, commanding thousands of members of their fandoms around the world. Cumberbatch is arguably the current king of Tumblr, while Tennant, even though his turn as The Doctor on “Doctor Who” ended in 2010, is still a fixture on the social media site.

But they almost missed out on securing their famous roles, though. Or rather, their fans have almost missed out on fangirling on them.

Moffat revealed that the BBC thought the two weren’t sexy enough to be Sherlock and Casanova, the titular character of the short-lived comedy series in 2005.

“They said of casting David Tennant as Casanova, ‘Damn, you should have cast someone sexier.’ With Benedict Cumberbatch, we were told the same thing. ‘You promised us a sexy Sherlock, not him,’” Moffat said at the Hay Literary Festival.

Moffat has previously explained that he looks for attractiveness “in a very odd way” for “Doctor Who” stars.

“None of the Doctors are conventionally attractive but they’re all arresting,” he told Radio Times earlier in May. “Handsome men don’t quite suit.”

As for Cumberbatch as Sherlock, Moffat had told EW that he was “the critic’s choice, a great actor rather than a star.”

“When we first cast him, people were saying, ‘You promised us a sexy one!’” producer Sue Vertue also said. “People weren’t thinking of Benedict in that light at all.”

And although Cumberbatch’s “Cumberbitches,” as his fangirls call themselves, are thinking of him as sexy now, people couldn’t even spell his name before.

“When people said, ‘Who’s playing Sherlock Holmes?’ and we’d say, ‘Benedict Cumberbatch,’ everyone looked very vague,” Vertue recalled. “Then we’d always have to spell his name.”