The 38-year-old star of 'Sherlock' – who has recently been nominated for the British Independent Film Awards for his role in Alan Turing's The Imitation Game – has chosen an old-fashioned way of breaking the news rather than using his publicist, Karon Maskill.
Maskill said: "I am delighted to confirm this morning's announcment that Benedict Cumberbatch and Sophie Hunter are engaged."
Hunter, 36, is a theatre director and studied at Oxford.