BENEDICT Cumberbatch was a lone figure as he arrived for the world premier of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies at London's Leicester Square.

Handsome British actor, Cumberbatch, whose parents have a home in the Cotswolds, and his new fiancee Sophie Hunter made a rare public appearance together on Sunday night at the Evening Standard Awards at the London Palladium.

But Mr Cumberbatch, who voices the dragon Smaug in the film, walked down the red carpet separately from Sophie last night even though they arrived together -  clearly she did not want to steal the limelight.