Benedict Cumberbatch wishes he had known he would become a sex symbol when he was a teenager.

The actor is still baffled by his huge female fan base and finds the attention hugely flattering.

With over 26,000 Twitter followers subscribed to an account named @Cumberb***hes, the star joked he would prefer if his admirers chose a more polite moniker.

"I wish my 15-year-old self had known about my allure to the opposite sex," he told British magazine InStyle. "It's flattering, though I worry about what it says for feminism, it's quite a pejorative term Cumberbabes might be better."

Benedict also recalled a recent pinch-me moment.

The up-and-coming Hollywood star was honoured to win an impromptu part on hit TV show The Simpsons.

"I was at a meeting yesterday in the same place The Simpsons is recorded and heard there was a part going in an episode. I said, I hate to muscle in here, guys, but could I record it?' Next thing, I'm standing in a room with all those famous voices: Bart, Marge, Homer, Lisa" he marvelled.