WHEN teenager Jenessa Baber joined the crowds where Benedict Cumberbatch was filming Sherlock she was hoping to catch a fleeting glimpse of her hero - what she got instead will stay with her forever.
The Hollywood heartthrob stopped to talk one-on-one with the 16-year-old for 10 minutes, posing for a photo with her and writing a personal message in her Sherlock book.
Dozens of fans had braved the cold to wait outside The Daffodil restaurant in Suffolk Parade, Cheltenham, where Benedict was shooting episodes of the hit BBC1 show on Monday and Tuesday.
Jenessa, from Wotton Under Edge, was so determined to meet her hero that she stayed outside The Daffodil long after the crowds had gone home on Monday evening, and it paid off when she caught Benedict at around 9pm.
She said: "I'd gone earlier that day to try and get a chance of seeing him, but our parking ran out and we were told we'd see nothing, so mum decided it was time to go after a few hours, but a couple of hours later, my dad brought me back to see if we could see him.
"Five minutes after we got there Ben came out. We were the only people there and Ben was so lovely and devoted a whole bunch of time to us even though he had his car waiting. He spoke to my dad and I for about 10 minutes."
The film studies A Level student at Katharine Lady Berkeley's School added: "He looked at me and said 'Hello' and smiled - he has a very lovely smile. I then asked him if he had any time because I absolutely love him. He said 'Aw, thank you, it means a lot'.
"I told him I wrote him a letter, but gave it to someone else to hand to him. I had left it earlier as I didn't think I'd get the chance to see him and I wasn't sure it would get to him, because of the whole having to be given to the producer to see if it's okay sort of thing.
"He said, 'Yeah, I got it, thank you so much. I wrote you a letter back on the back of the envelope and got my friend to bring it out to you but he couldn't find you, you'd already gone, and I'm going to get a picture signed and sent to you. Thank you it really means a lot.'
"I said, 'Well you can probably tell from the letter that I really love you, and Sherlock. I'd also like to say how wonderful you are with your fans, and I think it's really great how much you care about them.'
"He asked me if I was on Twitter, and for me to give everyone a message from him who was there today that he's sorry he didn't come out and see them, but he's got so much work to do that he just couldn't.
"He also thinks that the Sherlock fanbase are a very intelligent bunch, and he's very proud and appreciative of us.
"I asked for a photo and he said 'Yeah, of course', and he hugged me, we took the photo and he waited and asked me if I was happy with the photo, and I was.
"He said 'That's good, I usually hate the way I look in photos; I could be here all night trying to get a good one,'. 'Fine by me,' I said.
"Then I asked him if he had time to sign my Sherlock book and he did, and he wrote me a lovely note on the inside.
"I couldn't find my pen for him to sign the book with and I was fumbling around for two minutes
and he said 'Don't rush, it's ok, I have all the time in the world,' and he tried to help me find the pen
and he found it - typical!
"When we were done, I just said 'My god, your voice is so much more amazing in person.' He just laughed at that and then he had to go.
"But he really was very generous and caring and appreciative of all his fans.
"In the signed book he gave me, it says 'Dear Jenessa, thank you so much for your patience and lovely mooving letter. It's really appreciated. Yours Benedict Cumberbatch x'.
"He said 'You know I'm tired because I do believe I just put two 'O's' in moving', and then he went on to try and say 'moving' like 'Moo-oo-ving'."
The Hollywood heartthrob stopped to talk one-on-one with the 16-year-old for 10 minutes, posing for a photo with her and writing a personal message in her Sherlock book.
Dozens of fans had braved the cold to wait outside The Daffodil restaurant in Suffolk Parade, Cheltenham, where Benedict was shooting episodes of the hit BBC1 show on Monday and Tuesday.
Jenessa, from Wotton Under Edge, was so determined to meet her hero that she stayed outside The Daffodil long after the crowds had gone home on Monday evening, and it paid off when she caught Benedict at around 9pm.
She said: "I'd gone earlier that day to try and get a chance of seeing him, but our parking ran out and we were told we'd see nothing, so mum decided it was time to go after a few hours, but a couple of hours later, my dad brought me back to see if we could see him.
"Five minutes after we got there Ben came out. We were the only people there and Ben was so lovely and devoted a whole bunch of time to us even though he had his car waiting. He spoke to my dad and I for about 10 minutes."
The film studies A Level student at Katharine Lady Berkeley's School added: "He looked at me and said 'Hello' and smiled - he has a very lovely smile. I then asked him if he had any time because I absolutely love him. He said 'Aw, thank you, it means a lot'.
"I told him I wrote him a letter, but gave it to someone else to hand to him. I had left it earlier as I didn't think I'd get the chance to see him and I wasn't sure it would get to him, because of the whole having to be given to the producer to see if it's okay sort of thing.
"He said, 'Yeah, I got it, thank you so much. I wrote you a letter back on the back of the envelope and got my friend to bring it out to you but he couldn't find you, you'd already gone, and I'm going to get a picture signed and sent to you. Thank you it really means a lot.'
"I said, 'Well you can probably tell from the letter that I really love you, and Sherlock. I'd also like to say how wonderful you are with your fans, and I think it's really great how much you care about them.'
"He asked me if I was on Twitter, and for me to give everyone a message from him who was there today that he's sorry he didn't come out and see them, but he's got so much work to do that he just couldn't.
"He also thinks that the Sherlock fanbase are a very intelligent bunch, and he's very proud and appreciative of us.
"I asked for a photo and he said 'Yeah, of course', and he hugged me, we took the photo and he waited and asked me if I was happy with the photo, and I was.
"He said 'That's good, I usually hate the way I look in photos; I could be here all night trying to get a good one,'. 'Fine by me,' I said.
"Then I asked him if he had time to sign my Sherlock book and he did, and he wrote me a lovely note on the inside.
"I couldn't find my pen for him to sign the book with and I was fumbling around for two minutes
and he said 'Don't rush, it's ok, I have all the time in the world,' and he tried to help me find the pen
and he found it - typical!
"When we were done, I just said 'My god, your voice is so much more amazing in person.' He just laughed at that and then he had to go.
"But he really was very generous and caring and appreciative of all his fans.
"In the signed book he gave me, it says 'Dear Jenessa, thank you so much for your patience and lovely mooving letter. It's really appreciated. Yours Benedict Cumberbatch x'.
"He said 'You know I'm tired because I do believe I just put two 'O's' in moving', and then he went on to try and say 'moving' like 'Moo-oo-ving'."
