Benedict Cumberbatch's lockdown antics in Hawke's Bay - the legitimate and the dubious

Benedict Cumberbatch on a Zoom call with Taika Waititi during his lockdown stay in Hawke's Bay. The bookshelves were the clue that revealed he was staying at Summerlee in Te Awanga. Photo / File

A-lister Benedict Cumberbatch might've been in lockdown in Hawke's Bay, but it didn't stop him seeing some of the region.

Ever since a Sherlock Holmes-inspired Hawke's Bay Today reporter looked at Cumberbatch's bookshelves in May, 2020 and realised they looked a lot like the one at a resort in Te Awanga, our inboxes have been overwhelmed with people proclaiming to have seen him during his five-month stay with his parents.

Cumberbatch, 45, brought up the topic with world media again this week when he proclaimed he had "loved" being in lockdown in Hawke's Bay.

The 45-year-old actor was with children Christopher, 6, Hal, 4, and Finn, 3, and wife Sophie Hunter and was filming Netflix Western drama The Power of the Dog in New Zealand when lockdown restrictions to stop the spread of Covid-19 were enforced.

"I was with my wife and children and my Mum and Dad had come over to have a three-week experience with us and see their boy riding a horse and steering cattle. And then they stayed for five months. We were so lucky. Far away from home, but we found a new one."

Here's what we know of Cumberbatch's movements while he was in Hawke's Bay:

LEGITIMATE:

Helen Martin: The people around the Clifton area were very good to him and the family and kept their privacy quiet, shared school lessons, etc, including "catch" of the day from the fishing club.

Donna Keefe: Him and his whanau spent the day with us wanting to experience and know about our cultural lives - they were awesome.

Nic Olsen: Saw him at Craggy Range for lunch! I fangirl'd out BIG TIME! He wasn't keen on a selfie.

DUBIOUS:

Craig Thomson: I had a steak and cheese pie with him.

Anton Hakkaart: The Batch was all about the hot pork belly from Pak n' Save.

Dale Mcdonald: Saw him at the Camberley dairy - pretty sure he shoplifted a bag of Burger Rings.