Benedict Cumerbatch, the star of “Sherlock” has been voted the World’s Sexiest Man, in a recent poll by The Sun newspaper, narrowly beating off stiff competition from One Direction.

The 35-year-old British actor beat the likes of LA Galaxy pin up David Beckham to secure the coveted first prize.

Despite clocking up over 7,000 votes, Cumerbatch doesn’t rate his looks as an asset.

“I’ve wanted to play roles that have gone to better-looking people,” he once said.

The One Direction boys all landed a place on the list, with Harry Styles and Zayn Malik coming in fourth and fifth, Niall Horan sixth, Louis Tomlinson eighth and Liam Payne 11th.

The top 20 World’s Sexiest Man list from The Sun is as follows:

1. Benedict Cumberbatch
2. David Beckham
3. Joey Essex
4. Harry Styles
5. Zayn Malik
6. Niall Horan
7. Ryan Gosling
8. Louis Tomlinson
9. Zac Efron
10. Aston Merrygold
11. Liam Payne
12. Johnny Depp
13. David Tennant
14. Tom Hardy
15. Bradley Cooper
16. Cristiano Ronaldo
17. Hugh Jackman
18. Robbie Williams
19. Mark Wright