The Valentine’s Day wedding of Hollywood star Benedict Cumberbatch and Sophie Hunter was “magical”.

The couple, who announced their engagement in a notice in The Times of London in November, tied the knot in a private ceremony in the south of England.

A spokeswoman for Cumberbatch said: “Benedict and Sophie were married yesterday surrounded by their close friends and family. It was a magical day.”

Imitation Game star Cumberbatch, 38, who is shortlisted for a best actor Oscar later this month for his role as tortured genius war hero Alan Turing, met 36-year-old Hunter when they appeared together in the 2009 film Burlesque Fairytales.

Last month it was reported that the couple are expecting their first child.

Cumberbatch, who has a global army of fans jokingly referred to as ‘Cumberbitches’, is enjoying a golden period in his career as one of the UK’s most popular actors.

He has been lauded for his role as codebreaker Turing, having also starred in Star Trek: Into Darkness and 12 Years a Slave after leaping into the public consciousness in the title role of the BBC’s detective series Sherlock.

He previously dated actress Olivia Poulet and designer Anna Jones. Hunter is an Oxford graduate who studied modern languages. She has directed a number of experimental and avant-garde productions including a puppet version of Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition which toured the US.

She has taken acting roles in TV shows such as Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood and an episode of Midsomer Murders, as well as the 2004 film version of Vanity Fair starring Reese Witherspoon.

She has also had a music career of her own, recording a French language album with Robbie Williams’s collaborator Guy Chambers in 2005 called The Isis Project, after they met through a mutual friend.