Benedict Cumberbatch has told Sky News he is waiting for a Ukrainian family to arrive in the UK to live at his property after joining the scheme to rehouse refugees here.

The actor, who was wearing the Ukrainian flag colours of blue and yellow while promoting his latest film Dr Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness in London today, gave an update on when he was expecting them to arrive.

“They’ve made it out of Ukraine, I’m monitoring their progress every day,” Cumberbatch explained.

“Sadly, they are undergoing some medical treatment – to say anything more about that would be invasion of their privacy and too much about when they’re coming and how that’s being managed would invade mine – but I want to give them some stability after the turmoil that they’ve experienced, and that’s within my home.”

The star also revealed he’s been helping other people whose loved ones are fleeing Ukraine with the cost of housing them in the UK.

“I’ve been trying to help other Ukrainian families – nationals that are UK citizens – to house their extended families en masse, which you know they want to do, but it’s very costly,” he said.

“So, I’ve been trying to help out with that financially in a couple of instances.”

The actor also says that while the practical help being offered by people in the UK is brilliant, there is still more to be done.

“I’m working through a wonderful charity called Refugees at Home, which is a great gateway to the government scheme, but also to offering further wider support that’s needed for the psychological trauma that these people are suffering from,” Cumberbatch said.

“However gentle and generous and welcoming we are as hosts, we don’t have the skills of the mental health professions to necessarily deal with those things.

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“I would urge people to seek out further help to bolster their efforts, and people are doing an amazing amount – it makes me very proud, very, very proud of our country and very proud of what we can be at our best as a human race.”

Cumberbatch was joined on the red carpet in Trafalgar Square this morning by his fellow Dr Strange stars Elizabeth Olson and Benedict Wong as well as the film’s director Sam Raimi.

The latest movie in the Marvel franchise is out in cinemas on 5 May.