Just how long will the "Sherlock" television series stay on the small screen? According to show runner Steven Moffat, it all depends on lead star Benedict Cumberbatch.

"Once Benedict Cumberbatch gives up Sherlock, what are we going to do? We are going to stop, that's what we are going to do," he told Variety.

Looking back, Moffat said that nobody expected that "Sherlock" would become as popular as it is now, and neither did anybody expect that Cumberbatch's star would rise the way that it did.

When the show made its premiere back in 2010, Cumberbatch's popularity took off like a storm.

"The BBC liked the choice, too, but with one proviso," Moffat shared with Vogue. "They said, 'Is he sexy enough? You promised us a sexy Sherlock.' Back then nobody thought of him as sexy-not even Benedict. Who knew that he'd wind up being a sex symbol in China?"

Moffat wasn't kidding, and Cumberbatch admitted that he is actually "tickled pink" by all the attention he has received in Asia, where he is known as the "Curly Fu." People would come up to him and ask to have pictures taken with him, or have him sign pictures of otters because many believe the actor resembles the animal.

"It's a great disservice to a wonderful woodland amphibious creature," Cumberbatch jokingly said about the comparison.

The adoration Cumberbatch receives does not end there. "I have boyfriends coming up to say, 'My girlfriend is obsessed with you,' and I say, 'I'm so sorry,'" he laughingly shared.

Cumberbatch has a lot to be thankful for when it comes to "Sherlock," and portraying the legendary detective is one job that he would like to maintain for a long, long time.

"If we can keep the quality up," he said of the show, "I can't imagine that I will ever get tired of being Sherlock. I'd love to play him as an old man."

For now, Cumberbatch is dabbling into theater with the play "Hamlet."

"I really, really love my job," he said. "I love sets. I love crews. I love theaters. I love audiences."

He has also nabbed the lead role in Marvel's upcoming project "Doctor Strange," which also stars Rachel McAdams, Hillary Swinton, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Before that, Cumberbatch was a hit as mathematician Alan Turing in the movie "The Imitation Game," which he co-starred in with his good friend Keira Knightley. He also appeared in "Black Mass" alongside Johnny Depp.