'Sherlock' Star Takes Shot At 'Downton Abbey'

It's not like British entertainment luminaries can't become snippy at a moment's notice. Ask anybody who grew up listening to Oasis, not to mention listening to the Gallagher brothers repeatedly nearly throttle each other.

But really, Benedict Cumberbatch? How thin must your bitch-list be running to actually take shots at "Downton Abbey"?

Nevertheless, the "Sherlock" star recently told the tale of a moment of  trash talk at the Golden Globes between himself and "Masterpiece Theater" executive producer Rebecca Eaton, E! Online says. Eaton was apparently rubbing Cumberbatch's face in her show's second-season Emmy.

"I just looked at it and went 'Begone, woman. Bring it back when it says 'Sherlock Holmes' or ['Sherlock' co-creator] Steven Moffatt or myself - someone else who's more deserving than the second series of 'Downton Abbey'," he relayed to The New York Times.

"I know too many people who are in it," he added. "I thought the first series was good. That's what I'll say."

Look upon and be amused by this, though: there's at least one among the "Downton Abbey" cast who'd admit Cumberbatch perhaps isn't wrong. Star Elizabeth McGovern told The Los Angeles Times herself, "The show in the first season was more to my taste than the show in the second season."

Cumberbatch can put his money where his mouth is and prove his "Sherlock" superiority when his show starts its second season May 6 on PBS' "Masterpiece Theater".