Benedict Cumberbatch talks about gay sex scenes (or lack of) in The Imitation Game

The Sherlock star plays homosexual genius Alan Turing in the wartime biopic

Benedict Cumberbatch plays genius codebreaker Alan Turing in The Imitation Game (Getty Images)

Benedict Cumberbatch has defended the decision not to include overt gay sex scenes in his latest movie, The Imitation Game.

The British actor plays genius codebreaker Alan Turing who helps the Allies defeat the German Nazis in World War II, only to be criminally prosecuted for being a homosexual when he is caught with a 19-year-old man in 1952.

Some critics have asked why sex does not feature in the film but according to Cumberbatch, it is "not an exploration of someone's sex life".

"He's chemically castrated because he admits to being a homosexual; he talks about entreating a young man to touch his penis. I mean, it's pretty explicit," he told The Wrap last month.

"If you need to see that to understand that he's gay, then all is lost for any kind of subtle storytelling. The conversations are so naked in themselves that the idea of having to see two naked men wasn't something I ever thought was missing in the script."

Director Morten Tyldum also commented on the lack of gay sex, adding that it was a "very conscious choice" as Turing's sexuality was "just one part of the character that [he] wanted to reveal".

Keira Knightley, Allen Leech, Matthew Goode and Rory Kinnear also star alongside Cumberbatch in the film, which is already being tipped for an Oscar.

It is due for release in UK cinemas on 14 November.