Context.This paper is framed within a large project devoted to studying the presence of circumstellar material around main sequence stars, and looking for exocometary events. The work concentrates on HR 10 (A2 IV/V), known for its conspicuous variability in the circumstellar narrow absorption features of Ca IIK and other lines, so far interpreted asβPic-like phenomena, within the falling evaporating body scenario.Aims.The main goal of this paper is to carry out a thorough study of HR 10 to find the origin of the observed variability, determine the nature of the star, its absolute parameters, and evolutionary status.Methods.Interferometric near-infrared (NIR) observations, multi-epoch high-resolution optical spectra spanning a time baseline of more than 32 yr, and optical and NIR photometry, together with theoretical modelling, were used to tackle the above objectives.Results.Our results reveal that HR 10 is a binary. The narrow circumstellar absorption features superimposed on the photospheric Ca IIK lines – and lines of other species – can be decomposed into two or more components, the two deep ones tracing the radial velocity of the individual stars, which implies that their origin cannot be ascribed to transient exocometary events, their variability being fully explained by the binarity of the object. There does not appear to be transient events associated with potential exocomets. Each individual star holds its own circumstellar shell and there are no traces of a circumbinary envelope. Finally, the combined use of the interferometric and radial velocity data leads to a complete spectrometric and orbital solution for the binary, the main parameters being: an orbital period of 747.6 days, eccentricities of the orbits around the centre of mass 0.25 (HR 10-A), 0.21 (HR 10-B) and a mass ratio ofq=M_B∕M_A= 0.72–0.84. The stars are slightly off the main sequence, the binary being ~530 Myr old.