ARISE SIR IDRIS

Star knighted for his campaign...plus other showbiz aces knife

- LIZZY BUCHAN Political Editor and DAVE BURKE Political Correspondent

ACTOR Idris Elba has been knighted in the New Year Honours List after leading a campaign to end youth violence.

The star of Luther and The Wire is among a host of famous faces from showbiz, sport and politics to get gongs.

Idris, 53, launched the Don't Stop Your Future campaign in the Mirror in 2024, standing next to 247 piles of folded clothes in Parliament Square each one representing a life lost to knife violence in 2023.

He told us at the time: "I can't stay silent as more young lives are lost to these brutal and heartless crimes."

Born to a Sierra Leonean father and a Ghanaian mother, Idris grew up on a council estate in Hackney, East London.

After leaving school at 16, a grant from the King's Trust helped him get a place at the National Youth Music Theatre and set him on a path to a successful career.

The dad-of-two has since founded the Elba Hope Foundation with his wife Sabrina Dhowre Elba. It supports community empowerment, education, youth advocacy and development.

He said: "I receive this honour on behalf of the many young people whose talent, ambition and resilience has driven the work of the Elba Hope Foundation. I hope we can do more to draw attention to the importance of sustained, practical support for young people and to the responsibility we share to help them find an alternative to violence."