Sir Idris...the skate and good

IDRIS Elba, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean lead the New Year Honours list — which also celebrates our great athletes, entertainers and inspiring characters.

- GILES SHELDRICK Chief Reporter

Anti-knife campaigner Idris, 53, is knighted for services to young people after founding a charity with wife Sabrina, 36, to help youngsters. Sir Idris 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 all share to help them find an alternative to violence."

Olympian Jayne becomes a Dame and pro partner Christopher a knight for services to ice skating and voluntary service, 41 years after mesmerising the world with their interpretation of Ravel's Bolero at the 1984 Winter Games in Sarajevo.

The pair collected MBEs in 1981 and OBEs in 2000 but fans of the Dancing on Ice judges have long campaigned for an upgrade.

Dame Jayne, 68, and Sir Christopher, 67, called the new honours "wonderful and humbling at the same time".

She said the timing was "perfect" after they performed for the last time this year.

Dame Jayne added: "Receiving this award at the end of the year, it's just finished everything."

Six of the Lionesses are honoured after their stunning Euros victory in the summer with captain Leah Williamson, 28, made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

Alex Greenwood, 32, Keira Walsh, 28, Georgia Stanway, and Ella Toone, both 26, were on the side that beat Spain in the July final in Basel, Switzerland, and become MBEs.