Idris Elba among notable figures recognised in New Year Honours

Idris Elba is set to be knighted in the New Year Honours for his work supporting young people and fighting knife crime.

The Wire and Luther actor, 53, founded the Elba Hope Foundation, which supports youth empowerment, education, advocacy, and sustainable development.

Speaking about the honour, Elba said it was “on behalf of the many young people whose talent, ambition and resilience has driven the work of the Elba Hope Foundation.”

He then called for continued support to help young people avoid violence.

In 2024, Elba advocated for an immediate ban on machetes and zombie knives and met Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to launch a new anti-knife crime coalition.

The actor also featured in the BBC documentary Idris Elba: Our Knife Crime Crisis, in which he met with young offenders, bereaved families, and youth workers to understand the causes behind the rising crime.

Elba’s foundation also partnered with The Prince’s Trust last year to create Creative Futures, making free courses accessible to young people to help develop skills and confidence for careers in the creative industries.

Elba was himself supported by The Prince’s Trust as a teenager and has continued to work with the charity throughout his career.

Joining Elba on the New Year Honours list are ice dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, while Harry Potter actor Warwick Davis is set to receive an OBE.