Sir Idris Elba led the stars receiving honours at Windsor Castle today.
A host of celebrities were recognised by King Charles at the ceremony, including comedians Dame Meera Syal and Paul Elliott, one half of the Chuckle Brothers, and ice skating champions Dame Jayne Torvill and Sir Christopher Dean.
The King is recognising 68 people, with the Luther star, 53, being awarded a knighthood in the New Year Honours for his significant services to young people.
In 2022, Sir Idris, who is the current frontrunner to scoop the role of James Bond, founded the Elba Hope Foundation, which champions community empowerment, education, youth advocacy, and sustainable development.
The star himself received a grant from the Prince’s Trust, now the King’s Trust, to attend the National Youth Music Theatre when he was 18 and it was announced last year that he would team up with the King to create a Netflix documentary.
+7
View gallery
Sir Idris Elba, pictured with his wife Sabrina, led the stars receiving honours at Windsor Castle today
+7
View gallery
The Kumars At No 42 star Dame Meera Syal, 64, was recognised by the King for services to literature, drama and charity
+7
View gallery
Ice skating champions Dame Jayne Torvill and Sir Christopher Dean were also recognised at the ceremony
Should Idris Elba have been made a Sir?
The Kumars At No 42 star Dame Meera, 64, was recognised by the King for services to literature, drama and charity. Born in Wolverhampton, the actress had her breakthrough writing and starring in the BBC sketch show Goodness Gracious Me.
In 2023 she was awarded the Bafta Fellowship, the academy’s highest accolade for a career on-screen.
Rotherham comedian Paul Elliott, best known as one of the Chuckle Brothers, was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for charitable service.
The comedy double act, made up of Paul and his brother Barry, were a staple in British homes with their TV show ChuckleVision.
Nearly 300 episodes, which aired during the 1990s and 2000s, showed the hapless, accident-prone brothers uttering their catchphrase ‘To me, to you’ as they caused chaos everywhere they went.
Paul has been a prominent supporter and ambassador for Marie Curie. The charity’s nurses provided end-of-life care for Barry, and Paul previously spoke about how they looked after his brother ‘with incredible care and kindness’.
+7
View gallery
The King is recognising 68 people, with the Luther star, 53, being awarded a knighthood in the New Year Honours for his significant services to young people
Speculation has long been rife about Sir Idris overtaking David Craig in the iconic role.
Last week he made an insistent denial, saying: ‘My name’s not getting thrown out, no way. They’re going younger. And I wish them all the luck of the world. I can’t wait – it’s going to be amazing.’
‘I’m honestly not in the race ever. I wasn’t in the race in the first place,’ he added to People.
In December fans thought Sir Idris had dropped a huge hint that he would be the next James Bond as he shared a video from Madame Tussauds where he was seen playfully interacting with the attraction’s wax figures.
With the famous Bond theme playing in the background, the camera tracked past several former 007s before settling on Sir Idris at the end of the line.
Join the discussion275 comments
Which role will you always associate Idris Elba with?
+7
View gallery
Dame Jayne looked elegant in a chic blue suit
Fans quickly flooded the comments as they hailed him as a top contender to take over the role after Daniel Craig.
They penned: ‘Not just the bond we want… the bond we NEED’; ‘This is the Bond we want’; ‘You would be an AMAZING Bond’.
Daniel’s final outing as 007 in 2021’s No Time To Die was a critical and box office success, but fans of the films have been left desperately waiting for news on who might replace him.
That announcement has been delayed after the Broccoli family, which held an iron grip on the franchise for decades, handed over creative control to Amazon MGM Studios.
The production company, which was formed when Amazon bought MGM in 2022, has been quiet on who might fill Craig’s boots, but it has teased there will be ‘exciting 007 news’ in the coming months.
News
WE’RE VERY SORRY FOR THE FAMILY…! — A worker has tragically d!ed after being electrocuted when a scissor lift reportedly came into contact with power lines in Laverton North, Melbourne.
The man is yet to be formally identified. A worker has died after being electrocuted at a building site. The…
MY BABY IS GONE FOREVER…!— The devastated mother of a three-year-old boy who tragically lost his life in the Melbourne house fire has shared heartbreaking details as the child’s father remains in a coma following the blaze.
Boy 3, killed in Melbourne house blaze as father remains in coma ‘I just miss that little man already. He’s…
JUST IN: Prince William and Princess Kate have reportedly made a major new change involving one of their former homes — and royal watchers are stunned by the unexpected update.
The Prince and Princess of Wales currently live at eight-bedroom Forest Lodge in Windsor, but they had several royal residences…
JUST MINS AGO: King Charles has shared a deeply moving new reflection on Queen Elizabeth’s final days at Balmoral — and royal fans say his words are leaving them emotional.
Writing in the foreword to a new official guidebook about the royal family’s Scottish estate, the King opened up about…
IF YOU LOVE DOWNTON ABBEY, THIS SHARP AND BEAUTIFULLY STYLED PERIOD DRAMA MIGHT BE YOUR NEXT BINGE-WATCH OBSESSION!
‘Masterpiece’ period drama is perfect watch for Downton Abbey fans Bridgerton fans are discovering Claudia Jessie’s earlier role in the…
HARRY’S FEARS MAY BE COMING TRUE… — Prince Harry once reportedly worried he would be overshadowed by Prince William’s children — and now royal watchers say the huge global fascination around Prince George’s future may be proving exactly that.
George is growing into ‘every inch a very handsome young man’, steadily confirming Prince Harry‘s longstanding fears that he will one…
End of content
No more pages to load
