Hot off The Wire... Idris is taken! Elba makes romance with make-up artist Naiyana Garth official

British actor and hunk Idris Elba is now officially dating hair and make-up artist Naiyana Garth.
The 41-year-old actor was pictured getting cosy with Naiyana at this week's Harper's Bazaar Women of the Year awards at Claridge's Hotel in London.
And despite the pair only just going public, a source close to the star said the couple have actually been together for several months.

Grinners are winners! Idris Elba and his lady love Naiyana Garth attending the Harper's Bazaar Women of the Year awards at Claridge's Hotel in London last week

The source told The Sun: 'They've been together for a few months but it's really ramped up recently. They get on brilliantly and she's a real hit with his family and
friends.
'Idris is known as a ladies' man but he's really not at all. He'd rather have banter at the bar than spend all night grafting on women. Although he doesn't have to try anyway, women flock to him.'
Strangely, as soon as news broke of their romance Naiyana's Twitter feed disappeared from the site while her personal web page, Naiyanamakeuphair.com, is now listed as being 'under construction'.
It's still listed on Google however, describing Naiyana as 'a London-based professional hair and make-up artist with extensive experience in Fashion, Film, special effects/prosthetics, Body Painting and Bridal.'

The man's got style! Idris wore an eye-catching knee-length turquoise coat to the awards ceremony

With Idris now getting serious with Naiyana after dating for a few months, this could turn out to be the best time of his life.
After starring in two of the hottest TV series on TV, The Wire and Luther, he is now being tipped for an Oscar for his portrayal of Nelson Mandela in the new biopic Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom.
Speaking previously about getting into character for the movie, Elba told the Daily Mail's Baz Bamigboye's he spent a night on Robben Island, locked in a cell next to the one where Mandela was jailed for 18 years. He said: 'I wanted the audience to know what it was like once Mandela and his colleagues were jailed and the crowds dissipated.' 

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom official UK trailer

Tipped for an Oscar: Idris Elba, Tony Kgoroge and Riaad Moosa in Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom

The actor travelled around South Africa researching the role and wrote to the authorities on Robben Island (now a heritage site) to ask if he could stay in the jail. Initially, they turned him down, but later they recanted.
'Look, we turn the key and you’ll be here till we let you out again at eight in the morning,’ a security man told him.
Taking it seriously, Elba went to extreme lengths to get into character for the role.
‘It was a s***hole,’ Elba said. ‘I had a thin blanket for a mattress and that’s all there was between me and the concrete floor. They gave me a bowl. I had no water, nothing to drink at all. I was wearing my sweats and what not. I had two iPads to document myself and a cell phone.'

Nice work if you can get it! Idris proudly shows off his 'Man Of The Year' award from Harper's Bazaar magazine

Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, released in the UK in January, sees Idris star alongside former Bond girl Naomie Harris.

She plays Winnie Mandela in the biopic and has her own new poster for the film with the tagline ‘the leader you knew, the woman you didn’t’.
Meanwhile, proving that he hasn't lost his sense of humour, despite a recent asthma attack on a plane prior to the South Africa premiere of the movie which saw him briefly hospitalised, Idris cheekily posted on his Twitter feed that 'Friday is my second favourite 'F' word'.
Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom is due for release in the UK on January 3, 2014 and in the US on November 29.

Their life was no picnic: Idris Elba and Naomie Harris star in Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom