Covid 19 coronavirus: Idris Elba opens up about 'soul-destroying' virus battle

Idris Elba fought Covid-19 and says he is lucky to be alive. Photo / Getty Images

Idris Elba feels "very fortunate to be alive" after his Covid-19 battle.

The Luther star was one of the first celebrities to reveal he was battling coronavirus and he feels lucky that his struggle with the virus was "mild" compared to others.

Speaking to The Guardian newspaper, he said: "The Covid was mild, compared with how others have gone. I'm very fortunate to be alive, and every day I'm thankful."

Meanwhile, Idris previously admitted having coronavirus was "very sobering".

The Mountain Between Us actor said: "Facing my mortality, being diagnosed with Covid and not knowing what it was at the time - going through that was very sobering."

The couple were subjected to "stupid" conspiracy theories that they were being paid to lie about the virus and Idris and Sabrina admitted it only made their recovery harder.

He added: "The aftermath was really soul-destroying.

"The last year has been a travesty. We feel very lucky we came out with our health and our beating hearts but there was a real recovery process that was difficult ... I'm really lucky though because I had my partner with me who was there for every second."

Idris feels "incredibly lucky" to have fully recovered from the virus after catching it in March last year.

He said: "I don't suffer any residual effects and during my time with Covid, I was asymptomatic. But I guess I feel incredibly lucky to have not gone down the worst route and thus it's given me a slightly different perspective on life, a little bit more of a new lease on life.

"There are things that I've always wanted to do and haven't done that I'm doing and want to do and pursuing. Personal things, small goals, things that I just put aside, things that I just said, 'Oh, I'll do that one day,' but now I'm doing."