Idris Elba responds to comments he's 'too street' to play James Bond as 007 author apologises for controversial comment

As ever, he has been a gentleman about the whole thing

Idris Elba has addressed the controversial comments by author Anthony Horowitz, who claimed he was “too street” to play 007.

Horowitz’s comments quickly went viral after he said he considered Elba “a bit too rough” to play the iconic character, causing outrage from people who considered it racist.

People were quick to point out that Elba is just as suave as Daniel Craig, and soon Horowitz issued an apology, saying his use of 'street' was “a poor choice of word” and that he was “mortified to have caused offence”.

Elba posted a screengrab of Horowitz’s apology on Instagram, with the caption “Always keep smiling!! It takes no energy and it never hurts! Learned that from the Street! #septemberstillloveyou”

A photo posted by Idris Elba (@idriselba) on Sep 1, 2015 at 3:30pm PDT

Speculation has been rife on who will take over the role when Daniel Craig inevitably hangs his gun up, and Elba has been one of the most popular contenders for the position.

Last year he tweeted his surprise at the suggestion, however, saying “Isn’t 007 supposed to be handsome?”