Idris Elba proposes to his beauty queen girlfriend at screening of his new film

'She said yes and there was much clapping and cheering'

Idris Elba shocked a crowd at a screening of his new film when he proposed to his girlfriend Sabrina Dhowre.

The 45-year-old got down on one knee at the Rio cinema in east London, where Elba was previewing his directorial debut, Yardie.

The crowd cheered and applauded as it became clear what was taking place.

“She said yes," a spokesperson for the cinema said.

Ms Dhowre is a 29-year-old former Miss Vancouver and a model of Somali descent. The pair have been dating since early 2017.

Fans tweeted about their happiness for the couple.

Elba, who was born and raised in east London, has been married twice. His first marriage to Hanne Norgaard ended in 2003 and then he briefly married Sonya Hamlin in 2006.

Yardie is based on Victor Headley's 1992 novel of the same name.

The film documents the story of Denis Dread who comes to London after the murder of his younger brother and who soon embarks on a mission to find his sibling’s killer.

Unlike Elba in the eyes of his new fiance, the film has received mixed reviews.