Idris Elba is starting to see "the needle start to move" in regards to on-screen diversity

He said: "Four years ago I stood in parliament and gave a speech about the importance of on-screen diversity - and diversity of thought - in shaping the world. Four years later I’ve seen the needle start to move. I’m encouraged to see companies, businesses, organisations, individuals change the way they feel about equality.

"But when things get tough, diversity often suffers, and we can’t lose the momentum and let things go backwards."

And Idris has praised the Black Lives Matter movement, and how many "quite difficult conversations" are being done now as he said "independent film is a vital part" of telling these stories and educating the nation.

He added to The Sunday Times' Culture magazine: "I've seen unprecedented unity around the Black Lives Matter campaign and the death of George Floyd. I’ve been through four or five moments of massive protest in my lifetime: from Brixton to Tottenham, you name it, I’ve seen them, and this one has a very different character. It feels as though it’s about an entire nation, and a nation finally acknowledging its diversity needs a diverse film culture - we have to protect it at the time we need it most. Lots of open, sometimes quite difficult conversations are being had right now and many of us are on a journey of education. Independent film is a vital part of that."