The Wire star takes on rally driving, tries to break a land speed record, and flies an aerobatic plane in his new TV series Idris Elba: No Limits, and he admits the stunts were so dangerous that he kept them from his mother, children and girlfriend Naiyana Garth so they would not worry about him.

Elba tells Britain's The Sun newspaper, "Nobody knows. I haven't told any of them. They will see it on the TV and I will just turn my phone off... I haven't told them because everyone will just be like, 'Oh my God, you're going to get hurt' and I don't want to hear that... They'll read about it and then I'm going to be in trouble".

Idris Elba: No Limits airs in the U.K. on Monday (06Jul15).