Idris Elba says the ''mental impact'' of Covid-19 was ''pretty traumatic'' on himself and his wife Sabrina Dhowre.

The 'Luther' star and his spouse both tested positive for the virus in April but had only had a few symptoms, and Idris has admitted the fact that little was known about the deadly respiratory infection and how it affects its victims was extremely worrying and took its toll on his and the 32-year-old model's mental health.

In an interview with the Radio Times magazine, he explained: ''I was asymptomatic so I didn't get the major symptoms everyone else got.

''Mentally, it hit me very bad, because a lot was unknown about it.

''I felt very compelled to speak about it, just because it was such an unknown.

''So the mental impact of that on both myself and my wife was pretty traumatic.''

The former star of 'The Wire' added that he was grateful for lockdown because it gave him the time to recover from the virus.

He admitted: ''I needed the lockdown to try to get over it.

''And it turns out the world actually probably needed the lockdown, too.''

The 47-year-old actor previously said it felt the right thing to do to share his diagnosis as it ''opened up a lot of conversation around it''.

He said: ''My wife and I felt like it was the right thing to do, to share it with you guys. Right now though, I am feeling okay. Woke up this morning, didn't have any symptoms. My voice is a little tired ... checking my fever twice a day. Feel good, feel okay. Been doing a lot of reading about it. You know, asymptomatic is what comes up.''

Several celebrities were struck down with Covid-19, including Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, pop star Pink and Britain's Prince Charles.