Nothing could wipe the smile from Stephen Fry's face as he emerged from his plush Piccadilly home with his husband-to-be Elliot Spencer - not even his fiance scratching his Bentley.

The 57-year-old QI star and his partner, 27, wore matching engagement rings as they announced the wedding is planned sometime this year.

Minutes earlier, Mr Spencer had tried to manoeuvre Mr Fry's prized Bentley Continental GT out of a tight garage and scraped the side.

Overjoyed: Stephen Fry and his new fiancé Elliott Spencer, 27 outside the star's London home today

Tight turn: Mr Spencer tried to manoeuvre Mr Fry's £150,000 Bentley out of a garage and scraped the side

Bad scratch: Mr Fry shrugged off the scrape on the car, saying it was 'nothing', but was the one who took the steering wheel when the couple drove off

Despite the damage to the £150,000 motor, Mr Fry simply shrugged it off with a smile, saying it was 'nothing', but was the one who took the steering wheel when the couple drove off.

Earlier today, Mr Spencer's parents spoke about the upcoming wedding, saying they are 'over the moon' after the star revealed he will marry their son, who is 30 years his junior.

Robert and Miranda Spencer, from Southampton, admitted they are delighted about the couple's decision to wed after their whirlwind romance.

The couple were first seen together last November, but the pair are understood to have become serious over the summer.

Mr Spencer's parents have given them their blessing and Mr Fry said this afternoon: 'I have met them and they are very nice'.

Mr Spencer's parents have spoken about the upcoming wedding, saying they are 'over the moon'

Official: Mr Fry, wore an engagement ring today, and said he and his partner have not set a date for their wedding

Public record: This is the declaration to marry posted in the Registry Office in Dereham shortly before Christmas

Exit: The couple left central London in the actor's Bentley, and they look likely to get married in Norfolk

Mr Spencer's father Robert, who at 57 is the same age as Fry, said he and his his wife Melanie, 52, are 'over the moon'.

Speaking at his large, detached property near Southampton he said: 'We are obviously very happy. We are over the moon, that is all I want to say.'

Today it was revealed they registered to marry in Norfolk, where Fry grew up, just before Christmas.

The QI star, wearing a green blazer and red cardigan, said: 'We are off now to celebrate our engagement. We won't be going abroad until after the Baftas.' Mr Fry will host the awards for the tenth time next month.

The pair could been seen engagement rings on their wedding fingers and Mr Fry added: 'They are very similar, both are made of Rhodium and are almost matching.'

When asked about the wedding date he said: 'Now, we won't be giving that away. And I'm sorry to say you won't be invited. It will be some time this year, as you have to give a year's notice.'

Earlier today Mr Fry tweeted: 'Oh. It looks as though a certain cat is out of a certain bag. I'm very very happy of course but had hoped for a private wedding. Fat chance!.

'Thank you all SO much for your kind congratulations. Deeply touched xxx'.

The engagement came less than three years after he tried to kill himself during an unhappy spell in his life where he struggled to cope with fame, loneliness and the break-up of his previous relationship.

Mr Fry, who suffers from bipolar disorder, revealed that in 2012 he tried to kill himself with a cocktail of vodka and pills, and was only saved by a producer who discovered him.

Friends have credited the young stand-up comic, who is 30 years Fry's junior, with putting a smile back on the actor's face following a crippling battle with depression.

It appears they may have become engaged just before Christmas as they have given formal notice at a registry office in Dereham, Norfolk, on December 23.

They have a year to marry before it expires.

Overjoyed: The actor said today he was 'very very happy' that he and his partner Elliott, together in September, will marry in the coming year

Wedding bells: Stephen Fry has revealed he will marry Elliott Spencer, who he was first spotted with in November, after a whirlwind romance

Friends have spoken of the joy that the young man has brought to Fry's life, with one telling The Sun: 'Since Stephen met Elliott, it is like he has a new lust for life.

'We've got the old Stephen back. He has found new hope in Elliott and they thrive off each other.'

The 27-year-old writer and comedian is the son of a property developer, who is believed be a millionaire.

Robert Spencer set up Hood House Limited with a business partner and the firm has built a series of new homes in Hampshire, West Sussex and on the Isle of Wight.

He has just sold the last property at his new development - consisting of two, three and four bedroom homes - near Waterlooville, Hampshire.

His son went to Park Gate Primary School which is just 300 yards away from their £500,000 home.

The family's neighbour Marina Worthy, 79, said: 'When I came to live here 20 years ago the ball would come over the back of my garden.

'I would always go and give it back to Elliott. I've not seen him since he was young but he was a nice little boy.

'I'm pleased for him. The age gap isn't a problem, if him and Stephen are happy, they're happy.

'Life is different now, you have got to get with the times. I wish them all the best.'

Happy: Stephen, left today, wrote on his blog last year about feeling lonely after splitting with his partner but Elliott, right, has been praised by friends for putting a smile on his face

Break: Over the summer Stephen and his husband-to-be spent time in Italy and met with actress Emma Thompson and her children in Florence

Starstruck: Mr Spencer, a stand-up comedian, has tweeted pictures of him meeting 'heroes' Jimmy Carr and David Mitchell in the past year

Red carpet: Elliott Spencer was seen here at the premiere of The Hobbit in Leicester Square last month stood behind Orlando Bloom and Sir Ian McKellen

Spring in his step: Friends say they're happy to have 'the old Stephen back' after meeting Elliott

Another neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: 'Elliott is a lovely man. He had a dog, a beagle, which he loved so much.

'He went to the local school and he is a very happy person. He loved his dog but I don't see him too often as he has moved up to London.'.

FRY'S WHIRLWIND ENGAGEMENT IN SHARP CONTRAST WITH HIS LONG RELATIONSHIP WITH VITAMIN SALESMAN WHO 'SAVED' HIM Stephen Fry's whirlwind engagement to Elliott Spencer is in stark contrast with his previous long-term relationship. The star spent 14 years with former make-up and vitamin salesman Daniel Cohen, right, before they split in 2010. Mr Cohen was credited with rescuing Mr Fry from celibacy and helped him through spates of depression. But he was left devastated over the break-up of their long-time relationship. At the time he told friends he was finding it ­difficult to cope without Fry. For 11 years, they shared a £2million North ­London house, which boasted a tree growing through the kitchen. But they split and Fry formed a new friendship with aspiring young actor Stephen Webb, 26. Mr Cohen said he was heart­broken when he learned that Fry wanted to leave him for a considerably younger man. There were also claimed he was given a seven-figure sum by the actor, but he denied this. He told the Mail at the time: 'People say I got £1million from Stephen — it was nothing like that. I've got to find a job. 'What really upset me is that Stephen is going out with a 26-year-old, for God's sake. 'I've got a new look and I've had my nipple pierced. But nothing can bring Stephen back.' 'I'm ­determined to go one better and date someone even younger. ­Joking apart, I am finding it hard to adjust'. Advertisement

After the pair were seen eating at a restaurant together in November - Fry looking carefree and smiling - they were also reportedly pictured hanging out at his West London home.

They were also been reportedly seen together at Ascot racecourse in Berkshire, UK, and London's Savoy Hotel.

A source told The Sunday Mirror: 'Stephen and Elliott get on brilliantly together. It's fantastic to see Stephen with a smile on his face again.

'He has been very, very open about his battles with drugs and depression,' the source continued.

'Elliott seems to have given him the confidence to live his life again. It's great to have the old Stephen back.'

Fry separated from his partner of the past 14 years Daniel Cohen in 2010, a man who he credits with 'saving' him.

The salesman, who was 12 years Fry's junior, claimed in the aftermath of the split that he was finding it increasingly hard to come to terms with the actor's new relationship with Steven Webb; 27 years younger than Fry.

Following the QI host's announcement today that he is due to marry partner Elliott Spencer, Mr Cohen said: 'I have nothing to say.'

However, Fry appeared to be single again by June 2013 when he opened up in a bold and honest blog post about loneliness.

The broadcaster said: 'Loneliness is the most terrible and contradictory of my problems. I hate having only myself to come home to.'

He went on to say: 'It's not that I want a sexual partner, a long-term partner, someone to share a bed and a snuggle on the sofa with – although perhaps I do and in the past I have had and it has been joyful.

'But the fact is I value my privacy too. It's a lose-lose matter.'

As a public figure, the actor has spoken openly about suicidal depression, having admitted to two failed suicide attempts.

In the post, Fry said that while he may be luckier than most that he was 'lonely in a crowd of people who are mostly very nice to me,' he reassured readers that 'you are not alone in your being alone.'

Boost: The 27-year-old, from Southampton, is said to have been Fry 'the confidence to live his life again'

Background: Mr Spencer's parents were at their large detached home near Southampton today, where their son grew up, and said they were 'over the moon' for Elliott and Stephen

Official: The couple have announced their intention to marry by posting a formal notice to wed at Dereham Registry Office in Norfolk

Last year he also spoke openly about his battle with drugs and claimed he took cocaine at Buckingham Palace.

Opening up about a 15-year addiction to the Class A drug, the comedian details dozens of respected institutions where he says he took it. The list included the House of Lords, the House of Commons and BBC Television Centre.

In his latest autobiography, More Fool Me, published in September, Fry wrote: 'I take this opportunity to apologise unreservedly, to the owners, managers or representatives of the noble and ignoble premises and to the hundreds of private homes, offices, car dashboards, tables, mantelpieces and available polished surfaces that could so easily have been added to this list of shame'.

Following on from 2010's The Fry Chronicles, which touched on his drug use in its closing pages, his new book sees the presenter speak in detail about the habit that cost him hundreds of thousands of pounds.

It also reveals his brushes with the law and how he narrowly escaped drug charges after being stopped by police while in possession of cocaine.

This third instalment of his autobiography follows Fry through the 1980s and 90s after he had found fame through shows such as A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Blackadder and Jeeves and Wooster.

He recalls the 'momentous night' in 1986 when he first took cocaine with an unnamed actor friend and admits that he never saw himself as an addict as his dependency spiralled out of control.

All by himself: Stephen once said that 'Loneliness is the most terrible and contradictory of his problems'