Cuthbert set to tie the knot

‘24’ blonde beauty Elisha Cuthbert has become engaged to boyfriend Trace Ayala, a personal assistant and friend to pop star Justin Timberlake.

The nubile 21-year-old actress – who shot to fame playing Kim Bauer in the smash hit TV series – had vehemently denied in April being involved with Justin Timberlake when she was spotted sneaking into the "Cry Me A River" star's Dublin hotel - an event which forced her to go public that she was actually paying her beau of one year a visit.

She said: "Those rumours about Justin and I put me in an awkward position, as I was actually seeing his best mate Trace Ayala and have been for the past year.

"I'd been friends with Justin and met Trace afterwards, we got on brilliantly although we don't get to spend as much time together as we'd like."

A wedding date has yet to be confirmed.