London: Barbara Windsor is among the leading entertainment and arts figures to be recognised in the New Year Honours.
The veteran star of EastEnders and the Carry On films said she was "thrilled" to be made a dame for services to charity and entertainment.
Actress Sian Phillips also receives a damehood for services to drama, while choreographer Matthew Bourne is to be knighted for services to dance.
Luther star Idris Elba receives an OBE, as does Blur singer Damon Albarn.
Actress Imelda Staunton, whose recent successes include her award-winning turn in the West End musical Gypsy, receives a CBE for services to drama.
The same honour is awarded to Tamara Rojo, the Montreal-born Spanish dancer who became the artistic director of English National Ballet (ENB) in 2013.
Spooks and Selma star David Oyelowo gets an OBE, as does tennis player turned BBC sports commentator Sue Barker.
Cold Feet actor James Nesbitt also gets an OBE, for services to drama and "the community of Northern Ireland".
Drum and bass star Goldie - real name Clifford Joseph Price - receives an MBE for services to music and young people.
There is also an MBE for Jacqui Oatley, the sports broadcaster who became the first female commentator on BBC One's football highlights show Match of the Day.
'A very good dame'
Reports of Windsor's damehood began circulating on Saturday, following a news story in The Sun with the heading "Arise Dame Babs".
The 78-year-old, who was made an MBE in 2000, told the BBC she had initially thought the letter informing her of her latest honour was a letter from her bank.
"I'm just thrilled that they've honoured me," she told the BBC's Lizo Mzimba. "I'll do my best to be a very good dame - and I don't mean in pantomime."
Known to millions as Peggy Mitchell, landlady of EastEnders hostelry The Queen Vic, the Shoreditch-born actress made her stage debut at 13 and appeared in nine Carry On films between 1964 and 1974.
In addition to her roles on stage and screen, Windsor has supported and raised funds for such charities as Help the Aged, Variety, the Royal British Legion and the Amy Winehouse Foundation.
"I feel so lucky to live in a country I love [and do] a job I have always adored which has allowed me to be in a position where I am able to help others," she said.
"For a girl from the East End born into a working class family and an evacuee during World War Two, this is truly like a dream," she continued. "I am so happy and blessed to say it's real."
Sian Phillips (second from left) appeared in Calendar Girls alongside actors from The Archers
Phillips is perhaps best known for playing Livia in the BBC's landmark adaptation of Robert Graves' I, Claudius.
The Welsh actress won a Bafta for her work in the 1976 series, in which she played the to the emperor Tiberius, played by George Baker.
Phillips, who was made a CBE in 2000, made her first radio appearance at the age of 11 and was married to actor Peter O'Toole for 20 years.
She was recently heard on BBC Radio 4 alongside cast members of The Archers in a production of Calendar Girls, a play in which she first appeared in 2008.
The 82-year-old said her damehood was "totally unexpected... and something I could never have imagined when I decided to be an actress at the age of six.
"I idolised all the dames like Peggy Ashcroft and Edith Evans and couldn't quite believe then that we inhabited the same planet.
"I feel the same way now - though I also feel deeply honoured and very grateful."
The veteran star of EastEnders and the Carry On films said she was "thrilled" to be made a dame for services to charity and entertainment.
Actress Sian Phillips also receives a damehood for services to drama, while choreographer Matthew Bourne is to be knighted for services to dance.
Luther star Idris Elba receives an OBE, as does Blur singer Damon Albarn.
Actress Imelda Staunton, whose recent successes include her award-winning turn in the West End musical Gypsy, receives a CBE for services to drama.
The same honour is awarded to Tamara Rojo, the Montreal-born Spanish dancer who became the artistic director of English National Ballet (ENB) in 2013.
Spooks and Selma star David Oyelowo gets an OBE, as does tennis player turned BBC sports commentator Sue Barker.
Drum and bass star Goldie - real name Clifford Joseph Price - receives an MBE for services to music and young people.
There is also an MBE for Jacqui Oatley, the sports broadcaster who became the first female commentator on BBC One's football highlights show Match of the Day.
'A very good dame'
Reports of Windsor's damehood began circulating on Saturday, following a news story in The Sun with the heading "Arise Dame Babs".
The 78-year-old, who was made an MBE in 2000, told the BBC she had initially thought the letter informing her of her latest honour was a letter from her bank.
"I'm just thrilled that they've honoured me," she told the BBC's Lizo Mzimba. "I'll do my best to be a very good dame - and I don't mean in pantomime."
Known to millions as Peggy Mitchell, landlady of EastEnders hostelry The Queen Vic, the Shoreditch-born actress made her stage debut at 13 and appeared in nine Carry On films between 1964 and 1974.
In addition to her roles on stage and screen, Windsor has supported and raised funds for such charities as Help the Aged, Variety, the Royal British Legion and the Amy Winehouse Foundation.
"I feel so lucky to live in a country I love [and do] a job I have always adored which has allowed me to be in a position where I am able to help others," she said.
"For a girl from the East End born into a working class family and an evacuee during World War Two, this is truly like a dream," she continued. "I am so happy and blessed to say it's real."
Sian Phillips (second from left) appeared in Calendar Girls alongside actors from The Archers
Phillips is perhaps best known for playing Livia in the BBC's landmark adaptation of Robert Graves' I, Claudius.
The Welsh actress won a Bafta for her work in the 1976 series, in which she played the to the emperor Tiberius, played by George Baker.
Phillips, who was made a CBE in 2000, made her first radio appearance at the age of 11 and was married to actor Peter O'Toole for 20 years.
She was recently heard on BBC Radio 4 alongside cast members of The Archers in a production of Calendar Girls, a play in which she first appeared in 2008.
The 82-year-old said her damehood was "totally unexpected... and something I could never have imagined when I decided to be an actress at the age of six.
"I idolised all the dames like Peggy Ashcroft and Edith Evans and couldn't quite believe then that we inhabited the same planet.
"I feel the same way now - though I also feel deeply honoured and very grateful."
No comments:
Post a Comment