This year’s New Year Honours list is incredibly star-studded with everyone from TV icons to literary legends to sporting heroes being recognised.
The long list for 2024 includes honours for British icons like Stephen Fry, Loyd Grossman, Tom Baker, Jacqueline Wilson, and Alan Titchmarsh.
Sir Stephen, 67, said he was ‘startled and enchanted’ to be knighted, along with London mayor Sadiq Khan and footballing legend Gareth Southgate.
The Blackadder star was recognised for his services to mental health awareness, the environment, and to charity, having been president of Mind since 2011.
He said it was ‘out of the blue’ but was ‘very proud’ and ‘very pleased’, adding: ‘It’s all too easy to think that a mental illness is somehow something deeper and more to do with a failure inside.
‘It’s an incredibly important field and everybody from the King and his children have made it part of their work to talk about it, and other people in the public eye have been open about it.’
He has also supported the conservation group Fauna and Flora International, of which the Prince of Wales is patron.
Sir Stephen isn’t the only one getting a nice new title though as MasterChef legend Loyd Grossman is also receiving a Knight Bachelor.
He was honoured for his contributions to the arts and heritage, having been chairman of The Royal Parks during its transition into a charity.
Sir Loyd, 74, is best known for his range of cooking sauces but hosted MasterChef in the 1990s and the ITV panel show Through The Keyhole with Sir David Frost from 1987 until 2003.
He revealed he was ‘just utterly thrilled’ and ‘close to speechless’, saying he ‘fell in love’ with the UK’s heritage and culture when he came here in his 20s.
Joining the likes of Sir Elton John, Sir David Attenborough and Dame Judi Dench is Nobel Prize-winning novelist Sir Kazuo Ishiguro, who was made a Companion of Honour for services to literature.
Jacqueline Wilson has been made a Dame Grand Cross (GBE) for services to literature. The Tracey Beaker author previously received an OBE in 2002, and in 2008 she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE).
Carmen Monroe has been made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her services to drama, 18 years after receiving a CBE.
The 92-year-old star is best known for her role in Desmond as Shirley Ambrose but appeared in numerous TV shows like Doctor Who.
Her contributions to theatre and providing opportunities for diverse actors have been immense.
Actress Carey Mulligan, 39, was also recognised for her services to drama with a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), after a stunning three Oscar nominations in the past few years.
Doctor Who legend Tom Baker, 90, received an MBE for his epic television career spanning six decades, which includes his most iconic role as the fourth incarnation of Time Lord.
He has worked in British television and theatre extensively over the years, from being spotted by Laurence Olivier in 1968 to stints in Star Wars, Agatha Christie and more.
Singer Myleene Klass has also received an MBE for services to women’s health, miscarriage awareness and to charity, after sharing her heartache over her four miscarriages.
The 46-year-old star was ‘over the moon’ for the recognition and said: ‘Anyone that’s suffered the pain of baby loss or miscarriage, you just go into survival mode and then to have recurring miscarriages again, the only way you can see forward is just, you know, one breath at a time, one day at a time.’
For his services to horticulture, gardening legend Alan Titchmarsh has also been awarded a CBE and said he was ‘thrilled to bits’ by the honour.
‘I’ve been an MBE for 25 years, so I kind of thought that was… I’ve been very happy with that,’ he shared of his emotional response to the announcement.
Happy Valley’s Sarah Lancashire, 60, was also made CBE — 30 years after her breakthrough role on Coronation Street — calling the honour an ‘unexpected delight’.
She won the Best Actress Bafta earlier this year and has been nominated and awarded for numerous other awards including a supporting role in Last Tango In Halifax.
Fellow Bafta winner Anne-Marie Duff said she feels ‘incredibly lucky and privileged’ for her OBE this year, having played a few royal roles in her career.
The Shameless star, who once played Queen Elizabeth I, added that she was ‘very grateful’ after winning her Bafta last year for dark comedy Bad Sisters.
There’s another Coronation Street icon on this year’s list as Anne Reid also was made a CBE, 50 years after her character died by using a dodgy hairdryer.
Inspector Morse and Lewis actor Kevin Whately was made an OBE for both his services to drama and charity, which he paid tribute to.
He said: ‘I am grateful and delighted to be given this award, and I appreciate that actors can sometimes help to raise awareness and money for charities, but the full-time charity workers dedicate their lives to their causes, and every one of them deserves a medal.’
Meanwhile, Eddie Marsan dedicated his OBE to his family and the people who he grew up with in Bethnal Green.
In the music world, there’s only a handful of recipients this year but the New Year Honours 2024 list does include radio presenter and DJ Steve Lamacq, who was ‘shocked’.
He was awarded for services to music and venues, which he said he was ‘especially pleased’ about because live gigs ‘have been such a huge part of [his] life alongside [his] broadcasting career.’
The journalist, Jackie Bird, who was the face of BBC Scotland News for three decades, is being recognised for her services to broadcasting and charities.
‘I’m thrilled,’ she said, ‘absolutely surprised and thrilled. My first thought was, “I can take my mum and dad to Buckingham Palace”.’
Northern Irish Jazz trumpeter Dr Linley Hamilton has said it was a ‘special feeling’ as he has been awarded with an MBE.
The musician has been a staple of the Northern Irish music scene for decades and is now a lecturer and broadcaster.
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Line Of Beauty author Alan Hollinghurst has also been honoured with knighthood. The 70-year-old writer said he is ‘delighted and deeply touched’ to earn this award.
Alan earned the Booker Prize with The Line Of Beauty in 2004, the first work of gay fiction to win the prestigious literary award.
Oscar-winning costume designer Sandy Powell has also been awarded a CBE.
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The designer is known for many of her elaborate costumes including those seen in Shakespeare In Love and in the 2019 film Mary Poppins Returns.
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