BREAKING New Year Honours list 2021 in full -Lewis Hamilton, Craig David and Covid heroes
| Published date | 30 December 2020 |
| Publication title | Daily Mirror, The: Web Edition Articles (London, England) |
On screen, soap stalwarts Sally Dynevor and Nina Wadia were honoured, while Academy Award nominee Lesley Manville is made a CBE and Detectorists star Toby Jones becomes an OBE.
Behind the camera, two-time Oscar-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins is knighted and Line of Duty writer Jed Mercurio is made an OBE.
Influential make-up artist Pat McGrath becomes a dame and Garage star Craig David receives an MBE.
But nearly two thirds 65% of honourees are everyday heroes lauded for their efforts during the coronavirus pandemic -from retired nurses returning to the frontline to furloughed airline staff supporting NHS workers.
There were 231 people named in the New Year honours -18.6% of the total -for their services during the crisis, while public sector staff such as medics, teachers and firefighters making up 14.8% of the list.
Boris Johnson said the awards were a “welcome reminder of the strength of human spirit” after a year of immense adversity.
He said: “The 2021 New Year Honours offer us an opportunity to salute their dedication and recognise many who have gone above and beyond in their contribution to our country.
“As we begin a new year and continue to come together to fight this virus, may their service and stories be an inspiration to us all.”
Below are some of the highlights, from famous faces to unsung coronavirus heroes.
Scroll down for a full list at the bottom of the article.
Famous names
Lewis Hamilton
The Formula One star is given a knighthood after previously being overlooked, reportedly due to his tax affairs.
His honour -included in the overseas list as he resides in Monaco -comes after a campaign by Motorsport UK, with chairman David Richards saying the driver’s tax status had been “totally misunderstood”.
The 35-year-old has had a bumper year after equalling Michael Schumacher’s record with a seventh Formula One title and scooping Sports Personality of the Year for the second time.
He credited the Black Lives Matter movement for giving him new focus, telling the BBC on Boxing Day: “It was a different drive than what I’ve had in me in the past, to get to the end of those races first so that I could utilise that platform for Black Lives Matter and shine the light as bright as possible.”
Sheila Hancock
Actress Sheila Hancock joked she felt “slightly miscast” on becoming a Dame.
The 87-year-old, who was married to actor John Thaw before his death in 2002, has been recognised for services to drama and charity
She started her career in the theatre before taking on roles in sitcoms including The Rag Trade, Mr Digby Darling and Now, Take My Wife.
In 1972 she landed her own series, But Seriously, It's Sheila Hancock.
She has also campaigned extensively for improving education, especially for children from poorer backgrounds.
She quipped: “I’ve never felt myself this sort of person. It just doesn’t happen to people like me.
“I feel I may be lowering the tone.”
Lesley Manville
Actress Lesley Manville started out on Emmerdale in the 1970s before going on to receive an Oscar nomination for 2017's Phantom Thread.
The 64-year-old has been made a CBE in the New Year Honours list for services to drama and charity.
Known for her association with director Mike Leigh, she has starred in his films High Hopes, Secrets & Lies, Topsy-Turvy, Vera Drake, Mr Turner, All Or Nothing and Another Year.
Her starring role in the BBC comedy Mum brought further acclaim and she will replace Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret in the final two seasons of The Crown
Sally Dynevor
Coronation Street stalwart Sally Dynevor said she was “still in shock” after getting the news she would become an MBE.
She has played Sally Webster on the soap since 1986.
The 57-year-old said: "I am humbled, grateful and very proud to have received this honour. I am still in shock.
"I didn't believe it was real when I first found out earlier this month that I was to be given an MBE. Keeping it a secret has been so difficult.
"During the 60th anniversary of Coronation Street I was reminded daily of my time on the show -the young girl in those scenes 35 years ago could only have dreamed of the incredible things that were going to happen in the coming years.
Nina Wadia
Former EastEnders star Nina Wadia thought her friends were winding her up when she was told she was being made an OBE.
Wadia, who found fame on acclaimed sketch show Goodness Gracious Me before landing a role on the BBC soap, has been recognised for services to entertainment and charity.
She got the news on her 52nd birthday this month but thought she was being pranked.
She said: "Now it's sort of sunk in, I genuinely am still finding it hard to believe.
"I'm very excited of course, I feel it's a huge, huge honour that this has come my way.
"It's made my last 30 years of my career, all the hard times, feel worthwhile."
Toby Jones
Award-winning actor Toby Jones has racked up credits ranging from Sherlock to the Harry Potter films.
The 54-year-old won the best male comedy Bafta in 2018 for his role in the BBC series Detectorists -an unlikely hit about the lives of two metal detecting enthusiasts.
Craig David
In music, Noughties garage star Craig David is recognised with an MBE after reinventing himself.
His debut album Born To Do It went straight to the top of the charts in 2000 but he struggled to find success with follow up records.
However his 2016 album Following My Intuition returned to number one, leading to renewed success and a slot on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage.
Unsung coronavirus heroes
The pilot offering respite to NHS workers
Pilot Captain Emma Henderson becomes an MBE for setting up first class lounge experiences in hospitals for exhausted NHS workers, staffed by furloughed airline staff.
She said: “We were just there to wrap our arms around the NHS, provide an extra warm blanket if you like in the storm.”
The scheme, known as Project Wingman, was rolled out to 80 NHS hospitals.
She said she was humbled when friends told her the first time their daughter had been able to finish a shift as a doctor without crying was when she used the space at her hospital.
The retired police chief marshaling volunteers
Special Chief Officer Mark Owen is made an MBE after coming out of retirement to lead the coronavirus response in North Wales.
Mr Owen, from Llanynys in Denbighshire, oversaw volunteers delivering prescriptions and food parcels, helping the vulnerable and reassuring the community -and with numbers of special constabulary officers doubling to almost 200 under his watch.
The nurse returning to the frontline
Former palliative care nurse Catherine Fitzsimmons receives a BEM after being one of the first to come out of retirement to help in hospitals in Greater Manchester,
“I found younger members of the teams were really, really struggling with communication, with PPE, with change of policy, with visitors not being allowed in to see their families,” she said.
The housing advisor stuck abroad
Nadeem Khan, a housing adviser for Shelter, also receives a BEM for tirelessly helping people from his laptop on a roof in Lahore after getting stuck in Pakistan at the start of the pandemic.
He often battled with power cuts and poor signal, hitching lifts with neighbours to shopping malls to continue with his work.
He said: “I feel really humbled to have played a frontline role in helping people keep safe in what’s been a really difficult year. Having access to a safe home has never been more important.”
The 106-year-old volunteer
Anne Baker, 106, is the oldest person to receive an honour since records began. She has been made an MBE for dedicating decades of her life to fundraising for the NSPCC.
Describing it as a “great surprise and a great honour”, she said: “I’ve just been helping the NSPCC for about 50 years -I always have the party in my garden which normally makes about £1,000 a year, which is lovely.”
104 year old Ruth Saunders also received an MBE for walking a marathon to raise money for Thames Valley Air Ambulance.
The youngest recipient is Samah Khalil, 20, who receives a BEM for her work as Oldham’s Youth Mayor.
Political appointments
Top Conservative Geoffrey Cox – one of Parliament’s biggest earners outside Westminster – is made a Sir.
Once dubbed “Tory Gandalf” for his booming voice, the former Attorney General is knighted in the New Year Honours.
Sir Geoffrey gave up his work as a top-earning QC on being appointed to Cabinet in 2018 -which had previously made him Westminster’s highest paid MP.
He managed to rake in nearly £33,000 in outside earnings on top of his MPs salary in just two weeks after being sacked in Boris Johnson’s February reshuffle.
He returned to work as a barrister on March 1, squeezing in two weeks of work before the first lockdown.
According to the Register of Member’s Interests, he had done 35 hours of work by March 13 at a rate of nearly £1,000 per hour.
In September, he declared earnings of £468,000 per year plus VAT for 48 hours work a month as Consultant Global Counsel for the law firm Withers.
Sir Geoffrey made headlines in 2015 when it emerged he had tried to claim 49p for milk before his demand was knocked back by the Parliamentary expenses watchdog.
The same year he stood down as the chair of Westminster’s cross-party standards committee, after failing to declare more than £400,000 in outside earnings.
He was later ordered to apologise in the Commons for failing to declare the sum within the 28-day time period.
Sir Geoffrey also stoked controversy after advising the Government that it was legal to prorogue Parliament last year, which was later overturned by the Supreme Court.
He received the honour for his work as a dedicated constituency MP, promoting farming, fishing and the environment, and for his distinguished legal career.
Other political honourees include Tory aide...
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