The actors Idris Elba and Meera Syal have been made a knight and a dame in the new year honours list, with top awards also going to the ice skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.
The former head of NHS England, Amanda Pritchard, was also made a dame and there were knighthoods for Patrick McCabe, a former UN official responsible for clearing unexploded bombs in Gaza; Tristram Hunt, the former Labour MP and now director of the V&A, for services to museums; and Roy Clarke, creator of the sitcoms Last of the Summer Wine, Open All Hours and Keeping Up Appearances.
Elba, known for his roles in The Wire and Luther, was knighted for services to young people in recognition of his charity work at the Elba Hope Foundation, which supports community empowerment, education, youth advocacy and sustainable development.
He said: “I hope we can do more to draw attention to the importance of sustained, practical support for young people and to the responsibility we all share to help them find an alternative to violence.”
Pritchard said her honour belonged to those at the frontline of NHS services.
Meera Syal, the comedian, writer and actor, known for The Kumars at No 42, becomes a dame for services to literature, drama and charity.
Torvill and Dean, who won Olympic gold at the 1984 Winter Games, were made a dame and knight for services to ice skating and to voluntary service. The pair, who later became the faces of the celebrity competition show Dancing on Ice, said the honour was “wonderful and humbling at the same time”.
Dean said: “It’s been mentioned by fans and supporters, but it’s something that we never realised might happen.”
Torvill said the timing of the honours seemed “perfect” after the pair danced on the ice for the last time this year. She said: “It was a big thing for us to mark our career before retirement, and then receiving this award at the end of the year, it’s just finished everything. It’s perfect.”
England’s victorious women’s football and rugby teams feature prominently this year. Sarina Wiegman, the Dutchwoman who has twice won the Euros as England’s football coach, has been made an honorary dame. She said: “When I first arrived in England, I could never have imagined the respect and warmth I’ve experienced from the English people. I deeply thank the fans for their support.”
Her captain, Leah Williamson, was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). And there were Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) honours for Alex Greenwood, Keira Walsh, Georgia Stanway and Ella Toone, who were all part of the side that beat Spain in the final in Basel, Switzerland.
Members of the England Women’s Rugby World Cup-winning squad were also strongly represented, with Marlie Packer and Zoe Aldcroft becoming Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), along with their coach, John Mitchell.
Their teammates Ellie Kildunne, Sadia Kabeya and Megan Jones were made MBEs after the Red Roses defeated Canada in the final in September.
Paula Radcliffe, a three-time London Marathon winner who held the women’s marathon world record for 16 years, was made an OBE.
The oldest victim of the Horizon IT scandal, Betty Brown, 92, said it was a “shocker” to be made an OBE for seeking justice for post office operators. Speaking to the Guardian before the honour was announced, Brown called on King Charles to apologise for what had been done to the post office operators in the name of the crown. She said: “An apology from the king would really vindicate what we have gone through.”
She said much post office work was done under the name of the crown and that she and others were wrongly convicted by the crown.
Mervyn Kersh, 101, a D-day veteran, said it was a “wonderful thing” to be awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to Holocaust remembrance and education.
The oldest on the list was 102-year-old John Hearn, who receives a BEM for services to judo and to the community in north-east England.
The youngest recipient this year was 20-year-old Toby Roberts, an Olympic gold medal-winning sports climber, who becomes an MBE.
This year’s list included two sets of twins. Ryan Appleton and Dean Appleton, from Colchester, received BEMs for their roles as community first responders. And Sonia Dixon and her twin, Adrienne Campbell, got the same honour for their work together as VIP liaison officers at London Heathrow airport.
There were also OBEs for the former director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts, Ekow Eshun, and the architectural historian Dan Cruickshank.
Other notable recipients of CBEs included the former Spurs chair Daniel Levy and the composer Max Richter. MBEs went to the comedian and musician Bill Bailey, the poet Andrew McMillan, the Wicked star Cynthia Erivo and the celebrity chef Marcus Wareing.
The prime minister, Keir Starmer, said: “This year’s honours list celebrates the very best of Britain – people who put the common good ahead of themselves to strengthen communities and change lives. Their quiet dedication speaks to the decent, compassionate country we are proud to be. On behalf of the whole nation, thank you – and congratulations to everyone recognised today.”
