Veteran broadcaster Moira Stuart and Spandau Ballet’s Tony Hadley will be among a number of people recognised with royal honours today.
Stuart, 73, who was the first African-Caribbean woman to read the news on British television, has been made a CBE for services to media. She will collect her award at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
Stuart became a Radio 4 newsreader and programme presenter after beginning her BBC career as a radio production assistant in the 1970s. She enjoyed a history-making career in radio and television at the BBC, spanning nearly five decades, after returning to read the news bulletins on Chris Evans’ BBC Radio 2 breakfast in 2010.
Born in Hampstead, London, her TV presenting roles have included The Andrew Marr Show, BBC Breakfast and News After Noon. The broadcaster joined Classic FM in 2019 to become the station’s morning newsreader, and presents Moira Stuart Meets…, featuring interviews with famous faces in arts, politics, sport and entertainment.
Stuart has also presented documentaries including In Search Of Wilberforce for BBC Television and BBC World Service documentary The Unknown Soldier. She received an honorary doctorate from the University of Edinburgh in 2006 and an honorary doctorate from Canterbury Christ Church University in January 2013.
Stuart has won numerous awards, including best newscaster of the year in the 1988 TV and Radio Industries Club Awards and the Women of Achievement television personality prize a year later. More recently, she received the Harvey Lee award for outstanding contribution to broadcasting at the Broadcasting Press Guild (BPG) ceremony in March 2020.
Meanwhile, singer Tony Hadley, known for Spandau Ballet’s 1980s hits such as Gold and True, is also expected at the palace. He was made an MBE for charitable services to Shooting Star Chase Children’s Hospice Care.
Also at Thursday’s ceremony will be Coronation Street actress Cherylee Houston, who has been made an MBE for services to drama and to people with disabilities. Houston plays Izzy Armstrong in the ITV soap.
Others picking up awards include cookery author Claudia Roden who has been made a CBE for services to food culture and co-founder of The River Cafe Lady Rogers who has been made a CBE for services to the culinary arts and charity. Olympic swimmer Freya Anderson has been made a MBE for services to swimming while Olympic eventer Laura Collett will be picking up the same award for services to equestrianism.
Actor Arinze Kene is also set to be recognised at the central London ceremony, as he collects an MBE for services to drama and screenwriting. Mr Kene has starred as musician Bob Marley in the West End musical Get Up, Stand Up, and gained widespread critical acclaim for his autobiographical one-man play Misty.
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