Admirable...Queen and David top poll
SIR David Attenborough and the Queen are the UK’s most admired man and woman this year.
The Queen retained her number one position for the third year in a row, while broadcaster and naturalist Sir David climbed to the top of the table for the first time.
Members of the Royal Family feature heavily on the men’s list, compiled by pollsters YouGov.
Soon-to-be wed Prince Harry took fourth place and the Duke of Cambridge and his grandfather the Duke of Edinburgh were placed seventh and ninth respectively.
Former US President Barack Obama came second on the male list, while British physicist Stephen Hawking, who died aged 76 last month, was in third place, having being number one in previous years.
Mr Obama’s wife Michelle was the second-placed woman, while Oscarwinning British actress Dame Judi Dench was third. Fifth was Nobel peace prize winner Malala Yousafzai, 20, who was shot by the Taliban for backing girls’ education. The Duchess of Cambridge was ninth.
Jumped
Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel was the most admired female political figure on the list, coming seventh.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Prime Minister Theresa May were 10th and 11th respectively.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was fifth place on the men’s list, making him Britain’s most admired politician.
Other notable figures who featured in the survey of 2,143 Britons included Harry Potter author JK Rowling, gaining a fourth place, ex-soccer star David Beckham and Pope Francis.
Meanwhile, in the poll of adults across the world, Microsoft boss Bill Gates and actress Angelina Jolie came top, narrowly beating the Obamas.
Mr Gates has topped the list every year, while Tomb Raider star Anelina has taken the top spot since a separate “most-admired female” poll was introduced in 2015.
Entertainers dominated the female top 20, with 14 of the most admired women classing their main profession as either actresses, singers or TV presenters.
By contrast, the male top 20 was mostly made up of men from political, business and sporting backgrounds.
US President Donald Trump was way down the list, at 17.
Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin was 11 spots higher, in sixth place.
Overall, it was bad news for Mr Trump – he even fell short in the poll of Americans.
He was forced to settle for second place behind the man he replaced as president, Mr Obama.
Among those whose ranking rose significantly since last year’s list were US pop star Taylor Swift, who jumped from 14th in 2016 to ninth.
Harry Potter star Emma Watson, who came 13th in 2016, leapt seven spots to sixth place this year.
Emma joins the Queen as one of only two Britons to be featured in the overall worldwide top 10.