Knighthood tops bumper year for F1 ace Hamilton
SEVEN-TIME Formula One world title winner Lewis Hamilton has been given a knighthood in the New Year honours list following pressure on the Prime Minister to approve the accolade.
Despite being one of the UK’s most successful sportsmen, Hamilton had previously been repeatedly overlooked, reportedly due to his tax affairs.
The honour rounds off a bumper year for Hamilton which saw him equal Michael Schumacher’s record with a seventh Formula One title and being voted Sports Personality of the Year for a second time.
Elsewhere, continuing the trend set by the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, there are a slew of gongs for those seeking solutions to the problems posed by coronavirus as the pandemic drags on.
Veteran footballers Jimmy Greaves and Ron Flowers are also made MBEs after a long-running campaign to ensure every surviving member of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning squad gets an honour.
There is a damehood for actress Sheila Hancock, who made her name in the West End before becoming a perennial figure on British TV screens.
Commenting on the award, Hancock joked she felt “slightly miscast”.
“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. I feel slightly miscast, let’s put it that way,” she said.
People striving to end issues such as homelessness, domestic abuse and social isolation also receive awards, including Kim Leadbeater – sister of murdered MP Jo Cox – who becomes an MBE.
The honours system, in which most recipients receive titles linked to the Order of the British Empire, has faced renewed criticism for allegedly glorifying Britain’s colonial past.
Earlier this month shadow education secretary Kate Green, herself an OBE, branded the wording of the honour “offensive and divisive”.
Many people looking out for the health and wellbeing of NHS staff during the pandemic received recognition for their efforts.
One example is Greta Westwood, chief executive of nursing charity the Florence Nightingale Foundation, who is recognised with a CBE for her work highlighting the mental health toll of the pandemic on frontline workers.
In music, star of the ’90s UK garage scene turned music producer and DJ Craig David is recognised with an MBE.
Other film and TV stars to make the cut include former EastEnders actress Nina Wadia and Coronation Street stalwart Sally Dynevor.
Wadia, who rose to fame in sketch show Goodness Gracious Me, is made an OBE, while Dynevor, who has played Sally Webster on the soap since 1986, becomes an MBE.
Academy Award nominee Lesley Manville is made a CBE for services to drama and charity, and actor Toby Jones, who counts the Harry Potter franchise among his many film credits, becomes an OBE.
One of the big names from behind the scenes to receive a gong is two-time Oscar-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins, who is based in California and is knighted in the overseas list.
He has received 15 Academy Award nominations over the course of his career, winning for the films Blade Runner 2049 and 1917.
Screenwriter and producer Jed Mercurio, who held the nation spellbound with TV hits including Line Of Duty and Bodyguard, is made an OBE.
From the world of fashion, groundbreaking make-up artist Pat McGrath becomes a dame for services to the fashion and beauty industry and to diversity.
Ms McGrath said she was “truly delighted and humbled” to receive the honour, crediting her mother for inspiring her love of beauty and fashion.