RAY CONNOLLY’S BAND OF HEROES
1. John Cleese, still funny in Fawlty Towers
2. Kate Winslet, silly awards speeches but luminous onscreen 3. Peter Kay, never unfunny 4. Michael Palin, affable TV traveller
5. Helena Bonham-carter, brilliant actress 6. Mark Knopfler, for the Local Hero theme 7. Tim Rice, for his Dreamcoat lyrics 8. Colin Firth, best British actor in years 9. Posy Simmonds, cartoonist for her witty graphic novels
10. Peter Blake, for starting the whole thing off David Nicholls, author of One Day 11. 12. David Puttnam, brilliant film producer
13. Kirsty Young, inquisitor on Desert Island Discs Olivia Colman, vicar’s wife in TV’S Rev 14. 15. David Dimbleby, for telling Cabinet Ministers to shut up Mick Jagger, still jumping, still flash 16. 17. Nick Park, gave us Wallace & Gromit 18. David Attenborough, grand old man of British TV
19. Richard Curtis, for Blackadder, Four Weddings etal 20. Eddie Izzard, for his charity runs 21. Antony Gormley, for his sea statues 22. Tim Berners-lee, the father of the internet
23. Ranulph Fiennes, for all of those dotty expeditions 24. Alan Bennett, incomparable writer 25. Richard Attenborough, a one-man British film industry
26. Michael Morpurgo, the creator of War Horse 27. Robert Harris, a terrific storyteller 28. Sir Elton John, for Your Song and many more
29. Mark Rylance, for his role as Rooster in the play Jerusalem
30. Peter Bowles, from To The Manor Born to Moliere 31. John Motson, soccer enthusiast 32. Cliff Richard, better than some admit 33. Emma Thompson, for Nanny Mcphee 34. author of Atonement Ian J.K. Mcewan, Rowling, 35. gave magic to children 36. and Coldplay Dusty Chris Martin, Springfield, 37. pop’s best voice
38. Sue Townsend, millions loved her Adrian Mole character
39. Melvyn Bragg, for getting the arts on ITV
40. David Beckham, even though he played for Man Utd
41. Rod Stewart, for the voice and songs 42. Brian Cox, he made physics sexy 43. Nick Hornby, writer of High Fidelity 44. Helen Fielding, for Bridget Jones
45. Paul Whitehouse, funny in many accents 46. Mary Portas, shopping queen 47. Kate Middleton, the nation’s sweetheart
48. John Barnes, the most articulate ex-footballer
49. The Queen, beyond class, politics and generations
50. George Harrison, so many chords of fame 51. Paul Mccartney, all those songs 52. John Lennon, always his own man 53. Ringo Starr, the chosen Beatle 54. Rowan Atkinson, perfect as Blackadder
55. Terry Pratchett, a brave, inventive author 56. Gareth Malone, choir hero 57. Lewis Hamilton, that youthful charisma!
58. The Tardis, as reinvented by Russell T. Davies 59. Trevor Phillips, the voice of reason 60. Keith Richards, those guitar riffs
61. Jeremy Paxman, for his pantomime 62. George Martin, Beatles producer
63. Camila Batmanghelidjh, for Kids Company 64. Harry Enfield, for Kevin and Perry 65. A Boris bicycle, for changing Londoners’ habits
66. The Gruffalo, Julia Donaldson’s monster creation 67. Dido, the singer for one great album 68. P.D. James, grande dame of crime-writing.
69. Jennifer Saunders, for Ab Fab, darling!
70. Stephen Hawking, brilliant and courageous astro-physicist
71. Jamie Oliver, for his healthy eating campaign
72. Stella Mccartney, despite those blue Olympic team outfits
73. Tilda Swinton, unnerving actress