Damian Lewis, Stella McCartney and Rio Ferdinand recognised in Queen's Birthday Honours

1 June 2022, 22:30

Damian Lewis, Stella McCartney and Rio Ferdinand are among the famous faces to be recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours.

Huge names in showbiz, politics and sport have been recognised by the monarch in this year's famous list, with recipients - 1,134 people in total - said to reflect the Queen's "invaluable" qualities ahead of her Platinum Jubilee.

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In showbiz, Homeland actor Damian Lewis has been made a CBE for his services to drama and charity.

The honour recognises the work he and his late wife, actress Helen McCrory, did during the lockdown - raising one million pounds through a campaign to provide food for NHS workers.

People are recognised with a CBE if they have a prominent but lesser role at national level, or a leading role at regional level.

Fashion designer Stella McCartney and broadcaster Clare Balding have also been made CBEs, with a record 51.5% of Queen's Birthday Honours going to women this year.

This is slightly higher than the previous record of 51.2% set in 2015.

Bonnie Tyler, recognisable for her husky voice, said being made an MBE shows that "anyone from any background can become a success" as she was honoured for a career spanning five decades.

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The 70-year-old singer, whose real name is Gaynor Sullivan, has become one of Wales' best known performers for her hits including Total Eclipse Of The Heart, Holding Out For A Hero and It's A Heartache.

Author Ian Rankin receives a knighthood for his services to literature and charity, along with MPs Jeremy Wright and Stephen Timms, national medical director at NHS England and NHS Improvement Professor Stephen Powis, and Police Scotland Chief Constable Iain Livingstone.

Euan Blair, the son of former prime minister Sir Tony Blair, has also been awarded an MBE for his services to education.

He founded the tech education start-up Multiverse, which matches young people with apprenticeship routes into work.

Mr Blair said it's a "real honour" to receive the award.

MBEs are also served up to Masterchef duo John Torode and Gregg Wallace for services to food and charity.

Mr Torode said: "I am truly thrilled, humbled and very grateful and I'd like to thank those who nominated me for this great honour of an MBE."

And his co-star Mr Wallace said: "From a council estate in Peckham to being recognised by the Queen is for me something akin to a fairytale story. I am incredibly, incredibly proud."

In the sporting world, ex-Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has been awarded an OBE for his activism and charity work.

The 43-year-old won 81 England caps and six Premier League titles - and helped United to Champions League success in 2008.

Current players Gareth Bale and James Milner received MBEs for their services to football and charity.

Bale, whose contract with Real Madrid comes to an end this summer, became the first UK player to win the Champions League on five occasions when Real beat Liverpool in Paris on Saturday.

While Liverpool midfielder James Milner, 36, was part of the Reds squad which won the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

Eve Muirhead, of Great Britain's women's curling side, will be made an OBE after helping the country to top the podium in the Winter Olympics in February.

Her teammates Jennifer Dodds, Hailey Duff, Mili Smith and Victoria Wright become MBEs along with coach David Murdoch.

The youngest recipients of this year's Queen's Birthday Honours are eleven-year-old twins from Warrington.

Elena and Ruben Evans-Guillen have been awarded BEMs for raising £46,000 for charity.

Boris Johnson paid tribute to all of this year's winners, saying their "stories of courage and compassion are an inspiration to us all".

"This historic Platinum Jubilee is not only a celebration of the monarch but of the qualities she possesses," he said.

"The honours she confers this week reflect many of those qualities that have been invaluable from all different walks of life and to communities across the UK.

"I pay tribute to all of this year's winners. Their stories of courage and compassion are an inspiration to us all."