Honour for comedy veteran

Comedy veteran Barry Cryer has been made an OBE in the Queen's birthday honours.

The 65-year-old first came to prominance in Danny La Rue's famous Windmill Theatre cabarets in the Sixties.

That let to work on The Frost Report, alongside the future Monty Pyhton team, Marty Feldman and - of course - David Frost.

He has since written for pretty much every comedy great - including Kenny Everett, Morecambe and Wise, Dave Allen, Frankie Howerd , Bruce Forsyth, Tommy Cooper, Stanley Baxter, Dick Emery, and Bob Hope.

These days he is best known as a regular panelist on the radio panel game I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.

He told the BBC: "Tony Hancock said to me years ago: 'I swear audiences meet before a show to decide what sort of audience they're going to be'.

"I think that's my theory about why comedians don't retire, they go on and on and on."

Published: 16 Jun 2001