Only Fools creator also honoured

Eric Sykes has been made a CBE in the New Year’s Honours list.

The 81-year-old comedian’s award comes after MPs tabled a Commons motion earlier this year for further recognition.

The comic, who is deaf and almost blind, was made an OBE in 1996.

Though best known for his TV comedy Sykes, which ran for 19 years from 1960, his comedy work stretches from writing for the The Goons and Frankie Howerd on the radio to appearing opposite Nicole Kidman in the 2001 movie thriller The Others, and making a guest appearance in Holby City only recently.

He once said he's glad he is losing his sight so he doesn't have to endure television.

He said: "Watching television is worse than not being able to see. Television is very pathetic now. It's all run by accountants who couldn't spot good comedy if it dropped in front of them.

Sykes has called comedy "a calling", saying: "You don't decide to be a comedian. I don't ever stop. Even when I'm in the bath or shaving, my brain is going like an express train, thinking up funny things."

Also today, sitcom star Geoffrey Palmer, best known for his roles in Butterflies and The Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin, and Only Fools and Horses creator John Sullivan have been made OBEs.

The king of the dropped trouser farce, Ray Cooney, is also made an OBE.

Published: 31 Dec 2004