News of his New Year Honour is leaked

Ronnie Corbett is to be made a CBE in the New Year Honours, it has been reported.

According to The Sun, the 81-year-old will be among those on the list to receive gongs from the Queen, which is officially released tomorrow.

The 5ft 1in comic already has the OBE, which he was given with Ronnie Barker in 1978, when they were are he peak of their success. Barker died in 2005.

As well as his long career in showbusiness – which included The Frost Report, 16 years of The Two Ronnies, and seven years of the sitcom Sorry! – Corbett does charity work for RNLI lifeboats, the HFT charity for people with learning disabilities, Comic Relief and others.

Earlier this year Corbett questioned why so many showbiz stars – including Barker and Tommy Cooper – had never been given knighthoods, saying: ‘There are many who did not live to receive one.’

Although the New Year Honours list is not revealed until tomorrow, newspapers are given advanced copies – which are supposed to be under strict embargo to ensure the news comes out all at the same time.

Published: 30 Dec 2011