Fry knighted in New Year honours

Stephen Fry has been knighted in the New Year honours.

The comic and author has been recognised for services to mental health awareness, the environment and charity.

He has been president of mental health charity Mind since 2011 and also supported the conservation group Fauna and Flora International.

The former QI host said he was ‘startled and enchanted’ to receive a letter ‘out of the blue’  informing him of the knighthood, which made him ‘very proud’.

He said: ‘When you are recognised it does make you feel a bit "crikey", but I think the most emotional thing is that when I think of my childhood, and my dreadful unhappiness and misery and stupidity, and everything that led to so many failures as a child.

‘And for my parents, really, what a disaster. I mean every time the phone rang, they thought, "Oh, God, what has Stephen done now". It was a sort of joke in the family.’

Of his work with mental health he said: ‘It’s an incredibly important field and everybody from the King and his children have made it part of their work to talk about it, and other people in the public eye have been open about it.’

Sir Stephen, 67, has long links to the King – who once spent New Year’s Eve at the Blackadder actor’s Norfolk home when he was still married to Diana.

London mayor Sadiq Khan and football manager Gareth Southgate are also among those knighted today.

Doctor Who legend Tom Baker, 90, received an MBE for his six-decade TV  career, which included providing the voiceover for Little Britain.

 Carey Mulligan, 39, was  made a CBE for  services to drama; singer Myleene Klass  receives an MBE for services to women’s health, miscarriage awareness and to charity; Alan Titchmarsh has been awarded a CBE  for his services to horticulture and Happy Valley’s Sarah Lancashire was also made CBE.

Published: 31 Dec 2024