Blitz Bureau
Former England football manager Gareth Southgate and actor Stephen Fry have both been knighted in a New Year Honours’ list, according to BBC report on December 31.
The list also recognises the stars of the Olympic Games. Keely Hodgkinson, 800m champion who receives an MBE, is one of several medallists to be honoured following the summer games in Paris. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and former West Midlands mayor Andy Street are also awarded knighthoods, while Labour MP Emily Thornberry is made a dame.
Other notable names on the 2025 list include musician Myleene Klass, gardener Alan Titchmarsh, and actresses Carey Mulligan and Sarah Lancashire.
Four former sub postmasters -Lee Castleton, Jo Hamilton, Christopher Head and Seema Misra – have been appointed OBEs for services to justice after taking the Post Office to court over the Horizon IT scandal.
Southgate, now Sir Gareth, is recognised for guiding the England football team to back-to-back Euros finals, while Fry, who becomes Sir Stephen, is cited for his work on mental health awareness and the environment. Sir Stephen said he was “startled and enchanted” after receiving the letter informing him of his knighthood.
“I think the most emotional thing is 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,” he said. “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.”
Before going to the University of Cambridge and starting his career in the arts, Sir Stephen was sent to prison for stealing credit cards and was expelled from several schools. Lancashire, known for roles including a no-nonsense police sergeant in BBC series Happy Valley, said it was an “unexpected delight” to be appointed a CBE for services to drama. Mulligan and Titchmarsh were also appointed CBEs for services to drama and horticulture respectively.
The gardener said it had been a “teary moment” telling his wife Alison and their daughters about the honour, but that he was “thrilled to bits” to be recognised.
Klass, who is an ambassador for the pregnancy and baby loss charity Tommy’s, said she was “over the moon” to be become a MBE for her work on women’s health and miscarriage awareness. “When I think back to how all of this started, it all came from a very dark place,” she said.
