David Beckham and Gary Oldman receive British knighthoods in king’s birthday honours

Actor Gary Oldman and Roger Daltrey, frontman of the Who, have received British knighthoods in King Charles’ annual birthday honours list, which also confirms there is a knighthood for David Beckham, while the Angel of the North sculptor, Antony Gormley, received the top gong of Companion of Honour.

Pat Barker, the author of The Regeneration Trilogy, Penny Mordaunt, the former British secretary of defence, and the ceramicist Emma Bridgewater are among those to be made dames.

Beckham, who has been honoured for services to sport and charity, said he “never could have imagined I would receive such a truly humbling honour”. He added: “It will take a little while for the news to sink in but I’m immensely proud and it’s such an emotional moment for me to share with my family.”

He had been on the verge of receiving a knighthood in 2014 but HM Revenue and Customs placed a red flag on his nomination due to his involvement in an alleged tax avoidance scheme, according to previous reports. In 2021 it was reported that his finances had been cleared and he was now eligible.

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Daltrey, who launched the Teenage Cancer Trust’s Royal Albert Hall concerts, said he felt “very humbled” to be made a knight for services to charity and music and would be celebrating with “a bottle of plonk”. He said: “It’s a dream come true for me, but it’s especially a dream because the charity means so much.”

Oldman, who won an Oscar for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, is recognised for services to drama.

Barker said the bedrock of the awards were those who devoted long hours for free to what they believed in for the benefit of others, “and knights and dames are just cherries on the top of that cake. I am happy to be a cherry”.

Gormley becomes a Companion of Honour alongside the astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell. There are only 65 Companions of Honour at any one time.

The West End performer Elaine Paige said she was in “complete disbelief” at becoming a dame. Rufus Norris, a former director of Britain’s National Theatre, is made a knight and said it was an “extraordinary privilege”.

Gary Oldman was recognised for services to drama. Photograph: Chris Jackson/PA

Those to receive CBEs (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) include the broadcaster Martha Kearney, the actor Jane Lapotaire, and the former tennis player Virginia Wade. The former Guardian economics editor Larry Elliott is awarded a CBE for services to economics journalism.

The Olympian Alistair Brownlee receives an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) for services to triathlon and charity. Other OBEs include the former EastEnders actor Anita Dobson for charitable fundraising, the Bafta award-winning actor Samantha Morton, the television executive Stephen Lambert and the cricketer Devon Malcolm, for services to cricket and diversity in cricket.

The top two English darts players, Luke Littler and Luke Humphries, each score an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire). So do Claudia Winkleman and her Strictly colleague Tess Daly. Winkleman said: “I am ridiculously lucky and will celebrate with Tess by doing a paso doble.” Daly said: “I didn’t see it coming, and it almost didn’t happen, because the letter went to the wrong address.” Luckily, she said, “it ended well”.

Georgia Harrison, who has starred in The Only Way is Essex and Love Island, receives an MBE for her campaigning on violence against women and girls after becoming a victim of “revenge porn”. “It means the world to have this kind of recognition, not just for me but for all the survivors who’ve been through what I have,” Harrison said.

[ Brianna Parkins: Who wants a dusty British knighthood when Ireland can make its own honours systemOpens in new window ]

Tracy-Ann Oberman, who has also been in EastEnders and played Auntie Val in the Channel 4 sitcom Friday Night Dinner, has been made an MBE for services to Holocaust education and combating anti-Semitism.

Of the 1,215 people receiving an award, 48 per cent are women and 11 per cent are from minority ethnic backgrounds. – Guardian

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