Matt Lucas to receive OBE in New Year Honours
Matt Lucas is to receive an OBE in the King's New Year's Honours. A string of stars are set to receive a range of awards as the nation rings in the beginning of 2026.
Celebrities and sports stars are set to be showered with a range of special titles - including Olympic legends Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, who are set to be made a Dame and a Knight respectively. And 51-year-old comedy performer Matt will be called up to receive a title of his own following decades of work as an entertainer.
The comedy star said he had to read a letter informing him he had been made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) “a couple of times” as he thought it might be a prank. He will receive the gong alongside numerous other stars and high achievers as His Majesty King Charles III unveils his full list of title winners.
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Speaking to Press Association, Matt said: "I’m still in shock. It hasn’t sunk in yet. I really wasn’t expecting it at any point. About a month ago. I returned home very late from a work trip and was opening some post. I was half-asleep. I had to read the letter a couple of times, and then I thought it might have been a prank, so I had to really scrutinise it."
Matt's comedy partner David Walliams was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to the arts and his charity work - which includes long‑distance swims for Sport Relief that raised millions of pounds
They duo weren't the only two seemingly at odds on the list. Location Location Location's Phil Spencer was listed to receive an MBE but not his TV partner Kirstie Allsop. “I’m hugely honoured and humbled. I mean, it’s a hell of a thing," said Phil who was recognised for his work as a patron of homeless charity St Mungo's.
Paul Chuckle of the Chuckle Brothers was also thrilled to receive an MBE for his services to charity work. The honour comes seven years after Paul loved his beloved brother Barry, who died of bone cancer in 2017.
Jayne Torville and Christopher Dean were recognised for their voluntary work, in the New Year's Honours list. The ice-skating duo are best known for their winning performance at the 1984 winter Olympics.
The pair have received one of the highest accolades with a Damehood and a Knighthood
In recent months, David's life has taken a turn. While once revered as a bright burning star in the UK comedy world, David has seen his popularity and success implode following a string of scandals. First, he lost his lucrative job on BGT after recordings emerged of the father-of-one making derogatory and sexually explicit comments about some of the contestants that appeared on stage to follow their dream.
This year, he was dropped by his publisher following allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards young women. A spokesperson for David previously hit back at the allegations and slammed HarperCollins for the way they allegedly terminated their business with him.
They claimed the Come Fly With Me star had "never been informed of any allegations raised against him" by his publisher - and added: "He was not party to any investigation or given any opportunity to answer questions. David strongly denies that he has behaved inappropriately and is taking legal advice."
However, HarperCollins stated they took employee wellbeing "extremely seriously" with "processes in place for reporting and investigating concerns". The company added: "To respect the privacy of individuals, we do not comment on internal matters."
TV fans were aghast over the festive season when David featured in a Christmas special episode of Would I Lie To You? which aired on Boxing Day. He featured in the episode alongside Call The Midwife actress Helen George, BBC radio DJ Swarzy Shire and Jools Holland, with team captains David Mitchell and Lee Mack - while Rob Brydon took his chair as host of the show.
The episode caused further controversy over the fact that the comedian allegedly performed a Nazi salute twice over the course of the filming of the episode, which was recorded in June. The BBC previously defended their choice to air the episode despite the growing public disapproval of the star.
A spokesperson for the corporation said in a pre-Christmas statement: "While we're not making any changes to the festive schedules, we have no future projects directly involving David Walliams." They had also previously apologised over the fading star's use of a Nazi salute during the recording process of the Christmas special.
The BBC and the production company issued a statement to confirm that it was immediately acknowledged during the recording that this segment would not be broadcast under any circumstances. A statement at the time read: "The use of such an offensive gesture is completely unacceptable and we apologise to all at the recording for the offence caused".
And in a further shock move by the BBC, they opted to air two short film adaptations of two of the author's books – Mr Stink and The Boy In The Dress. Both adaptations, based on the books by David, aired via the CBBC channel.
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