King’s Birthday Honours list: Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon, artist Tracey Emin and actress Imelda Staunton among big names awarded

Published

6 days ago

June 15, 2024

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The King’s Birthday Honours list has been published, with leading artist Tracey Emin, pop icon Simon Le Bon and stage and screen actress Imelda Staunton among those recognised.

Other well-known faces being given honours include Strictly Come Dancing professional Amy Dowden, singer Heather Small and actor Alex Jennings, with the highest award, Companion of Honour, being given to former prime minister Gordon Brown for services to public and charitable services both in the UK and abroad.

Post Office victims campaigner Alan Bates is also being honoured with a knighthood for his services to justice.

Mr Bates, who inspired ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, founded the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance and helped bring the Horizon IT scandal to light, while supporting the hundreds of sub-postmasters who were prosecuted for theft and false accounting, which turned out to be due to errors in the accounting software.

In total 1,000 people from across the UK have received honours, for the “immeasurable impact” they have had on the lives of people across the country, the Cabinet Office said.

Former Labour leader Mr Brown said he felt “slightly embarrassed” about being made a Companion of Honour, which is limited to just 65 people at any one time, adding that he preferred to recognise “unsung, local heroes”.

Receiving a knighthood is Olympic cyclist Mark Cavendish, 39, for services to cycling and to charity work.

The honour comes weeks after the cyclist achieved his 164th career victory, confirming him as one of the most successful men’s sprint cyclists of all time, the Isle of Man government – where Cavendish is from – said.

Historian Professor Niall Ferguson, 60, who first came to the attention of many in the UK with the hit 2003 Channel 4 series Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World, and a best-selling book of the same name, is also receiving a knighthood.

British artist Emin, 60, and The Crown actress Staunton, 68, were given damehoods for services to art and drama and charity respectively.

Reacting to receiving the award, Emin, who is known for her autobiographical and confessional artwork, said: “Dame Tracey has a good ring to it. I’m very, very happy.” While Staunton said she felt “genuinely humbled” to be recognised.

English designer Anya Hindmarch, 56, who is best known for creating clothes and accessories using logos of well-known brands including Pringles, Kelloggs and Sprite, was also made a dame for services to fashion and business.

Commander of the British Empire (CBEs) are the highest second class honour, bestowed to individuals for playing a leading role in regional affairs through achievement or service to the community, or for making a “highly distinguished, innovative contribution” in a particular activity.

Scottish writer, director and performer Armando Iannucci, 60, is one of those receiving the honour for services to film and TV. The 60-year-old is best known for creating political sitcom The Thick Of It in 2005 and later HBO’s political satire Veep, for which he won two Emmy Awards.

Also gaining a CBE is actor Alex Jennings, 67 – best known for his portrayal of King Charles in 2006 film The Queen alongside Helen Mirren and more recently as Conservative MP James Arbuthnot in Mr Bates Vs The Post Office – for services to drama.

Meanwhile, lead vocalist and lyricist of new wave band Duran Duran, Simon Le Bon, 65, gets a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to music and charity.

As does Amy Dowden, 33, best known for being one of the professional dancers on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing. She was honoured for her services to fundraising and raising awareness of inflammatory bowel disease having being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease when she was 19.

The dancer is one of the UK ambassadors for charity Crohn’s and Colitis and last year publicly shared her breast cancer journey and subsequent mastectomy.

Fellow Strictly Come Dancing star and former EastEnders actress Rose Ayling Ellis, 29, also receives an MBE for voluntary services to the deaf community.

MBEs mark outstanding achievement or service in and to the community which has delivered “sustained and real impact” and is as an example to others.

Also earning the honour is Countdown’s Susie Dent, 59, for services to literature and language and former Coronation Street and Dinner Ladies actress Shobna Gulati, 57, for services to cultural industries.

Liz Mitchell, the original lead singer of disco group Boney M is another MBE recipient. She is listed under her full name Elizabeth Rebecca Pemberton-Mitchell.

The 71-year-old, whose late father Norman Mitchell, also gained the honour in 2014 for his charitable work, said she “could not believe it” when she was told.

She said: “Everything is so raw with me because my dad just passed and the MBE was so important to him.”

Proud singer Heather Small, 59, also gains an MBE for voluntary and charitable services. The 59-year-old actively supports several charities including Action Breaks Silence, which aims to protect women and girls from all forms of male violence.

Former X Factor contestant Rebecca Ferguson is also being honoured with an MBE for services to the music industry. The 37-year-old came second on the singing contest in 2010 and has since campaigned for the introduction of a regulatory body for the music industry, in a bid to ensure artist welfare.

British actor and stuntman Kiran Shah, 67, best known for his stunt work on The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit film series, has gained an MBE for services to the film industry.

Others honoured from the sporting world include ex-cyclist Chris Boardman and former Liverpool midfielder Graeme Souness who were given CBEs, while former England footballer Karen Carney was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Entertainment

Jane Fonda leads tributes to Hollywood legend Donald Sutherland

Published

3 hours ago

June 21, 2024

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Jane Fonda leads tributes to Hollywood legend Donald Sutherland

Tributes have poured in for actor Donald Sutherland after he died following a long illness.

The 88-year-old was best known for his roles in Ordinary People, The Hunger Games franchise and M*A*S*H.

His son, Kiefer Sutherland, confirmed the news “with a heavy heart” as Oscar-winner Jane Fonda and other stars of the big screen led tributes to the Canadian actor.

“With a heavy heart, I tell you that my father, Donald Sutherland, has passed away.

“I personally think one of the most important actors in the history of film.

“Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that. A life well lived,” the son said of his father.

Among Sutherland’s best-known roles was the detective John Klute, who attempted to protect Fonda’s character Bree Daniels from a killer stalking her.

US actress Fonda shared a black-and-white image of Sutherland from their 1971 hit where she won her Oscar for best actress, and said: “I am heartbroken,”.

The pair dated for a period in 1971 and staged a travelling anti-war roadshow for US soldiers.

Leading politicians like US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also paid tribute after the actor’s passing.

Mr Trudeau called him a “truly great Canadian artist”, after he learned of his death during a news conference relating to a national school food programme.

Mr Biden described Sutherland as a “one-of-a-kind actor who inspired and entertained the world for decades” in a post on X.

Dame Helen Mirren was among the British actors and actresses paying tribute.

She appeared alongside Sutherland in 2017’s The Leisure Seeker, following their 1990 drama Bethune: The Making Of A Hero.

“Donald Sutherland was one of the smartest actors I ever worked with,” Dame Helen said in a statement.

“He had a wonderful enquiring brain and a great knowledge on a wide variety of subjects.

“He combined this great intelligence with a deep sensitivity and with a seriousness about his profession as an actor.

“This all made him into the legend of film that he became.”

Most recently, many will know Sutherland from his role in The Hunger Games franchise where he played dictator President Coriolanus Snow.

The official account for The Hunger Games film called him “the kindest man in the world” who portrayed “the most corrupt, ruthless dictator we’ve ever seen”.

Throughout his career, Sutherland is perhaps best known as the womanising Captain Benjamin Franklin ‘Hawkeye’ Pierce Junior, from the 1970 film version M*A*S*H.

His co-star Elliott Gould, who played the Captain ‘Trapper’ John Francis Xavier McIntyre, called Sutherland a “giant” who was “enormously kind and generous”.

Gould recalled they were both “young fathers” when they worked together and said his death “really profoundly hurts because Donald was like my brother, and a big part of my own career”.

Rob Lowe, known for his role in The West Wing and a number of other movies, said Sutherland was “one of our greatest actors” and that it had been an “honour” to star alongside him on the miniseries Salem’s Lot, in 2004.

“I will never forget his charisma and ability,” Lowe said.

Others, including Elijah Wood, who rose to fame playing Frodo Baggins, paid tribute as well.

Sutherland is survived by his wife Francine Racette, sons Roeg, Rossif, Angus, and Kiefer, daughter Rachel, and four grandchildren.

His agency said a private celebration of his life will be held by the family.

Entertainment

Donald Sutherland, Hunger Games and Kelly’s Heroes actor, dies

Published

12 hours ago

June 20, 2024

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Donald Sutherland, Hunger Games and Kelly's Heroes actor, dies

Donald Sutherland, who appeared in films including The Hunger Games and Kelly’s Heroes, has died at the age of 88.

His agency, CAA, said he died in Miami “after a long illness”.

The Canadian actor won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his performance in the mini-series Citizen X.

In 2017, he received an honorary Oscar.

His son, fellow actor Kiefer Sutherland, said “with a heavy heart” that his father had “passed away”.

“I personally think [he was] one of the most important actors in the history of film,” Kiefer Sutherland posted on X, adding that he was “never daunted by a role – good, bad or ugly”.

“He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that. A life well lived.”

In the Hunger Games franchise, Donald Sutherland played President Snow alongside Jennifer Lawrence.

In Kelly’s Heroes he starred alongside Telly Savalas and Clint Eastwood as Sergeant Oddball – on a mission to steal gold from the Nazis.

“I love to work – I passionately love to work,” Sutherland told US talk show host Charlie Rose in 1998.

“I love to feel my hand fit into the glove of some other character. I feel a huge freedom – time stops for me. I’m not as crazy as I used to be, but I’m still a little crazy.”

His “breakthrough performances” were in 1967 movie The Dirty Dozen and MASH, CAA said.

He also took parts in Robert Redford’s Ordinary People and Oliver Stone’s JFK.

He is survived by his wife Francine Racette, sons Roeg, Rossif, Angus, and Kiefer, daughter Rachel, and four grandchildren.

“A private celebration of his life will be held by the family,” CAA said.

Born in St John, New Brunswick, on the east coast of Canada in July 1935, he was the son of a salesman and a mathematics teacher.

He started university in Toronto as an engineering student but switched to English and started acting in college productions.

Entertainment

Travis Scott arrested for ‘causing a disturbance while drunk and trespassing’

Published

18 hours ago

June 20, 2024

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Travis Scott arrested for 'causing a disturbance while drunk and trespassing'

Rapper Travis Scott has been arrested for “disorderly intoxication and trespassing”, police in the US have said.

Scott, who has two children with Kylie Jenner, was arrested for causing a “disturbance” on a charter boat at the Miami Beach Marina, where he “was drunk, and asked to leave multiple times”, the Miami Beach Police Department said.

Officers were called to the marina at 12.44 am on Thursday morning to reports of a disturbance, according to official records.

The 10-time Grammy Award nominee was reportedly getting off a charter boat when the owner of the boat asked him to leave, 7News Miami said on its website.

The force said officers found Scott, arguably one of the biggest hip-hop acts in the world, “standing by the dock yelling at the vessel occupants”, and while he complied with their instructions to begin with, he then ignored them, NBC, Sky’s US partner, said.

Officers could sense “a strong smell of alcohol coming from the defendant’s breath”, records showed.

Though he agreed to leave the dock after being threatened with arrest, he did not go quietly.

As he walked to the boardwalk, Scott “walked backwards yelling obscenities to the occupants of the vessel”, police said.

He left the marina, but returned five minutes later and was seen by officers walking back toward the vessel.

Scott spoke to a sergeant he had spoken to earlier and began yelling once again – “becoming erratic” and “disturbing the peace of the occupants of the marina and nearby residential buildings causing a public disturbance”, court documents said.

The 33-year-old musician was arrested at 1.17am and booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center at 4.35 am on a charge of alleged disorderly intoxication as well as trespassing property after warning.

He submitted a $650 (£512) bond – $500 (£394) for the trespass charge and $150 (£118) for disorderly intoxication, the Daily Mail said.

Scott, real name Jacques Bermon Webster II, has achieved four number-one hits on the US charts and is known for his energetic live shows and successful albums, including Astroworld.

He has two children with the socialite and media personality, Kylie Jenner, but the pair are no longer together.

His European tour, titled Circus Maximus, is due to start in The Netherlands next Friday and he is scheduled to play Manchester’s Co-Op Live venue on 13 July.

In 2021, 10 fans died in a crowd surge at his Astroworld festival in Houston, Texas, where he was born.