Stephen Fry has cemented his status as a national treasure after being knighted in the New Year Honours.
The comedian, actor and presenter said he felt “surprised and delighted” after receiving the top gong, insisting it came “out of the blue”.
Sir Stephen, 67, who spoke candidly about his battles with bipolar disorder after being expelled from school, was recognized for his services to mental health awareness, the environment and charity.
Pioneering black actress Carmen Munroe, 92, also receives the highest honor, being named a dame from services to drama.
Desmond star, best known for her role as Shirley Ambrose in the Channel 4 comedy, came to the UK from Guyana in 1951 and has been instrumental in the development of British black theatre.
Meanwhile, actresses Sarah Lancashire, 60, and Carey Mulligan, 39, are appointed CBE, as is celebrity gardener Alan Titchmarsh, 75.
Stephen Fry has cemented his status as a national treasure after being knighted in the New Year Honours.
Pioneering black actress Carmen Munroe, 92, also receives the highest honor by being named dame of services to drama.
Last night Sir Stephen said he hopes his knighthood can show those suffering from mental health problems that “there is always hope”.
He said he would also try to be “gallant, chivalrous and courteous” as these are all “gentlemanly qualities.”
The QI presenter has spoken candidly about how his battles with the disease led to him being expelled from boarding school as a child and even spending time in prison.
He then attended Cambridge, where he formed a comedy group with Dame Emma Thompson, Tony Slattery and Hugh Laurie at the university’s famous Footlights club.
He rose to fame with Laurie in A Bit of Fry & Laurie, as well as starring alongside the House actor in Jeeves and Wooster and Blackadder.
But at all times he was fighting a manic depression that he has recounted in documentaries and memoirs.
This led to him becoming chairman of the charity Mind since 2011, while he has also been vice-chairman of the conservation charity Fauna and Flora International since 2009.
Sir Stephen has also worked with the Terence Higgins Trust, raising awareness and funds for people with HIV and AIDS, since 1991.
Last night Sir Stephen said he hopes his knighthood can show those suffering from mental health problems that “there is always hope”.
Myleene Klass, 46, said she is “absolutely delighted” after being appointed MBE for her services to women’s health, miscarriage awareness and charity.
He said it was “wonderful” to see these charities recognized because “it all goes back to my worst, terrible experiences of what mental illness can do to you.”
Broadcaster and gardener Alan Titchmarsh said he is “very excited” to become a CBE for services to horticulture and charity.
Titchmarsh admitted sharing a “tearful moment” as he told his wife Alison and daughters about the honor which comes 25 years after his MBE.
He has been a familiar face since covering the Chelsea Flower Show for the BBC in 1983, and then fronted Gardener’s World from 1996 to 2002.
He also presented the garden renovation television show Ground Force, which propelled him, Charlie Dimmock and Charlie Walsh to fame.
But as well as his television work, the Yorkshire-born gardener has been chairman of Perennial, formerly the Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Society, since 2004. He is also chairman of the Plant Heritage charity, whose patron is the King.
“I’ve been an MBE for 25 years, so I thought it was… I’ve been very happy with it,” he said.
Describing his emotions, Titchmarsh said: “Thrilled to the core, shocked, but thrilled and honored to be deemed worthy of a CBE, flattened beyond belief.”
Bafta-winning actress Sarah Lancashire said it was an “unexpected pleasure” to be awarded a CBE for her services to drama.
She has won plaudits for her performances in Happy Valley and Last Tango in Halifax following her breakout role as Raquel Watts in Coronation Street.
Sir Stephen, who spoke candidly about his struggle with bipolar disorder after being expelled from school, was recognized for his services to mental health awareness, the environment and charity.
Carey Mulligan, who has been nominated three times for an Oscar, also gets a CBE for services to drama.
She rose to fame with her coming-of-age hit An Education before gaining acclaim for her performances in Promising Young Woman, She Said, Drive and Maestro.
Stage and screen star Anne-Marie Duff, 54, said she feels “incredibly lucky and privileged” to be appointed OBE.
Duff, who rose to fame in the comedy-drama series Shameless and has played Queen Elizabeth I and Lady Macbeth, said “being recognized in any way always feels like an incredible blessing.”
Actor Eddie Marsan, 56, who plays Amy Winehouse’s father Mitch in the biopic Back to Black, said he is “shocked, delighted and deeply honoured” to have been appointed OBE.
The Happy Go Lucky star said he wants to share the honor for his service to the theater with “my wife, my family and the people I grew up with in Bethnal Green.”
Inspector Morse and Lewis actor Kevin Whately, 73, said he was “grateful and delighted” to have been appointed OBE for his services to theater and charity.
Meanwhile, actresses Sarah Lancashire (pictured), 60, and Carey Mulligan, 39, become CBE, as does celebrity gardener Alan Titchmarsh, 75.
Broadcaster and gardener Alan (pictured) said he is “very excited” to become a CBE for services to horticulture and charity.
Coronation Street star Anne Reid (left), 89, who played Ken Barlow’s first wife Valerie in the 1960s and 1970s, is appointed CBE, alongside author Robert Harris, 67 (right).
The Northumberland-born actor is an ambassador for Action for Children and a trustee of the Wavendon Foundation, which supports creation and education in the performing arts.
He said: “Full-time charity workers dedicate their lives to their causes and every one of them deserves a medal.”
Myleene Klass, 46, said she is “absolutely delighted” after being appointed MBE for her services to women’s health, miscarriage awareness and charity.
The former Hear’Say singer has spoken openly about the psychological effects of suffering four miscarriages.
Following its campaign, the Department of Health last year announced a package of new measures to “boost the health and wellbeing of women and girls”.
Klass, who now has three children, said she is reflecting on “how this all started” and how she had struggled “from a very dark place.”
Carey (pictured), who has been nominated for an Oscar three times, also gets a CBE for services to drama.
Stage and film star Anne-Marie Duff (pictured), 54, said she feels “incredibly lucky and privileged” to be appointed OBE.
Actor Eddie Marsan, 56 (pictured left), who plays Amy Winehouse’s father Mitch in the biopic Back to Black, said he is “shocked, delighted and deeply honoured” to have been named OBE.
Doctor Who star Tom Baker, 90 (pictured), who played the fourth incarnation of the Time Lord between 1974 and 1981, was made an OBE for his services to television.
BBC Radio 6 presenter and DJ Steve Lamacq (pictured), 60, is awarded an MBE for services to broadcasting and music venues.
“I certainly didn’t have it in mind to become an activist at the time,” he said.
Coronation Street star Anne Reid, 89, who played Ken Barlow’s first wife Valerie in the 1960s and 70s, is appointed CBE, alongside author Robert Harris, 67.
Doctor Who star Tom Baker, 90, who played the fourth incarnation of the Time Lord between 1974 and 1981, was appointed OBE for his services to television.
BBC Radio 6 presenter and DJ Steve Lamacq, 60, is awarded an MBE for services to broadcasting and music venues.