Banderas honoured in Spain

Spanish movie heart-throb Antonio Banderas returned to his native Malaga on Friday to pick up an honour from the country's Cinema Acadamy.

The Shrek 2 star, 43, was awarded the Gold Medal, which honoured his meteoric rise after over 20 years on the big screen.

The academy praised Banderas "in recognition of his extraordinary work as an actor and for his work in promoting Spanish culture through his fruitful international film career".

Banderas enthuses: "It may have been the biggest surprise of my career when they told me about the award, which generally is given to people much older than me."