Collins top of honour roll call

Actors Joan Collins, James Corden, and Sheridan Smith were among the actors included on the New Year’s Honours List.

Other prominent figures honoured this year are Esther Rantzen, actors John Hurt, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Emily Watson, comedian Meera Syal, novelist Ali Smith, poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy, and designer Mary Quant.

From the world of sport, former athletes Steve Cram and Mary Peters and Hillsborough campaigners Margaret Aspinall and Trevor Hicks are among those recognised, along with 103-year-old marathon runner Fauja Singh.

Former lord mayor of London Fiona Woolf, who resigned from her role as chair of the inquiry into historic child abuse, is made a dame for services to the legal profession.

The list confirms OBEs for Corden and Smith, who once dated and have enjoyed huge success since they played siblings Smithy and Rudi on the hit BBC series Gavin & Stacey.

As expected, Collins is made a dame for services to charity. The 81-year-old, a devoted monarchist, said she was “deeply honoured”.

Hurt, 74, is knighted after a career lasting more than 50 years taking in roles in The Elephant Man, Doctor Who, and Harry Potter, as well as a famous scene in Alien in which an extraterrestrial bursts from his stomach.

Scott Thomas, who appeared in Four Weddings And A Funeral and The English Patient, is made a dame. The 54-year-old said she “could not believe” her inclusion on the list, adding: “In fact, I thought someone was playing a trick.”

Watson, 47, who went from virtual unknown to critically acclaimed star after her performance in Breaking The Waves and more recently won a Bafta for Appropriate Adult, ITV1’s dramatisation of the investigation into serial killer Fred West, is awarded an OBE.

Peter Asher, one half of 1960s pop duo Peter and Gordon, whose hits included ‘A World Without Love’, is made a CBE, as is Syal, 53, who starred in Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars At No 42. Brinsley Forde, a founding member of reggae act Aswad, is awarded an MBE.

ChildLine founder Esther Rantzen, 74, said she was “thrilled” to be made a dame, while there is a CBE for Kate Lampard, who oversaw the NHS investigation into Jimmy Savile.