The UK government has announced HM The King’s New Year honours list for 2025, recognising people who have made outstanding contributions to their communities across the UK, including a number of high-profile actors and people in the arts.
Actor, broadcaster and author Stephen Fry has been knighted and becomes a Sir for his services to mental health awareness, the environment and to charity.
The co-founder of black British theatre company Talawa, actor Carmen Munroe, has been made a Dame for services to drama.
CBEs awarded to people within theatre and the arts include actors Sarah Lancashire (Happy Valley), Anne Reid (Last Tango in Halifax) and Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman, Saltburn), for services to drama.
Other CBE recipients include chair of the board of English National Opera, physician Harry Brünjes, for philanthropy and services to the arts; and acclaimed costume designer Sandy Powell (RSC, ENO, The Wolf of Wall Street) for services to costume design.
OBEs appointed this year for services to drama include actors Anne-Marie Duff, who is currently starring in The Little Foxes at The Young Vic in London; Eddie Marsan (The Pact, Vera Drake); and Kevin Whately (Inspector Morse).
Also awarded an OBE is Eleanor Lloyd, West End producer (Witness for the Prosecution, A Christmas Carol – A Ghost Story) and former president of the Society of London Theatre, for services to theatre.
West End producer Eleanor Lloyd said in a statement: “Alongside my work as a theatre producer, I am proud to have played a part in helping the theatre sector navigate the devastating pandemic closure and fragile recovery. In 2020, we came together as an industry to do everything we could to protect the people, the shows, and the spaces that make British theatre world-leading. I am honoured to be recognised with an OBE. Theatre is a team sport and it is only right, in this moment, to acknowledge the many tenacious people who shared their time, encouragement, and wisdom in the darkest days of the pandemic, and who continue to work doggedly to make our shows and our industry so brilliant today.”
The Society of London Theatre & UK Theatre Co-CEOs Claire Walker and Hannah Essex said about Eleanor Lloyd: “We are over the moon that Eleanor has been recognised for her tireless contribution to our sector both in terms of her award-winning productions and her stewardship of the industry through the pandemic and recovery. She tackled a range of unprecedented and multifaceted issues with grace, humour and generosity of spirit, and it has been an honour to work with her. Her support for SOLT members and the theatre sector has been unwavering, and she continues to champion the unique power of theatre to change lives.”
Other OBEs went to dancer and international choreographer Ronald Hynd, and Argentine-British dancer and Royal Ballet principal Marianela Núñez, for services to dance; artistic director of Derry’s Stage Beyond theatre company, Dee Conaghan, for services to theatre and to education for adults with learning disabilities; and former managing director of the Manchester International Festival, Christine Cort, for services to the arts and to culture.
MBEs are handed out to actor Tom Baker (Doctor Who), for services to television; musician, singer and broadcaster Myleene Klass, for services to women’s health and to charity; founder of the Rock Choir, Caroline Redman Lusher, for services to music and to charity; founder of the Old Laundry Theatre in Windermere, Roger Glossop, for services to theatre and the performing arts; founder of the Wind Band Association, Kevin Gibson Lamb, for services to music; and former chief executive of Shakespeare North Playhouse, Melanie Lewis, for services to theatre.
More than 1,200 recipients receive honours this year across all sectors. High-profile recipients also included former England manager Sir Gareth Southgate, who receives a Knighthood for services to Association Football. Southgate is at the centre of James Graham’s award-winning play Dear England, which returns to the National Theatre next year for a limited run.
The List awards a Companion of Honour, of which there are only 65 recipients at any time, to author and screenwriter Sir Kazuo Ishiguro; and a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire for children’s author Dame Jacqueline Wilson, and a Knight Grand Cross for Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz lately Chair of Cancer Research.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said in a statement: “Each and every day, ordinary people go out and do extraordinary things for their communities. They represent the very best of the UK and that core value of service which I put at the centre of everything this government does. The New Year Honours List celebrates more of these unsung heroes, and I thank them for their incredible contribution.”
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