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Sonia Sharma

Ian Wright, Vicky McClure and Davina McCall among famous faces in King's Birthday Honours list

Footballer Ian Wright, actress Vicky McClure and TV presenter Davina McCall are among the celebrities recognised in the King's first Birthday Honours list.

The highest awards went to Vogue editor-in-chief Dame Anna Wintour and Booker Prize-winning author Ian McEwan, who were made Companions of Honour alongside Professor Sir John Bell, regius professor of medicine at the University of Oxford. In the showbiz world, Line Of Duty actress Vicky McClure, presenter Davina McCall and veteran broadcaster Ken Bruce were made MBEs.

Meanwhile, former England and Arsenal footballer-turned-pundit Wright was made an OBE, while late author Sir Martin Amis was knighted a day before he died last month aged 73. McEwan told the PA news agency: "News of the honour, in a letter from the Cabinet Office, was a complete surprise and, naturally, I was delighted.

Read More: King's Birthday Honours 2023: Full list of North East people applauded for their work

"I guess it amounts to a really good review. I'm now entering my 54th year of writing fiction. As all dedicated writers know, a literary life is not a career so much as a way of being. The task in hand, the novel one is trying to create, is always there, a constant and intimate companion. The writers who precede me in this award have long been companions too - Maugham, Greene, Larkin, Pinter, Margaret Atwood, Antonia Fraser, and my friend Salman Rushdie. Truly, a companionable honour."

Bruce labelled the honour a "great surprise and privilege", while McCall, who has been made an MBE for services to broadcasting, said: "I can't believe it. It's a great honour and it really means a great deal." Former Rangers footballer and manager John Greig was made a CBE while former Manchester United defender Jonny Evans and ex-Lionesses striker Eniola Aluko became MBEs.

MI6 chief Sir Richard Moore and Labour former minister Sir Ben Bradshaw were knighted and Conservative MPs John Baron, Bob Blackman, Damian Collins and Heather Wheeler were also recognised. Sir Rupert Gavin, chairman of Historic Royal Palaces, Booker Prize-winner Sir Ben Okri, former BBC director-general Sir Mark Thompson and Sky's executive chairman Sir Jeremy Darroch became Knight bachelors.

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