Professor Robert Edwards worked alongside Patrick Steptoe
IVF pioneer and Nobel prize winner Robert Edwards is among several leading health specialists to be knighted in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours.
His work led to the birth of Louise Brown, the first “test-tube baby” in July 1978.
The government’s “heart tsar” Professor Roger Boyle is also knighted.
The honour is also given to Dr Henry Burns, Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer and Professor Kent Woods, who heads the medicines watchdog the MHRA.
Professor Edwards, 85, who was awarded the Nobel prize for medicine last year, began his research into how to help people with fertility problems over 50 years ago.
Other scientists had found that egg cells from rabbits could be successfully fertilised with sperm in test tubes.
His work, alongside the gynaecologist Patrick Steptoe, refined the technique to allow it to be used for humans.
Since Louise Brown’s birth, nearly four million babies have been born following IVF treatment.
‘Richly deserved’
Professor Edwards’ wife Ruth said: “This honour recognises his years of devotion and dedication to alleviate human infertility despite many setbacks and much opposition.
“His success in pioneering IVF has brought happiness to millions of people worldwide.
“Bob is delighted to be receiving this honour, an award that all the family feel is so richly deserved.”
By the time Dr Steptoe died in 1988, 1,000 babies had been conceived at the IVF clinic founded by the two men at Bourn Hall, near Cambridge.
Dr Mike Macnamee, the current chief executive of Bourn Hall, said: “We are overjoyed that Bob and his lifetime’s work has been acknowledged in this way.
“He is an inspiration to everyone working in the field of medical research and is held in great affection by colleagues and patients alike.”
Sir Robert was born in Batley, West Yorkshire, in 1925 and served in the army during the Second World War.
He has said in the past: “The most important thing in life is having a child. Nothing is more special than a child.”
Professor Boyle, whose official title is National Clinical Director for Heart Disease and Stroke, has led the development of NHS guidelines for the treatment of people with these conditions in England.
Professor Boyle has worked as a heart specialist since the 1980s
He said he was “deeply honoured” to have been knighted, and added: “I regard this as recognition for all the hard work that the heart and stroke teams have accomplished not just within the Department of Health but across the NHS.”
Also knighted are Dr Hugh Pelham, director of the Medical Research Council’s Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge and Paul Williams, chief executive of NHS Wales.
They lead a long list of clinicians, researchers and members of associated professions working around the UK who are also honoured.
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Firth won an Oscar earlier this year for playing The Queen’s father King George VI
Colin Firth, already enjoying an Oscar-winning year, has been appointed a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
The actor, who won an Oscar for playing King George VI in the King’s Speech, was recognised for services to drama.
It comes 16 years after he achieved heart-throb status as Jane Austen’s brooding hero, Mr Darcy, in the BBC TV adaptation of Pride And Prejudice.
His other films include Bridget Jones’s Diary, Fever Pitch and the Abba-themed movie musical Mamma Mia.
Firth also picked up a Bafta and numerous other awards for portraying the Queen’s father in the King’s Speech. The monarch herself may now present him with a CBE medal at a future Buckingham Palace investiture.
Radio 4 Woman’s Hour presenter Jenni Murray and veteran actress Janet Suzman were both made dames in the honours list.
And Strictly Come Dancing host Bruce Forsyth received a knighthood for services to entertainment and charity.
‘Incredible honour’
Sir Bruce told the BBC he was “so happy and so relieved in a way”, after years of speculation about when he would receive a knighthood.
“When I got the CBE [in 2005] there’d been speculation every year and I think there’s been too much talk about it, so I’m thrilled at last it has happened,” the entertainer said.
“I feel very proud that my career hasn’t been in vain. I just love getting out there and performing and this is a reward that I never expected and hope I’m worthy of.”
“At first I thought it was my son trying to con me”
Goodies co-creator Tim Brooke-Taylor
The 83-year-old joked he would now insist his Strictly Come Dancing co-host, Tess Daly, would have to refer to him as “Sir Bruce” in future.
“What’s the point in being a Sir if you can’t be shown a bit of respect? Especially from Tess – she’ll have to curtsey when we meet in the middle of the stage.”
BBC director general Mark Thompson said: “I’m delighted that Bruce has received this honour, just as his millions of fans will be.”
Singer Bryan Ferry, whose hits with Roxy Music include Love Is The Drug and Virginia Plain, said it was “a great honour” to receive his CBE.
Creators of The Goodies, Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor, who both received OBEs for services to light entertainment, said they were thrilled with the recognition, after spending years poking fun at the honours system.
“It’s quite ironic considering how rude we were about the honours all those years ago,” Garden said.
Brooke-Taylor added: “I’m very, very pleased and not to say a little surprised – but very pleasantly so. At first I thought it was my son trying to con me.”
The award means that the entire Goodies trio have now been given the honour. Colleague Bill Oddie was given his OBE in 2003 for services to wildlife conservation.
Author Julia Donaldson was appointed the new Children’s Laureate earlier this week
OBEs also go to Nowhere Boy director and artist Sam Taylor Wood, veteran actor Bernard Cribbins, who narrated The Wombles, and BBC Radio 2 DJ “Whispering” Bob Harris.
The broadcaster said: “It’s an incredible honour. I never would have dreamt it.”
Author Julia Donaldson, who is best known for The Gruffalo and was appointed the new Children’s Laureate earlier this week, received the same honour.
Also in the arts world, Donmar Warehouse artist director Michael Grandage, National Portrait Gallery director Sandy Nairne, artist Gillian Ayres and textile designer Celia Birtwell were appointed CBEs.
Artists Gillian Wearing and Edward De Waal received OBEs while novelist Kate Atkinson, whose book Case Histories has been adapted for BBC One, was made an MBE.
Mark Huffam, whose film production credits include Saving Private Ryan and Mamma Mia, becomes a CBE, and there is an OBE for Alex Hope, who runs visual effects company Double Negative and won an Oscar this year for his work on Inception.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Sir Bruce Forsyth: “So happy” at knighthood
Entertainer Bruce Forsyth says he is “very proud” after being knighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
The recognition for the 83-year-old comes after years of campaigning by fans and a parliamentary Early Day Motion signed by 73 MPs.
The list sees actor Colin Firth and singer Bryan Ferry become CBEs and BBC Radio 4 presenter Jenni Murray a dame.
Ex-EastEnders star Brooke Kinsella, 27, a campaigner against knife crime since her brother’s murder, is made an MBE.
Ashes-winning cricket captain Andrew Strauss is made an OBE and fellow opening batsman Alastair Cook an MBE, while golfer Lee Westwood is appointed an OBE.
Sir Bruce’s career has spanned almost 70 years, including presenting TV hits such as The Generation Game, Play Your Cards Right and, most recently, Strictly Come Dancing on BBC One.
He is known for greeting audiences with his catchphrase, “Nice to see you, to see you nice.”
He was made an OBE in 1998, and a CBE in 2005 and since then there has been considerable speculation about when he might be knighted.
A spokesman for the Cabinet Office, which manages the honours system, said: “Generally speaking, committees like to see another four or five years’ further achievement or service before they start to consider a further award.”
Sir Bruce told the BBC he was “so happy and so relieved in a way”.
“When I got the CBE there’d been speculation every year and I think there’s been too much talk about it, so I’m thrilled at last it has happened,” he said.
“I feel very proud that my career hasn’t been in vain. I just love getting out there and performing and this is a reward that I never expected and hope I’m worthy of.”
Ferry found fame in the 70s with art-rockers Roxy Music and later enjoyed solo success
But he admitted that he even feared a hoax when he was notified of the knighthood.
“We were doubtful because it’s been going on so long, the speculation, we thought it might be a hoax so we did check all the way down the line that it was real,” he said.
“Didn’t he do well?” said BBC controller of entertainment commissioning, Mark Linsey, quoting another catchphrase.
“Arise Sir Brucie,” said Strictly Come Dancing co-host Tess Daly. “Bruce is Britain’s greatest living all-round entertainer and for 70 years – and counting – he has been making us laugh.”
She added: “Does this mean I’ll have to curtsy now at the start of each show?”
Fifty-year-old Firth is honoured by the Queen after winning an Oscar and Bafta for depicting the struggle with a stammer of her father, George VI, in The King’s Speech.
Pop star Ferry, 65, has enjoyed success as lead singer of Roxy Music and as a solo artist, with hits including Love is the Drug and Jealous Guy.
He said being made a CBE was a “great honour”, and expressed thanks to “all the musicians and others behind the scenes who have helped me throughout my career”.
Kinsella has been a tireless campaigner against youth violence since her brother’s murder
It was the murder of her 16-year-old brother, Ben, in 2008 that turned former EastEnders actress Kinsella into a prominent anti-knife crime activist.
Appointed a government adviser, Kinsella published a report earlier this year recommending measures including the staging of anti-knife crime workshops in primary schools.
There are knighthoods for Bank of England governor Mervyn King and for IVF pioneer Professor Robert Edwards.
Sir Robert is honoured eight months after being awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine in recognition of work that led to the birth of the first test-tube baby in 1978.
Former Tory leader Michael Howard is made a Companion of Honour for public and political services.
Dame Jenni has been the regular host of Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour since 1987 and has previously presented the Today programme and BBC Two’s Newsnight.
The Goodies made its creators among the biggest TV stars of the 70s
Also an author and regular contributor to newspapers and magazines, the 61-year-old was once described by journalist Sir Charles Wheeler as having “the most beautiful voice on radio, ever”.
The owner of another of radio’s most distinctive voices is honoured, as Radio 2 DJ “Whispering” Bob Harris becomes an OBE. He is 65.
Actress and director Janet Suzman, 72, who was nominated for an Oscar for her role in the 1971 film Nicholas and Alexandra but is better known for her theatre work, becomes a dame.
There is good news for two stars of comedy series The Goodies: Writers and actors Graeme Garden, 68, and Tim Brooke-Taylor, 70, are made OBEs. Their fellow creator of the 1970s show, Bill Oddie, became an OBE in 2003.
The Honours System
Commonly awarded ranks:
Knight or Dame Grand CrossKnights Bachelor/Dame CommanderCBE – Commander of the Order of the British EmpireOBE – Officer of the Order of the British EmpireMBE – Member of the Order of the British EmpireGuide to the honours
Actor Bernard Cribbins has enjoyed a prolific career since the 1950s, in films including Carry On comedies and The Railway Children, and on TV in the likes of Fawlty Towers, Doctor Who, Jackanory and as narrator of The Wombles.
Appointed an OBE, the 82-year-old said he was “gobsmacked”. “You can’t go through life expecting to get prizes. You just get on with things, which is how it should be,” he said.
There are MBE awards for authors Kate Atkinson, whose books include Behind The Scenes At The Museum and Case Histories, and The Gruffalo creator and children’s laureate Julia Donaldson.
Textile designer Celia Birtwell, 70, becomes a CBE. The clothes she produced with Ossie Clark in the 1960s helped define the era and were worn by the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Twiggy among others.
Artist and film director Sam Taylor-Wood is made an OBE and the same honour goes to conceptual artist Gillian Wearing.
England cricketers’ achievement in winning their first Ashes series in Australia for 24 years in January is recognised as skipper Strauss and coach Andy Flower are appointed OBEs.
“It’s like a giant standing on the shoulders of slightly smaller people”
John Amaechi OBE
The MBE honour for 26-year-old Cook rewards his 766 runs, the most by an Englishman in the Ashes since 1928, which earned him the player of the series title.
Golfer Westwood, 38, becomes an OBE following a period of months in which he twice topped the world golf rankings, the first time ending Tiger Woods’ 281-week reign as world number one.
There is a knighthood for 68-year-old Henry Cecil, arguably Britain’s greatest ever racehorse trainer. In a career lasting more than 40 years, he has been crowned champion trainer 10 times.
Two athletics world champions become MBEs – heptathlete Jessica Ennis, 25, and triple jumper Phillips Idowu, 32.
Ennis said: “I love my sport and can’t think of anything I would want to do more, and to be recognised for the years of hard work and the success I have had over the past two years means so much.”
Cyclist Mark Cavendish is also appointed an MBE after a year in which he won five stages of the Tour de France.
The first Briton to play basketball in the NBA in the US, John Amaechi, becomes an OBE.
Ennis is a key British hope for the London Olympics next year
Amaechi, who is 40, became the first openly gay NBA player when he came out in 2007. In recent years he has undertaken considerable voluntary work and his award in the Queen’s Birthday Honours recognises services to sport and the voluntary sector.
“Normally the kind of thing you say to this is you’re standing on the shoulders of giants,” Amaechi said. “I’m a giant who has literally been propped up by a wonderful family and the people that I work with.
“So it’s like a giant standing on the shoulders of slightly smaller people.”
Of the 965 people receiving an award in the honours list, 74% are members of the public recognised for outstanding community and voluntary work.
Among them is Beverley De-Gale, who set up a charity to attract bone marrow donors from ethnic minorities after her son developed leukaemia. She is appointed an OBE.
Ex-soldier David Stuttard, 65, set up an organisation that has improved water sanitation in parts of Ghana and given 50,000 people access to clean water. He becomes an MBE.
Also becoming an MBE is Patricia Gilman, who has worked as a lunchtime supervisor at Kenmore Park First School in Harrow, north London, for more than 30 years.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
