"Proper tidy!"
That was Gavin & Stacey star Ruth Jones' description of being awarded an MBE in the New Year's Honours list.
The actress and writer got her big break on ITV’s diet club drama Fat Friends in 2000 and more importantly also met co-star James Corden.
The pair came up with the idea for Gavin & Stacey during breaks from filming and the show, set partly in her native South Wales, became a massive hit.
The award-winning comedy was a huge critical and commercial hit and made Jones, who co-wrote it and played the larger-than-life Nessa, a star.
Jones, 47, said she was “really chuffed” to get the honour which was given for services to entertainment.
She said: “This isn’t just tidy, it’s proper tidy. I had no idea it was coming. I just came home one night, opened the post and there it was: this letter telling me I was being put forward for it and being really strict about not telling anyone. And I’m quite obedient. So I didn’t. Except my husband who’s really proud. And my dad, who’s beside himself with excitement.
“Apparently Great Uncle Leslie got an OBE in the ’40s and Uncle Jack the fireman got one in the ’60s. So I’m keeping up with the Joneses, ha ha. Anyway, I’m thrilled. It’s a massive compliment.”
The doctor who oversaw the safe delivery of Prince George is also recognised by the Queen in the New Year Honours List.
Marcus Setchell, who was the Queen’s gynaecologist for two decades, is among those to receive an honour in the latest round, along with actress Penelope Keith, singer Katherine Jenkins, DJ Pete Tong and the parents of murdered teenager Jimmy Mizen.
Some 1,195 people have received an award and for the first time since the Order of the British Empire was founded in 1917, there are more women (51%) on the list than men.
But despite reports to the contrary, the list does not include knighthoods for footballer David Beckham and Wimbledon champion Andy Murray.
Murray, who was given an OBE after his Olympic gold medal, was touted as a possible knighthood recipient after becoming the first British man to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry 77 years ago.
Beckham, who announced his retirement earlier this year, was tipped to get the honour for his sporting success and work on the London 2012 Olympics bid. He received an OBE in 2003.
Marcus Setchell, who delayed his retirement after being asked by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to oversee the birth of the third in line to the throne, becomes Sir Marcus as he is made a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) - an honour in the personal gift of the Queen.
The 70-year-old looked after Kate when she was taken to hospital with severe morning sickness in the early stages of her pregnancy, and previously helped save the life of the Countess of Wessex in 2003 when she was eight months pregnant with elder child Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor.
Also in this year’s list is Caroline Cassells, matron at the private King Edward VII’s Hospital in central London, where Kate was treated for morning sickness, and where the Queen has previously received treatment. She becomes a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO).
The Order of Merit (OM) goes to orchestra conductor Sir Simon Rattle and to world-renowned heart surgeon Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub.
Awarded to individuals of great achievement in the fields of the arts, learning, literature and science, there canbe a total of only 24 OMs at any one time, making it a highly-exclusive collection of members. Previous recipients include Florence Nightingale and Sir Winston Churchill, as well as honorary members Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela.
Actress Penelope Keith, who became a household name as Margot Leadbetter in 1970s sitcom The Good Life, becomes a dame in this year’s list, as does Murder, She Wrote actress Angela Lansbury, who is in the Diplomatic and Overseas List.
Knighthoods go to film and theatre producer Michael Codron; sculptor Antony Gormley, creator of the Angel of the North; and former Bank of England deputy governor Paul Tucker, while former director of public prosecutions Keir Starmer QC receives a knighthood for services to law and criminal justice.
An OBE goes to actress Lynda Bellingham, as well as Katherine Jenkins and writer and broadcaster Sandi Toksvig, Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud and DJ Pete Tong.
Elsewhere in the arts, composer and conductor Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, who is Master of the Queen’s Music, becomes a Companion of Honour.
CBEs go to ballet dancer Carlos Acosta; former FA chairman David Bernstein; actor Michael Crawford, who played Frank Spencer in 1970s sitcom Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em; and presenter Nicholas Parsons, known for his long-standing position as host of the comedy radio game show Just A Minute.
Barry and Margaret Mizen, whose 16-year-old son Jimmy was murdered in London in May 2008, receive MBEs for services to young people. The couple set up the Jimmy Mizen Foundation to help young people play a positive role in their communities.
An MBE also goes to artist Derek Clarke, member of the Royal Scottish Academy of Arts, whose career has spanned more than 70 years and who turns 101 tomorrow, while OBEs go to the founders of parenting website Netmums.com, Siobhan Freegard, Cathy Court and Sarah Russell.
In total, 1,195 people have received an award, 74% of them for outstanding work in their communities.
There are 610 women in the list - 51% of the total. Previously the highest proportion of women on any honours lists was 47%.
Female recipients include Apprentice star Karren Brady, vice-chair of West Ham Football Club and former Birmingham City managing director, who gets a CBE for services to entrepreneurship and women in business. Met Office chief scientist Professor Julia Slingo becomes a dame.
Recipients of the British Empire Medal (BEM), reintroduced in the 2012 Queen’s Birthday Honours, include Tina Selby, who founded Hats4Heroes in 2010 and has since sent nearly 10,000 knitted hats, each containing a chocolate bar, to British forces in Afghanistan to boost morale.
Awards for sport make up 4% of the total, with an OBE going to England and Arsenal Ladies footballer Rachel Yankey, as well as to former long-distance runner David Bedford, who was race director of the London Marathon for more than 20 years.
A CBE goes to Ann Jones for her service to tennis since winning Wimbledon in 1969, and the England women’s rugby team captain Katy McLean gets an MBE.
Knighthoods include philanthropist Roger De Haan, former chairman of Saga Group, who has given £49 million over the last seven years to education, arts and community organisations in the UK and overseas, and Alan Parker, founder and chairman of city PR firm Brunswick, who made a number of generous personal gifts to Save the Children, as well as carrying out the role of chair at the charity.
A knighthood goes to former lord mayor of London Michael Gifford, and to world-renowned food scientist Professor Godfrey Palmer, professor emeritus at Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University.
In politics, Rosemary Butler, presiding officer of the National Assembly for Wales, becomes a dame, while knighthoods go to Mid-Worcester MP Peter Luff; Croydon South MP Richard Ottaway; and Kevin Barron, MP for Rother Valley.
Recipients from the health sector, who make up 7% of the honours, include Julie Bailey, who gets a CBE. She founded the campaign group Cure the NHS after being appalled by the care she witnessed her mother and others receive at Staffordshire General Hospital.
In science and technology there are damehoods for Professor Frances Kirwan, professor of mathematics at the University of Oxford; a knighthood for Professor Richard Blundell, professor of economics at University College London; and a knighthood for Professor Adrian Bird, Buchanan Professor of Genetics at the University of Edinburgh.
And in law and order, awards include a CBE for Trevor Pearce, former director general of the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (Soca) and now a director of the National Crime Agency (NCA), while a CBE also goes to former president of the Law Society Lucy Scott-Moncrieff.
