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FORGET James Bond,
the name's Roger, Sir Roger Moore.
The veteran actor
receives a knighthood in the Queen's birthday honours
today and said it was an immensely proud moment.
But Moore, 75, said
he wished his mother and father were alive to share the
honour awarded for a decade of tireless charity
work.
He said from his
home in Monaco: "I'm so proud. I'm doubly proud because
this is an acknowledgment of Unicef, an organisation I'm
honoured to work for."
Moore is best known
for the Bond movies but is also an international
goodwill ambassador for Unicef and supports another
children's charity Kiwanis international. He said he was
dedicating his knighthood to Unicef.
Moore, married to
Swedish-born Kristina, said: "I accept on behalf of the
thousands of volunteers and workers who dedicate their
lives helping the millions of children in need around
the world today."
Father-of-three
Moore lost his beloved dad, a policeman from Stockwell,
South London, four years ago. His mother died 20 years
ago. He said yesterday: "I wish that my mother and
father could have been alive to see this day."
Moore, who found
fame playing Simon Templar in hit 1960s show The Saint,
has been troubled with health problems recently and is
resting after collapsing on stage last month.
Last night David
Bull, executive director of Unicef UK, said Moore's
honour was long overdue.
He added: "Roger
has vigorously promoted children's rights and raised
awareness of Unicef's work with children.
"He has helped to
raise literally millions of pounds over the years and he
truly wears the Unicef badge with pride.
"The honour of a
knighthood is a befitting and pertinent acknowledgement
of Roger's dedication, enthusiasm and tireless work for
Unicef over more than a decade.
"It is a wonderful
testimony to his commitment to Unicef and represents
recognition where it is long overdue."
Moore was among a
glittering roll call of showbusiness stars named in the
honours list announced today.
Actress Kristin
Scott Thomas, nominated for an Oscar for The English
Patient, receives an OBE in the same Diplomatic
List.
She is fluent in
French and dubbed her own lines from English in hit
movie Four Weddings and a Funeral.
Comedian Billy
Connolly, whose coarse, Glaswegian stand-up routine has
won him fans worldwide, is awarded a CBE.
Prime Suspect star
Helen Mirren said she was "absolutely thrilled" to be
made a Dame.
Mirren, one of
Britain's most accomplished actresses, has appeared in a
string of movies including The Cook, The Thief, His Wife
and Her Lover, Excalibur, The Long Good Friday, and was
Oscar nominated for The Madness of King George and
Gosford Park.
She is currently
filming a sixth series of Prime Suspect playing tough
detective Jane Tennison.
She was born Ilynea
Lydia Mironoff in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, the daughter of
an exiled Russian aristocrat. Mirren started her career
as a member of the National Youth Theatre before joining
the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Popular veteran
actor Richard Briers, 69, added another honour to his
list. He gets a CBE for services to drama.
Briers, star of 70s
sitcom The Good Life, got an OBE in 1989.
He said at his home
in Chiswick, West London: "I'm absolutely delighted.
It's more than 12 years ago that I picked up the OBE so
to get this is marvellous.
"It will be great
to pick up the award. I have been through the dress
rehearsal so now this will be another great honour."
Asked about a
knighthood, he said: "Well, as my great grandmother used
to say, we live in hope.
"If you live long
enough there is a chance you might get it but there is
always the risk that you die before then, but I'm living
as fast as I can." TV favourite Ian Carmichael, 83 next
week, receives an OBE. He played Bertie Wooster in The
World of Wooster.
In the 1970s, he
played another dumb toff in a TV series adaptation of
the Lord Peter Wimsey novels.
Geraldine James,
who starred opposite the late John Thaw in Kavanagh QC,
is also awarded an OBE. Best known for Jewel in the
Crown, she also appeared as a prostitute in Band of Gold
and is shortly to star in the film Calendar Girls about
the story of the Women's Institute naked pin-up
calendar.
Actor Jim Dale, who
read the Harry Potter books for audio tapes, was made an
MBE. He starred in 11 of the Carry On films alongside
Sid James and Barbara Windsor and once had his own ITV
show. John Tusa, managing director of the Barbican
Centre, in Central London, which houses concert halls
and a theatre, receives a knighthood.
Birdwatcher Bill
Oddie, of the 1970s comedy trio The Goodies, receives an
OBE. He is now an ardent campaigner on environmental and
wildlife issues.
A CBE goes to Simon
Russell Beale, one of the finest Shakespearean actors of
his generation.
He gave his first
theatre performance in Othello at the age of 14.
Award winning
fashion designer Alexander McQueen, famous for his shock
frocks, was awarded a CBE.
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