Sir Peter Lord and Sir David Sproxton, please rise. But get up very slowly, a little at a time.
The legendary stop-motion pioneer of Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep and Chicken Run, the founder of Aardman Animations, has been knighted in the annual King Charles Birthday Honors, which celebrate outstanding achievements and contributions to British society.
Mr Lord and Mr Sproxton, who first founded Aardman in 1972, were among a list of 1,182 new recipients of the honour, ranging from politicians to sports stars, actors and musicians, announced on Friday.
“We both feel it is an extraordinary privilege and honor, and a complete surprise, to be recognized in this way,” they said in a statement.
Separately from the world of entertainment, Helen Mirren was chosen to be a Companion of Honor, one of only 65 people at a time, even though she was already a woman and one of the highest ranked.
Meanwhile, actor-turned-director Dexter Fletcher, who first appeared on screen in Bugsy Malone, has recently directed Eddie the Eagle and Rocketman, and was made an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire). David Holmes, who worked as a stuntman for Daniel Radcliffe in the “Harry Potter” movies but was permanently paralyzed from the chest down after an accident during rehearsals for “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1,” has been awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in recognition of his charity work and contributions to film and media. Holmes was the subject of the 2023 documentary David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived.
Patrick Doyle, a film composer known for his collaboration with Kenneth Branagh and whose work includes Thor, Carlito’s Way, Gosford Park and Murder on the Orient Express, has been made a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire).
Another winner was popular British children’s author Julia Donaldson, who has written more than 200 books, including The Gruffalo, and has recently had several of her works adapted into animated films for the BBC. Donaldson became a household name, along with fellow author Mallory Blackman, known for her young adult series Noughts and Crosses, which was also made into a BBC series.
