O'Connor and Wood head honours list

There are awards, too, for Paul O'Grady, creator of Lily Savage, June Brown, who plays Dot Cotton in EastEnders, and Russell T Davies, the man who brought Doctor Who back to life.

Two former captains of the England rugby union side, Lawrence Dallaglio and Bill Beaumont, are recognised in the list, along with boxing champion Joe Calzaghe. But small screen legend Bruce Forsyth, whose fans launched an internet campaign to have him knighted misses out on becoming Sir Bruce.

O'Connor, who receives a CBE, has been a leading light in the entertainment world since the 1950s as a singer, presenter and comedian. The 76-year-old Countdown host said he was "delighted" with the award but humbly added: "I haven't done a day's work in my life."

Actress, sketch-writer and comedienne Wood gets a CBE, to follow her OBE, in recognition of her success as a writer and actress with shows such as Acorn Antiques and Dinnerladies.

Liverpudlian O'Grady, who is awarded an MBE, successfully mothballed his outrageous alter ego and reinvented himself as a daytime television host. And June Brown, whose role as Dot Cotton - a sanctimonious, judgmental and two-faced busybody - is one of the longest-running characters in EastEnders, gets an MBE for services to drama and charity.

TV screenwriter Russell T Davies gets an OBE for services to drama. He found fame with gay drama Queer as Folk and wrote and executive produced the new Dr Who.

World Cup winner Dallaglio, who has just retired from club and international rugby, is awarded an OBE. And former England captain and grand slam winner Beaumont, who also appeared on A Question of Sport for many years after he retired, becomes CBE. There is a CBE, too, for Calzaghe, the longest-reigning title-holder in any weight class in boxing, who recently passed the ten-year mark as the WBO super middleweight champion.

Joan Bakewell - dubbed "the thinking man's crumpet" - becomes a dame. She has been one of the most respected presenters and commentators on radio and TV for more than 30 years and was one of the first women to establish themselves in what had been an almost exclusively male preserve.

Sunday Times cartoonist Gerald Scarfe gets a CBE and there are OBEs for Eve Pollard, former editor of the Sunday Mirror and the Sunday Express and, in the diplomatic list, for Anna Wintour editor-in-chief of American Vogue.