Damon Albarn awarded OBE in The Queen's New Year's Honours list

Blur and Gorillaz star Damon Albarn has been awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) medal for services to music.

The singer/songwriter joins the likes of hip-hop star Goldie and actors James Nesbitt, Idris Elba, David Oyelowo, Barbara Windsor and Imelda Staunton among the celebrities saluted by Queen Elizabeth II as part of her annual Honours List.

Carry On films icon and Eastenders soap veteran Windsor, 76, who has been made a Dame, tells the BBC she is "proud and extremely humbled" by the honour, adding, "For a girl from the East End (of London) born into a working-class family and an evacuee during World War Two, this is truly like a dream."

Imelda Staunton receives a CBE, while Elba and Nesbitt, like Albarn, can now add OBE to their names.

And screenwriter and playwright Peter Morgan, who penned the script for the 2006 film The Queen, will come face to face with the subject of the hit movie after also receiving a CBE.

Morgan initially cursed as he opened the brown envelope containing his CBE medal announcement, because he thought it was a traffic fine.

"I'm surprised, delighted and proud," he said of receiving the acknowledgement. "Even a little embarrassed. Especially since I opened the brown envelope expecting it to be a speeding ticket."