[Denver]

GREASE star Olivia Newton-John is to be made a Dame in a New Year Honours list packed with names from the world of entertainment.

The singer, 71, gets the gong for services to charity, cancer research and entertainment.

Olivia, who was born in England but moved to Australia aged five, said: “I am extremely excited, honoured and grateful beyond words to be included with such an esteemed group of women who have received this distinguished award before me.

“As a girl born in Cambridge, I am very proud of my British ancestry and so appreciative to be recognised in this way by the United Kingdom.”

James Bond director Sam Mendes, 54, is to be knighted for his contribution to drama.

Meanwhile, Sir Elton John, 72, will have his knighthood upgraded to a Companion of Honour — becoming one of only 65 living recipients of the award.

Steve McQueen, the 50-year-old Oscar-winning director of 12 Years a Slave, will also be knighted for services to film.

Queen drummer Roger Taylor, 70 becomes an OBE while singer Billy Ocean, 69, becomes an MBE for services to music.

Snow Patrol’s lead singer Gary Lightbody, 43, will be made an OBE for services to music and charity. But the news will be bittersweet for him as it comes days after the death of his dad Jack, who had suffered from dementia. His funeral was on Christmas Eve.

TV presenter and campaigner June Sarpong, 42, will be made an OBE, while BBC Sport presenter Gabby Logan, 46, is to become an MBE.

Long-serving Radio 1 DJ Annie Nightingale, 79, will be upgraded to a CBE from an MBE.

Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, 60, becomes a CBE — and joked that he would be celebrating like Tommy Shelby, the hard-drinking lead character of the hit BBC drama.

Playwright James Graham, 37, whose stage production of the Who Wants to be a Millionaire? cheating scandal was recently adapted for TV, will be made an OBE.

And stage star Giles Terera, 43, best known for playing Aaron Burr in Hamilton, becomes an MBE.

There are also awards for several TV cooks. Nigel Slater, 61, will become an OBE, while Ainsley Harriott, 62, and Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain, 35, are both made MBEs for services to broadcasting and the culinary arts.

In total, 1,097 people will receive honours, the Cabinet Office said, with 50.7 per cent going to women — the second highest for a New Year Honours list, after 51 per cent in 2014.

http://thesun.co.uk/news/10628410/ne...adiya-hussain/