Meet the stars featured in New Year Honours list for 2025 – including a Wicked actress

Cynthia Erivo is being honoured with an MBE for her services to music and drama. The award comes after the London native, 38, appeared in Wicked (2024) and Wicked: For Good (2025) in the lead role as Elphaba Thropp. She starred alongside Ariana Grande as Glinda Upland, the musical film franchise taking the world by storm and defining pop culture for the last two years.

Actor Idris Elba, 53, is being knighted for services to young people, having founded the Elba Hope Foundation, which supports community empowerment, education, youth advocacy, and sustainable development.

The Luther star said: "I receive this honour on behalf of the many young people whose talent, ambition, and resilience have driven the work of the Elba Hope Foundation.

"I hope we can do more to draw attention to the importance of sustained, practical support for young people and to the responsibility we all share to help them find an alternative to violence."

Warwick Davis has been made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). The actor, 55, who is best known for his roles in Star Wars and Harry Potter, received the honour for his services to drama and charity.

It comes after he received recognition in February by way of BAFTA's highest honour, the BAFTA Fellowship, for his performing and advocacy work. Upon accepting his award, Warwick said: "This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I've been in Star Wars."

Richard Osman was once best known for being Alexander Armstrong's sidekick on Pointless, but his collection of novels, The Thursday Murder Club, has not only become a bestseller, but the first in the five-book series was made into a hugely popular Netflix film starring Dame Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan earlier this year. 

Richard, 55, is being made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to literature and broadcasting. The star has said he is "absolutely thrilled" with the honour.

Sports broadcaster and former Olympic gymnast, Gabby Logan, is also being made an OBE. She is best known for her coverage of the Olympics and women's football for BBC Sport, having taken over from Gary Lineker as a presenter on Match of the Day in August.

Dancing on Ice stars Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean are being made a Dame and Sir, respectively, for their services to ice skating and to voluntary service. Though the pair, who retired earlier this year, have long been the faces of the ITV skating competition, they once skated competitively themselves, taking home gold medals at the 1984 Winter Olympic Games.

Sir Christopher, 67, said: "It's been mentioned by fans and supporters, but it's something that we never realised might happen," while Dame Jayne, 68, added: "It was a big thing for us to mark our career before retirement, and then receiving this award at the end of the year, it's just finished everything. It's perfect."

Location, Location, Location host Phil Spencer has said it feels "very overwhelming" to have been made an MBE. TV presenter Phil, 56, is being recognised for charitable services with his work as a patron of homeless charity St Mungo's.

He told the Press Association: "I'm hugely honoured and humbled. I mean, it's a hell of a thing. It's not something that I'd ever expected or even thought about. So it's a huge honour."

Paul Elliott, best known as one half of the comedy duo The Chuckle Brothers, is being made an MBE. The 73-year-old (right) formed the comedy act with his late brother Barry Elliott in 1967 and gained fame for their BBC children's programme ChuckleVision, which aired from 1987 to 2009. 

Talking of comedy, Matt Lucas is also being made an MBE. The 51-year-old actor, writer, and comedian rose to fame in the mid-1990s as George Dawes in Shooting Stars but has since gone on to write his own material and star in said work, most notably in the sketch comedy series Little Britain with his co-writer, David Walliams.

Leah Williamson leads the sports stars being honoured in this year's New Year list. The 28-year-old footballer is currently the captain of the Lionesses, AKA England's female football team, which secured a victory at the UEFA European Women's Championship in July.

Leah, who also plays for Arsenal, is being made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). 

Joining Leah from the Lionesses is Alex Greenwood. The defender, 32, who hails from Liverpool, is being awarded an MBE after her stellar performance in the Euros this summer.

Lioness Keira Walsh is also being made an MBE. The 28-year-old athlete served as Leah Williamson's vice captain during the 2025 Euros competition, which saw England bag a win over Spain.

An MBE has also come the way of Georgia Stanway. Having made her senior Lioness debut in 2018, the footballer, 26, has gone on to earn a staggering 87 senior caps for the England Women's National Team. 

Ella Toone is the final Lioness to be honoured in 2025. The 26-year-old Tyldesley native, who also plays for Manchester United, was also part of the Euros-winning team this summer, having also helped the team secure a victory in the 2022 Euros. She is being recognised with an MBE.

Sarina Wiegman, who has served as the manager of the Lionesses since 2021, will receive an honorary damehood. 

The Dutch football manager, 56, who has helped the English women's team secure two Euros victories, said: "I would like to express my sincere gratitude for this honour. When I first arrived in England, I could never have imagined the respect and warmth I've experienced from the English people. I deeply thank the fans for their support."

Alongside the Lionesses, a number of players from the Red Roses, England's national women's rugby team, are also being honoured this year. Marlie Packer, 36, will become an OBE, having been part of the team to win the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup in September.

Marlie's teammate Zoe Aldcroft will also become an OBE. The rugby star, 29, plays for Gloucester-Hartpury when she's not helping the Red Roses become World Cup champions.

Red Roses star Ellie Kildunne, 26, will receive an MBE, having also formed part of the team to take home the World Cup trophy after a win over Canada. 

Sadia Kabeya is being recognised with an MBE for her services to sport. The Red Roses player, 23, also plays for Loughborough Lightning when she's not acing it as a back row player for England.

Megan Jones, 29, is the final rugby player to be honoured. She will be made an MBE, having debuted for England against New Zealand in 2015.

Paula Radcliffe is being made an OBE. The three-time London Marathon winner, 52, is used to big awards, having held the women's marathon world record for 16 years.

Actress Meera Syal will receive a damehood. The star, 64, rose to prominence as one of the creators of Goodness Gracious Me and as Sanjeev's grandmother, Ummi, in The Kumars at No. 42. She has since gone on to star in Roar and, most recently, The Revenge Club, alongside Martin Compston and Douglas Henshall. 

Last but not least, football commentator Clive Tyldesley becomes an OBE for services to sports broadcasting and to charity. The 71-year-old star, who served as ITV's senior football commentator from 1998 until 2020, is also known for his "Solskjaer has won it" line as Manchester United claimed the 1999 Champions League.