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Lenny Henry: knighthood offer 'like being filled with lemonade' Lenny Henry: knighthood offer 'like being filled with lemonade'
(35 minutes later)
Lenny Henry has said being offered a knighthood felt “like being filled with lemonade”.Lenny Henry has said being offered a knighthood felt “like being filled with lemonade”.
The comedian and actor told BBC Radio 2’s Chris Evans that the honour, expected to be officially confirmed on Friday, was wonderful.The comedian and actor told BBC Radio 2’s Chris Evans that the honour, expected to be officially confirmed on Friday, was wonderful.
“It was lovely, it was a lovely feeling, it was like being filled with lemonade for 10 or 15 minutes,” he said.“It was lovely, it was a lovely feeling, it was like being filled with lemonade for 10 or 15 minutes,” he said.
A mainstay of Comic Relief, Henry said the knighthood was for services to charity, adding: “That’s not just me, that’s everybody that works for Comic Relief.”A mainstay of Comic Relief, Henry said the knighthood was for services to charity, adding: “That’s not just me, that’s everybody that works for Comic Relief.”
He said: “I’m being reeled and pummelled from all sides by my family, saying: ‘Do we get some land? Do we get a castle now? Do we get 100 men in plate armour following us around Dudley? What’s going on?’He said: “I’m being reeled and pummelled from all sides by my family, saying: ‘Do we get some land? Do we get a castle now? Do we get 100 men in plate armour following us around Dudley? What’s going on?’
“It’s not something you think about really when you grow up in Dudley. But it’s a fantastic thing, I’m very pleased and my mum would have loved it, my mum would have absolutely been chuffed. When we were at the Royal Variety performance she was sat on the same balcony as the Queen and she kept waving to her so this would have sent her into fits of joy.”“It’s not something you think about really when you grow up in Dudley. But it’s a fantastic thing, I’m very pleased and my mum would have loved it, my mum would have absolutely been chuffed. When we were at the Royal Variety performance she was sat on the same balcony as the Queen and she kept waving to her so this would have sent her into fits of joy.”
The comic, whose full first name is Lenworth, said the title made him sound like an old blues singer: The comic, whose full first name is Lenworth, said the title made him sound like an old blues singer: “Sir Lenworth Henry sounds like I’m making a very grand rock ‘n’ roll record.”
“Sir Lenworth Henry sounds like I’m making a very grand rock ‘n’ roll record.” Henry began his showbusiness career working on the controversial Black and White Minstrel Show before getting his big break doing impressions on the talent show New Faces.
Henry began his showbusiness career working on the controversial Black And White Minstrel Show before getting his big break doing impressions on the talent show New Faces. His career as a stand-up comic led to him joining the children’s TV show Tiswas alongside Chris Tarrant, and its late-night adult sister show, OTT, before moving to work on BBC1’s Three of a Kind.
His career as a stand-up comic led to him joining the children’s TV show Tiswas alongside Chris Tarrant, and its late-night adult sister show, OTT, before moving to work on BBC1’s Three Of A Kind. He also fronted his own series, appeared in films and starred in the successful sitcom Chef! before receiving critical acclaim for his stage performances, including Othello and The Comedy of Errors, at the National Theatre.
He also fronted his own series, appeared in films and starred in the successful sitcom Chef! before receiving critical acclaim for his stage performances, including Othello and The Comedy Of Errors, at the National Theatre.
Henry, who separated from fellow comedian Dawn French in 2010 after 25 years of marriage, hit the headlines last year when he called for ring-fenced funding to promote ethnically diverse talent in the media.Henry, who separated from fellow comedian Dawn French in 2010 after 25 years of marriage, hit the headlines last year when he called for ring-fenced funding to promote ethnically diverse talent in the media.
“We do need to smash through the glass ceiling … it’s the boardroom too,” he saidat the time.“We do need to smash through the glass ceiling … it’s the boardroom too,” he saidat the time.
“Since 2008, I have noticed another worrying trend. Our most talented [black, Asian and minority ethnic] actors are increasingly frustrated and they have to go to America to succeed.”“Since 2008, I have noticed another worrying trend. Our most talented [black, Asian and minority ethnic] actors are increasingly frustrated and they have to go to America to succeed.”
He said they had often been told they did not have the “marquee power” but argued that this was no longer the case.He said they had often been told they did not have the “marquee power” but argued that this was no longer the case.