New Year Honours 2026
Feroza Syal (meera Syal) DBE
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
• Writer and Actor
“For services to Literature, to Drama and to Charity.”
Timeline
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
For services to Literature, to Drama and to Charity.
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Recognised for
Topics
London Gazette notice
Order of the British Empire
Civil Division
Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood
St. James’s Palace, London SW1
30 December 2025
THE KING has been graciously pleased to give orders for the following promotions in, and appointments to, the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire:
D.B.E.
To be Ordinary Dames Commander of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order:
Feroza SYAL (Meera Syal) C.B.E.
Comedian, Writer and Actor
For services to Literature, to Drama and to Charity.
Source: The London Gazette, issue 64940 · Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0
Location
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In context
Each honour in context
Role, region and citation as recorded for each award.
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
New Year Honours 2026- Role at the time
- Writer and Actor
- Region
- London, Greater London
“For services to Literature, to Drama and to Charity.”
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New Year Honours 2026
Feroza Syal (meera Syal)
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
“For services to Literature, to Drama and to Charity.”
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New Year Honours 2026
Feroza Syal (meera Syal)
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
“For services to Literature, to Drama and to Charity.”
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New Year Honours 2026
Feroza Syal (meera Syal)
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
“For services to Literature, to Drama and to Charity.”
Print · from £5.99
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In context
The bigger picture
How common is this award?
The Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire was awarded 14 times in the New Year Honours List 2026 — about 1% of the list.
In their area
81 Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire recipients are from Greater London.
What organisation were they with?
Writer and Actor.
How widely is this recognised?
4,560 people have been recognised for Arts & Culture.
Counts reflect the 1937–2026 honours lists in our records; earlier years are not yet included.
Honoured alongside them
Others awarded the Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the New Year Honours 2026
Amanda Pritchard
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to the NHS.”
Anneliese Dodds
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Oxford, Oxfordshire
“For Parliamentary and Political Service.”
Carol Grigor
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
“For services to the Arts, Culture and Women in the UK.”
Carol Homden
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Children and Families.”
Fiona Rayment
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Salford, Greater Manchester
“For services to Nuclear Engineering.”
Jayne Christensen (jayne Torvill)
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Heathfield, East Sussex
“For services to Ice Skating and to Voluntary Service.”
Lorna Dawson
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Aberdeen, City of Aberdeen
“For services to Innovations in Soil and Forensic Science.”
Meena Upadhyaya
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Cardiff, South Glamorgan
“For services to Community Cohesion in Wales and to Medical Genetics.”
Polina Bayvel
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Engineering and to Optical Communications.”
Sarah Anderson
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Mental Health and to Suicide Prevention. (To be dated 5 December 2025)”
Sonia Blandford
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Corsham, Wiltshire
“For services to Education.”
Suzannah Lishman
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Rutland
“For services to the Medical Examiner System and to Patient Safety.”
Wendy Carlin
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Oxford, Oxfordshire
“For services to Economics.”
In the same field
Others recognised for Arts & Culture
Across the 1937–2026 honours lists in our records, 4,560 people have been recognised for Arts & Culture. See the full list →
Malorie Blackman
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Literature.”
Cerys Matthews,
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Bourne End, Buckinghamshire
“For services to Music.”
Mukesh Sharma
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Newtownabbey, County Antrim
“For services to Heritage.”
Julia Catherine Donaldson
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Horsham, West Sussex
“For services to Literature.”
Richard Starrs
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Stockton on Tees, North Yorkshire
“For services to Heritage.”
Adam Joolia
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Brighton, East Sussex
“For services to Young People and to Music.”
Julia Jones
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Carmarthenshire, Dyfed
“For services to Music.”
Margaret Irvine
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Birsay, Orkney
“For services to Drama and to the community in Orkney.”
Shirley Henderson (shirley Mcgill)
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Aberdeen, City of Aberdeen
“For services to Drama.”
James Fraser
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Dunblane, Stirling and Falkirk
“For services to Tourism and Heritage in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.”
John Fannon
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Weymouth, Dorset
“For services to Heritage.”
Helen Fannon
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Weymouth, Dorset
“For services to Heritage.”
Daniel Crow
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Southampton, Hampshire
“For services to Artists and to Arts and Heritage.”
David Cottle
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Swansea, West Glamorgan
“For services to Jazz Music.”
Rebecca Chapman
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Norwich, Norfolk
“For services to Inclusive Theatre.”
Marilyn Blieck
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Prestwick, Ayrshire and Arran
“For services to Music and to the community in Ayrshire.”
Christopher Gaze
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
“For services to British Arts and Culture in Canada.”
Stephen Watson
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Belfast, City of Belfast
“For services to Broadcasting and to Kidney Transplant Awareness and to Fundraising in Northern Ireland.”
Iain Varah
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Dunmow, Essex
“For services to Public Libraries, Culture and Leisure.”
Peter Talbot
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Eastbourne, East Sussex
“For services to the Arts.”
Paul Stacey
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Theatre.”
Lisa Riley
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Leeds, West Yorkshire
“For services to Drama and to Charity.”
Garry Richardson
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Seale, Surrey
“For services to Sport Broadcasting.”
Suzanne Raine
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
“For services to Heritage.”
Source & provenance
Where this record comes from
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire · 2026
London Gazette (official record), issue 64940, notice 5027556. View the official notice ↗
Cabinet Office / gov.uk published honours list (New Year Honours List 2026).
Published 29 December 2025.
Location (London, Greater London) comes from the Cabinet Office / gov.uk published honours list, not the Gazette notice, which records no recipient home location.
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