Russell T Davies OBE

[PTeppic]

According to the BBC (here and here), RTD has been made OBE in the Queen's "birthday honours list", for services to drama... who said Dr Who was a fluffy waste of time? (actually, probably no-one but that's not the point)

 

[thaddeus6th]

Bah. I like Who and it's great he brought it back but celebs shouldn't get gongs given out like confetti. I'd prefer it if more private citizens got awarded for good works.

 

[PTeppic]

"The Cabinet Office said many of the 959 people on the list - some 76% at MBE and OBE level - had been involved in charitable or voluntary work, or extra-curricular activities linked to their professions."

(from the same article)

 

[the_faery_queen]

oh my god. thjat's just crap. thjat's just a sign of the queen trying to be 'cool.' he brought back doc who. big woop. half of what he's done with the doc has been crappy! well, ok, nearly all. it's only the other writers who have done anything decent with it.

 

[Pyan]

Not just Dr Who though, FQ...he also was the scriptwriter/producer for Torchwood, Queer as Folk, Bob and Rose, Casanova, Touching Evil, etc.

The OBE was for Services to Drama, not Services to Dr Who...and the Queen doesn't select the Honours.

Candidates are identified by public or private bodies, by government departments or are nominated by members of the public. Depending on their roles, those people selected by committee are submitted either to the Prime Minister, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, or Secretary of State for Defence for their approval before being sent to the Sovereign for final approval

(Wikipedia)

 

[Barney]

oh my god. thjat's just crap. thjat's just a sign of the queen trying to be 'cool.'

I doubt that HRH personally selects the people on her honours lists. When she hands out the gongs she probably doesn't have a clue who 99% of the honourees are.

But RTD is as worthy a recipient as anyone else. Kim Philby once got one (but it was revoked). Teddy Sheringham got one, as good a footballer as he was I don't think he made a greater contribution to British life than RTD has.

(There is an exhaustive list on wikipedia of people honoured by the queen, I didn't have the time to find any pithier examples)

 

[the_faery_queen]

they're also peole i consider chosen just to appear cool. whoever makes the list wants to make them relative to the people i guess, so they pick all sorts of random pointless peole
or, if chosen by the public, then they['re people the public think are cool. still not people who neccessarily deserve anything.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I'm having a little trouble getting my head around the idea that the Prime Minister, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, or Secretary of State for Defence, would be particularly interested in appearing cool.


Maybe that's just because I'm an American.

 

[PTeppic]

They probably want to appear to be in touch with the common inhabitant of this green and pleasant isle. Some of the time at least. It's probably a job for 100 civil servants... ploughing through the list of TV, stage, literary, film, music and sporting worlds, looking for likely honourables. Then for the sweaty masses of the public.

 

[Tillane]

That's a really good point, Tep. I can just see a bunch of mid-ranking civil servants trawling through the lists to see who they can give the gongs out to this year - apart from anything else, to see who they've already given gongs to in the past. And no wonder some of the awards look daft - they've probably given M/C/OBEs to all the "worthy" celebs already.

 

[PTeppic]

And who they've missed because of being overlooked and then dying before the catch-up. And the ones who are on the top-secret "do not award to" list... (apparently with examples such as Bruce Forsyth, if you believe the papers...)

 

[Ursa major]

However they do it, I bet there are targets.

 

[Barney]

I'm having a little trouble getting my head around the idea that the Prime Minister, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, or Secretary of State for Defence, would be particularly interested in appearing cool.


Maybe that's just because I'm an American.

When Tony Blair was in his heyday he gave would regularly invite "cool" people to Downing Street for receptions. The Brit pop crowd, the England cricket team after they won the ashes for the first time in about 1000 years...and of course the photos would be all over the media the next day. Head tennis with Keegan, anyone?

But even a leftie like me imagines the Queen is above all that populist nonsense, gawd bless 'er.

Teresa, your regrettable American cynicism obviously stems from not being under British rule any more. Without the steadying hand of Britannia on your shoulder, America has lost its way..................






















































(only kidding )