I voted for the Queen - and she won...
The Queen is voted Greatest Living Briton
By Laura Clout
22/05/2007
Dame Helen Mirren scooped a clutch of awards for portraying her on screen, but now the Queen has won a gong of her own.
The Queen visiting Chelsea Flower Show this week
The public voted her Greatest Living Briton 2007, beating the other four finalists Sir Paul McCartney, Dame Julie Andrews, Baroness Thatcher and Robbie Williams.
The Queen was not present at the ceremony to collect her award, voted for by ITV1 viewers, but Prince Edward paid tribute to his mother via a video transmission.
Dame Helen, who won an Oscar earlier this year for her portrayal of the monarch, took the prize in the Film category.
The actress looked delighted to bump into David Beckham on the red carpet, as he arrived from Spain to pick up the award for Global Achievement.
Prime Minister-in-waiting Gordon Brown also made an appearance at the ceremony, held at the London Studios, where he presented founders of the company Innocent Drinks with the Business award.
Other winners included graffiti artist Banksy in the Arts category, and the singer Amy Winehouse, who beat Sir Elton John and Take That to the award for Music.
The adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, the first man to reach both the north and south poles by land, won in the Sports category. The polar veteran recently scaled the notoriously challenging north face of the Eiger to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.
The comedian and writer Ricky Gervais landed the TV award, which he accepted via video in America - performing a version of his infamous dance from his comedy series The Office.
The designer Giles Deacon won the gong for Fashion and Duncan Goose, who set up the ethical bottled water brand One Water, was voted top Campaigner.
The ceremony, produced by ITV1 in association with The Sun newspaper and Marks & Spencer, was hosted by the former X Factor presenter, Kate Thornton.
Apart from the Queen’s award, the winners were chosen by a panel of judges that included Lord Sebastian Coe, screenwriter Richard Curtis, television presenter Kelly Osbourne and interior designer Kelly Hoppen.
A number of celebrities attended the event, including Geri Halliwell, Myleene Klass and Bob Geldof.
Guy Freeman, ITV’s controller of music and events, said: “The Great Britons 2007 was a fantastic ceremony extolling all that is so great about the United Kingdom.” He added that the awards ceremony is set to become an annual event.
Greatest Britons 2007 - Winners
Greatest Living Briton - The Queen
Fashion - Giles Deacon
Film - Helen Mirren
Business - Innocent Drinks: Richard Reed, Jon Wright, Adam Balon
Sport - Sir Ranulph Fiennes
Campaigner - Duncan Goose of Global Ethics Ltd
TV - Ricky Gervais
The Arts - Banksy
Music - Amy Winehouse
Global Achievement Award - David Beckham
telegraph.co.uk
The Queen is voted Greatest Living Briton
By Laura Clout
22/05/2007
Dame Helen Mirren scooped a clutch of awards for portraying her on screen, but now the Queen has won a gong of her own.
The Queen visiting Chelsea Flower Show this week
The public voted her Greatest Living Briton 2007, beating the other four finalists Sir Paul McCartney, Dame Julie Andrews, Baroness Thatcher and Robbie Williams.
The Queen was not present at the ceremony to collect her award, voted for by ITV1 viewers, but Prince Edward paid tribute to his mother via a video transmission.
Dame Helen, who won an Oscar earlier this year for her portrayal of the monarch, took the prize in the Film category.
The actress looked delighted to bump into David Beckham on the red carpet, as he arrived from Spain to pick up the award for Global Achievement.
Prime Minister-in-waiting Gordon Brown also made an appearance at the ceremony, held at the London Studios, where he presented founders of the company Innocent Drinks with the Business award.
Other winners included graffiti artist Banksy in the Arts category, and the singer Amy Winehouse, who beat Sir Elton John and Take That to the award for Music.
The adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, the first man to reach both the north and south poles by land, won in the Sports category. The polar veteran recently scaled the notoriously challenging north face of the Eiger to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.
The comedian and writer Ricky Gervais landed the TV award, which he accepted via video in America - performing a version of his infamous dance from his comedy series The Office.
The designer Giles Deacon won the gong for Fashion and Duncan Goose, who set up the ethical bottled water brand One Water, was voted top Campaigner.
The ceremony, produced by ITV1 in association with The Sun newspaper and Marks & Spencer, was hosted by the former X Factor presenter, Kate Thornton.
Apart from the Queen’s award, the winners were chosen by a panel of judges that included Lord Sebastian Coe, screenwriter Richard Curtis, television presenter Kelly Osbourne and interior designer Kelly Hoppen.
A number of celebrities attended the event, including Geri Halliwell, Myleene Klass and Bob Geldof.
Guy Freeman, ITV’s controller of music and events, said: “The Great Britons 2007 was a fantastic ceremony extolling all that is so great about the United Kingdom.” He added that the awards ceremony is set to become an annual event.
Greatest Britons 2007 - Winners
Greatest Living Briton - The Queen
Fashion - Giles Deacon
Film - Helen Mirren
Business - Innocent Drinks: Richard Reed, Jon Wright, Adam Balon
Sport - Sir Ranulph Fiennes
Campaigner - Duncan Goose of Global Ethics Ltd
TV - Ricky Gervais
The Arts - Banksy
Music - Amy Winehouse
Global Achievement Award - David Beckham
telegraph.co.uk
