Winslet, CBE, 'proud to be a Brit'

Kate Winslet has said being awarded a CBE made her "proud to be a Brit".

The Oscar-winning Hollywood actress, one of Britain's most consistently successful screen stars, has been recognised for her services to drama in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

Kate, 36, said: "I am both surprised and honoured to stand alongside so many men and woman who have achieved great things for our country.

"And I feel deeply proud to receive this, as a part of an ever-expanding community of British actors and film makers who are fortunate enough to be able to contribute to an international industry. This makes me very proud to be a Brit."

Kenneth Branagh, who cast a young Kate in his film adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet, has received a knighthood for his services to drama and to the community of Northern Ireland.

The 51-year-old Belfast-born actor and director said: "I feel humble, elated, and incredibly lucky."

Speaking from Pinewood Studios, where he is preparing a major new film for Paramount Pictures, Jack Ryan, he said: "When I was a kid I dreamed of pulling on a shirt for the Northern Ireland football team. I could only imagine how proud you might feel. Today it feels like they just gave me the shirt, and my heart's fit to burst."

Other actors to be recognised include Call The Midwife's Jenny Agutter, who receives an OBE for charitable services, while New Tricks star Amanda Redman receives an MBE.

Upstairs, Downstairs star Jean Marsh said she was "thrilled" to be made an OBE but admitted she initially ignored the official letter because she thought it might be a parking ticket.

Casualty-star-turned-playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah said his OBE was a tribute to the "immigrant's dream" that brought his parents to the UK from the West Indies.